An introduction to Business Decision Management · An introduction to Business Decision Management...

An introduction to Business Decision Management A White Paper

April 2015

Tom Debevoise,

Signavio, Inc.

Page 2 of 20An introduction to Business Decision Management – Signavio, Inc., April 2015

Table of Contents1. Introduction............................................................................................................................3

1.1 IncorporatingBusinessDecisionManagement.................................................. 3

1.2 IntroductiontoBusinessDecisionManagement(BDM).................................4

2. TypeandOriginofBusinessDecisions...........................................................................5

3. OperationalDecisions..........................................................................................................5

4. BDMBenefits.........................................................................................................................7

5. ManualDecisionsDelayProcesses..................................................................................8

5.1MoreBenefits..............................................................................................................9

5.2BDM:RuleswithPurposeandAgility....................................................................9

6. TheSignavioBDMMethod................................................................................................10

6.1DecisionDiscovery....................................................................................................11

6.2Model&DMNOverview..........................................................................................12

6.2.1. BasicDMNElements......................................................................................12

6.3ConnectProcesses...................................................................................................16

6.4BuildandDeploy.......................................................................................................18

6.5Analysis........................................................................................................................18

6.6BusinessIntelligence...............................................................................................18

6.7MonitorandImprove...............................................................................................18

7. Conclusion.............................................................................................................................19

8. Contact..................................................................................................................................20


1. Introduction

WiththemajorreleasesofBPMN1.2in2009and2.0in2011,processmodelingwasmaturingalongwithanorganization’sprocessdiscoverypractices.Bynow,mostpeoplefamiliarwithBPMNhaveheardofdecisionmodelingnotation(DMN)forbusinessdecisionmanagement(BDM);however,theymightnotknowhowtoincorporateDMNintotheirmodelingpractices.PriortoDMNforBDM,anorganization’sbusinessrulespracticeswerefrequentlyseparatefromtheprocessmodelingefforts.IfyourorganizationwishestocombineprocessmodelingwithdecisionmodelinginBPMN/DMN, youwillneedtoknowhowtostartmanagingdecisionsasassets.Thatis:changestotheprocessdis- coverysteps,theinformationtheteamsgatherandthechoicesmade.Inthiswhitepaper,wewilldescribethebasicsofbusinessdecisionmanagementanddecisionmodelingandhowitchangestheoldwaysofprocessdiscoveryinBPMN.

OrganizationsdonotadoptBDMpracticessimplytoaddanothermethodology.TheyaddBDMfortheimprovementsinperformanceandproductivity.BecomingmatureinBDMcanimprovecritical verticalbusinessareassuchProductLifeCycleManagement,SupplyChainManagement,andCustomerOnboarding.Itcanalsohelpcriticalcross-operationalprocesses,especiallyriskandcomplianceframeworks.Bymakingdecisionsandtheelementsthatdrivethemmorevisible,anorganizationcanimprovethedecisioninaprecise,surgicalmanner.Inaddition,thechangescanberapid;agilityisimprovedinthetargetpractice.

1.1 IncorporatingBusinessDecisionManagement

Manyenterpriseshavemadeashiftinrecognizingthatthebusinessdecisionisafirst-classcitizeninthebusiness’soperatinginfrastructure—likeprocessestheyareassetsthatmustbemanaged.Inadditiontoincorporatingthecompetitiveadvantagesofanalytics,thethreeprevalentreasonsforthisare:

› Decisionscreateimportantbusinessresultsandtheattributesofthedecisionareimportantsourcesofcriticalmetrics

› Decisioncanbeanorganizingprinciplefordesigningbusinessprocesses

› Improvingdecisionscanyieldimportantperformancebenefits,oftenexceedingwhatisavailablethroughbusinessprocessoptimizationalone

Itisobviousthatdecisionsarecritical;whatarelesscleararethecharacteristicsandattributesofabusinessdecision.Towit,BDMisbuiltupfromtherelatedpracticesofBusinessProcessManagementandtheBusinessRulesapproach.Thesemethodshaveledthewayinestablishingpracticesthatdiscover,modelandanalyzetheelementsofthebusiness.Today,BDMhasjoinedbusinessprocessmanagementasacriticallycompletivepracticethatcomplementsBPMandadsorbsbusinessrules.


