Duration: 1:03:25

109 views

0

Expert systems and the business rules approach have long been presented as a powerful approach to software development. However, the market potential of these technologies has not been realised. This presentation will suggest that further research is required to integrate rules better ΓÇô both into IT architectures, and into usersΓÇÖ way of working. The paper will propose that business rules products have been developed in a way which is too proprietary. It will also suggest that there is an ironic problem with many business rules systems: that they promise architectural separation of business content in a system, but lack features to empower the information workers within organisations who understand business practices. The paper will propose that these problems can be addressed by maximising interoperability between rule software, initially through open XML schemas and later through rigorous standards. It will also consider natural language modelling and the use of modelling tools based on common desktop software to empower business users. It will discuss academic initiatives and a range of rules products, including RuleBurstΓÇÖs natural language-based business rules suite, which has recently been integrated with Microsoft BizTalk Server (see attached PDFs), and which uses Microsoft Office Word, Visio and Excel to model rules for analysis and execution.