Rules in Rule Sets

We have already stated an activity[1] is the

Implementation of the right set of rules

Business rules can in turn be described as being:

	Descriptions of behaviour of concepts in the Business Domain.
	Applying an OO solution to this it was seen that applying the BR directly to ACM class as an operation: this way inheritance, collaboration, polymorphism etc can be applied to the rules themselves. (This is described in more detail later)

From the above model we can see applicability for rule sets and dependencies can be a course grained tree (i.e. applicable to specific product/ market/ date etc). However for the rules themselves this applicability can be much more subtle and expressing these as applicability trees becomes much more impracticable, applicability must therefore be built into the rule set itself.

How then do we choose the right business rules?

	Rule-sets drive which rule to choose how business rules collaborate, and in what sequence.
	Same rule may have different behaviour or value when applied to different concepts in business domain

[1] Here we are discussing what the business sees as business rules. Architectural implications such as routing logic are outside of the scope of this discussion.

This paper has been prepared by Codel Services Ltd to illustrate how structured business modelling can help your organisation. Codel Services Ltd is an IT Consultancy specialising in business modelling. If you would like further information, please contact us at: Deryck Brailsford, Codel Services Ltd, Dale Hill Cottage, Kirby-Le-Soken, Essex CO13 0EN,United Kingdom. Telephone: +44 (0)1255 862354/Mobile: + 44 (0)7710 435227/e-mail: info@codel-services.com