Bynow,mostorganizationswithafocusonBusinessProcessManagementhavealreadyestab-lishedpracticesinprocessdiscoveryandmanyalsohaveabusinessrulespractice.Oftentimesthesepracticesareonlylooselycoupledatbest.TheexperiencedteamhasmodeledalargenumberofprocessesinBPMN,andtheyhavedigitizedthecore.Thestepsofcultivatingaprocessdescriptionintoamodelwithactivities,events,gateways,andinteractionsarewellknown.

Forprocessdiscovery,BPMNisanOMGstandardandBDMusesarelatedstandard,thedecisionmodelandnotation(DMN).ThepurposeofDMNistoprovideanunderstandablesymbolicrepresentation ofabusinessdecision.ThepurposeofBPMNistoprovideasymbolicrepresentationofabusinessprocess.Bothnotationssharesimilarities;theyconsistofshapesandconnectinglines.Theobjec- tivesofBPMNandDMNareasdifferentastheobjectivesoftheBusinessProcessManagementand DecisionManagement.BusinessDecisionManagement(BDM)isthecontrol,management,andautomationofrepeatablebusinessdecisionsbyeffectivelyapplyingbusinessrules,analytics,andoptimizationtechnology.BusinessProcessManagement(BPM)istheidentification,understanding, andmanagementofbusinessprocessesthatsupportanorganization’sbusinessmodel.

Abusinessruleisastatementoftheactiontobetakenwhenaspecificsetofconditionsaretrue.Essentially,itisanatomiclogicstepthatusesdataandknowledgetoevaluatepartofaquestionassociatedwithabusinessdecision.Businessrules“meet”processesthroughdecisionscapturedinBDM.Rulesencapsulatethelogicofadecisionintoanunderstandableform.Arguablythesimplestform ofabusinessruleisthedecisiontable.Decisiontablescontainnumerousbusinessrulesandgenerallysupportonedecisionorsub-decision.

Businessprocessesfrequentlyneedtheoutputofcriticaldecisionstodecidehowtocomply.Inasupplychain:theprocessneedstoknowwhatproductsmustbeordered,whattransportationshouldbeusedandwhichvendorscanprovidetheproduct.Inmedicalinsurance:theprocessmustknowwhatbenefitsareavailabletotheclaimant,ifatherapyiscoveredforthesignsandsymptoms,whatistheclient’sco-payment.Therearemanyexamplesofmanydifferentindustriesandmarketsegments.

1.2 IntroductiontoBusinessDecisionManagement(BDM)

BDMisanewdisciplinethatidentifies,cataloguesandmodelsdecisions,particularlyoperationaldecisions,intheenterprise.Italsoquantifiestheirimpactonperformanceandcreatesmetricsandkeyindicatorsforthedecisions.Inbusinessdecisiondiscovery,decisionsareidentifiedthrough theanalysisofbusinessobjectives,processmodelsandusecases.Uponidentification,thecompo-nentsofthedecisionarecatalogued.Thepropertiesofthedecisionsarealsodetailed.

Decisionmanagementallowsanorganizationtocontrol,manage,automateandimprovetherepeat-abledecisionsattheheartofitsbusinessbyeffectivelyapplyingbusinessrules,dataandanalytics.Withrespecttobusinessprocesses,BDMenablesthedevelopmentofsimpler,smarter,andmoreagilebusinessprocesses.


2.TypeandOriginofBusinessDecisions

Businessdecisionstakeplaceatthethreelevelsofbusiness:

› Strategic-thesedecisionshavelong-rangeimpacts.Theymightincludeenteringnewlinesofbusiness,acquisitionofcompaniesandassets.

› Tactical-thesedecisionsinvolveexistinglinesofbusiness.Tacticaldecisionsincludego- to-marketplans,respondingtoimmediateopportunitiesandtakingadvantageofshort-termmarketadvantages.Tacticaldecisionsoccurmorefrequentlythanstrategicdecisions.

› Operational-thesedecisionsare‘baked’intoexistingbusinessprocessesandpractices. Operationaldecisionsoccurveryfrequently,sometimesscoresofthousandseachday.Examplesincludeestablishingthepricesofitems,thediscountsoffered,andbasicbusinessdecisions.

BDMincreasesunderstandingoftheattributesofdecisions:thedatarequired,thelogicthatdecidesandthesourceofknowledge.Inaddition,decisionshaveotherattributesincludingfrequency andobjectives.BDMcanmodelanytypeofdecision;howeverthefocusismostlyontheoperationaldecision.

3.OperationalDecisions

Operationaldecisionsarethehigh–frequencydecisionsthattakeplacewithinheavilyusedprocessessuchascustomerorders,deliveryrequestsandmanufacturingassemblylinedirectives.Practicalexamplesofoperationaldecisionsmightincludewhatdiscountstooffer,howtoassignloyaltypoints,andwhichmodeoftransportationtouse.Operationaldecisionsmostlyfallintooneofthreebusinessareas:

1. ComplianceandFinancialControls-thesearedecisionsthatariseasaneedtocomplywithrulesandregulationsprovidedbygovernmentandothercontrollingauthorities

› FinancialCompliancedecisionsconcernthetimingandreportingabout:

› Taxreporting

› MoneyLaundering

› MarketAbuse

› EnvironmentalCompliancedecisionscaninclude:

› Pollutiondischargereporting

› Movementsofhazardousmaterials

› Workersafety


2. OperationalControl-thesearedecisionsthataremeanttodirectandcontrolbusinessprocessesandbusinesspractices

› Operationalcontrolsaffectbusinessprocessesandpractices.Thisisthebroadestareaofoperationaldecisions.Theseincludedecisionsconcerning:

› EmployeeHiring,whotohireandforwhatreasons

› Vendorselection,whattradingpartnerstopurchaseproductsandservicesfrom

› Productpositions,howtopriceanddiscountproductofferings

› Highlycomplexoperationaldecisions-thesearecriticaldecisionsthatmightincludethelogic ofthousands(orevenhundredthousands)ofbusinessrulesincluding:

› HealthCareCoverage,whattherapies,medicationsandproceduresarecoveredforadiagnosedmedicalcondition(s)

› PensionBenefits,thebenefitsdueanemployeeinadefinedbenefitsprogram

› CreditRisk,thedeterminationofthecreditrisk,especiallythelossgivendefaultunderanIRBapproachinBaselIII

3. RiskManagement,decisionsthataredesignedtolimittheexposureofriskthatabusinessfacesbyconductingbusinessactivities

› RiskManagementdecisionsincludes:

› FinancialRisk,thecumulativeriskthatbusinessoperationscreateandhowtolimitorreportthresholdvalueson

– Accumulatingdebt

– Insuranceliabilityexposure

› Counterpartyrisk,theriskthatoccursfrompartnersandcustomers

Thesethreeareasarebroadranging,complexandrequirecomprehensiveframeworkstobeproperlymanaged.BDMaidsinthecreationofthisframeworkbyformalizingthedata,logicandknowledge oftheseoperationaldecisions.Manyofthesedecisionscaninvokehundredsofsubdecisions,eachwithseparatesetsofbusinessrules.Eachtop-leveldecisionshouldcreatepreciseguidancetocompliantprocesses.Despitethewiderangeofsubjectscoveredbythethreeareas,operationaldecisionshavethesecommoncharacteristics:

› Highvolume-theyaremadefrequentlyandcouldevenbemadethousandsoftimeseachhour.

› Lowlatency-decisionsmustbemadewithinthelifespanofanordinaryprocessinstance,sometimesatsub-secondspeed

› Lowvariability-limitedspecificdirectivesareoutputfromthedecisions.

Thereisabenefittorapidlyrespondingtoanevent,especiallyeventsthataregeneratedbyhumaninteractionwithsystems.Thereisadecliningvaluetotheresponseovertime.Customerslooseinterestintheirshoppingcart.Theyplacetheirordersbasedonthemostrapidresponseandoptimalpurchasepricesquicklyfade.Digitizingthedecisionandremovingunnecessaryhumaninteractionsacceleratestheresponsetocustomer-focusedapplications.


Operationaldecisionsintrinsicallyarecomposedofinputdata,logicandknowledge;howeverthesedecisionshaveotherimplicitcharacteristics:

› Highlyrepeatable-theexpectedoutcomeforthedecisionshouldbeacrossanarrowrange.Nontrivialimpactsonbusinessobjectives

› Havemeasurableimpact,thedecisionisdirectlyconnectedtotheallocationofassets,thecreationofsalesandtheorderingofproductsandservices

› Canbedigitized,thelogicofthedecisioncanbeexpressedasabusinessrule

OperationalDecisionsaregatekeepersforaprocessesprogress.Theoperationaldecisionsgenerallydonotinvokesubjectivedeterminations,yetthesedeterminationscanbepartoftheinput.Forwardprogressintheprocessishalteduntilthedecisionismade.Onceadecisionismadethereareaspecificsetofdirectivesprovidedtoacompliantprocess.

4.BDMBenefits

Whenanorganizationstartstomanagetheirdecisionsasassets,anumberofoverarchingbenefitsbegintoaccrue:

› ManagedDecisionsarecontrolled

› ManagedDecisionsaremoreaccurate

› ManagedDecisionsaretargetedtotheintendeddomain

Whendecisionsaremanaged,thelogic,inputdataandknowledgearedocumented,exposedandpublishedforallstakeholderstoreview.Expertsandprocessparticipantsalikecancontributeto theunderstandingandaccuracyofthedecisions.Decisionsarealsoconnectedtoprocessguidanceandoutcomes—thedecisionpreciselydirectstheprocess.

Overallbusinessdecisionsprovidebetteroperationalcontrols,complianceandmoreconsistentprocessresultswithfewererrors.Whenachangeneedstobemade,theBDMorganizationknowswheretomakethechangeandwhatprocessesareimpacted.

ThebenefitsofBDMareextensive.Highlightsarelistedinthetablebelow

Compliance Operations Risk

Fewerfines,lowerlegalcosts Moreconsistentresults,betteralignedwithmanagementobjectives

Betterfinancialoutcome,reductioninfinancialrisk

Rapidpromulgationofregula-torychanges

Optimizedofferings Limitriskaccumulation,betterselectionofpartners

Impactanalysisforchange Betteralignmentwith managementobjectives

Loweroperationalrisk

Rapidimplementationof regulatorychanges

Fasterdecisionmaking Betterseizeopportunities


5.ManualDecisionsDelayProcesses

Inadditiontothesedirectbenefits,businessdecisionsthataredigitizedimproveprocesses.Thereisthepossibilitythatapreviouslymanualprocesscanbefullyautomatedthroughdigitizingtheunder-lyingdecisions.

ForinstancetheBPMNprocessbelow,theentireprocessisdelayedbyauserinterfaceprocessifthereareanyhazardousmaterialsinvolved.Ananalysisoftheinformationnotedthatalargerportionofthehazardousmaterialsordercouldbehandledbyanautomaticdecision.

Figure1,aprocesswithamanualdecision.

Asaresultadigitizeddecisionwasaddedthatattemptedtodetermineifahazardousmateriallicensewasneededtocompletetheorder.Infigure2,manyofthedecisionswereautomatedandonlyaportionofthedecisionsneedahumantaskreview.

Figure2,anautomateddecisionreplacesthemanualdecisionandnowonlyaportionoftheprocessesarestoppedwithamanualreview.


5.1MoreBenefits

BDMtransparentlymanagesdecisionsthatareimportanttocompliance,operationsandriskcontrols.BDMpositionsdecisionsforimproved:

› Agility-decisionsarereadilychangedbecausethelogicisidentifiedandtheprocessesconnected

› Accuracy-precisetargetingofprocessesandpractices

› Adaptation-thefactorsthatdecideareunderstoodandexposedforchange.Coefficientsofdecisionsincludingweightingfactors,redlinevaluesandmetricscanbeoptimized

Wheneverdecisionsaremodeledseparatelyfromprocesses,businessprocesseschangesarelessfrequent.Decisionscanbechangedwithouthavingtochangetheprocessapplication.

5.2BDM:RuleswithPurposeandAgility

Whenanorganizationseparatesthemanagementofdecisionsfromtheoperatinginfrastructure,changesaresimplified.Themeansandmechanismofchangeareclearerbecausethedataand thelogicismoreexposedandvisible.Decisionsandprocessesoftenchangefordifferentreasons yetitispossiblefordecisionchangetodictateprocesschangeandviceversa.

Changestodecisionsareoftendueto:

› Rulesandpolicieschange,legalrulingsandlegislativeupdatescanchangesthelogicofrules,newoutcomescanbedictated

› CompetitivepracticesandmarketingCampaignsareseasonallyupdated.Newproductswithnewtargetdemographicsmightbepartofasalescampaign

› Increditscorecards,weightsofevidencecanchangeaseconomicconditionschange(employ-ment,valueofequities,etc.)

Asmentionedearlier,decisionsaretheoutcomeofmultiple,sometimesnumerous,businessrules.Businessrulesaredirectlyconnectedtothequestionsposedbythedecisions.So,businessrules arethekeystothegranularcontrolofdecisions,processcomplianceandoutcome.BusinessRulesprovide:

› Easilychangeablelogicthatisappliedtoadecisionsinformationandanswersthequestions

› Improvedvisibilitybyplacingtherulesintoconnecteddecisiontables

› Answerstothehow,whereandwhyformanagement


6.TheSignavioBDMMethod

JustasBusinessProcessManagement,BusinessIntelligenceandothermethodshaveapproaches,tasks,deliverablesandtechnologies:sodoesBDM.TheobjectivesofSignavio’sBDMaretouncover,modelandmanagebusinessdecisionstoachievesubstantialimprovementinKPI’s,compliance,operationalcontrolsandriskmanagement.Thesedecisionsarenotlimitedtooperationaldecisions.Managementdecisionscanalsobethetarget.

Discovery Decision Modeling

Connect Processes

Build and Deploy

Decision Analysis

Decision Intelligence

Monitor & Improve

Figure3,thestepsoftheSignavioBusinessDecisionManagementMethod

Asshowninfigure3,thecorestepsofadecisionmanagementapproachare:

› Discoveryofthedecisionsthatmeetthecriteriawehavedescribed

› Modelingthedecision’selementsinDMN

› Connectthedecisionstoprocesses

› BuildandDeploythedecisions

› Analysisofthecharacteristicsofthedecision

› DevelopDecisionIntelligenceandInstrumentation

› MonitorandImprovetheperformanceofthedecisionbased

Theobjectiveofthesestepsistofirststabilizethebusinessdecisionsandthenprovideabasisforimprovingthemovertime.Inaddition,theSignavioproductprovidescapabilitiesthatpermit


thedecisionstobeeasilyconnectedtoprocesseseveniftheyareyettobebuiltanddeployed.

6.1DecisionDiscovery

BusinessDecisionsarecomposedof:

› Thequestionsthatareansweredbythedecision.Forexamplewhatmodeoftransportationshouldbeused,whichcertifiedemployeeshouldcalibratetheequipment?

› Thedatathatisinputintothedecision.Forexample,contractlists,scheduleofemployees,andmaterialgrade

› Thelogicthatprocessesthedata.Thesearetheif-thenstatementsthatareevaluatedagainstthedata

› Thestakeholders.Theownersofthedecisionandtheauthoritytomakethedecision

InthediscoveryphaseofBDM,weidentifytheimportant,logic-richdecisions.Thefocusisparticularlyontheprocessesinoperational,complianceandriskmanagementareas.Sourcesincludebusinessprocesses,usecases,businesscasesandbusinessplans.

Initially,keydecisionswillbethefocusoftheobjectiveoftheprograms.Thesewillbetheobviousdriversoftheprogram.Forinstance,ifanorganizationwishestoimprovethesupplychain,thendecisionswillberelatedto:

› ContractingPractices-whentonegotiatecontractsforlarge-scalepurchases

› VendorPractices-howtoselecttradingpartners

› Sourcingdecisions-howtomeetpricingandschedulingrequirements

Explorationoftheoutcomesrelatedtoasubstantialcorporatebusinessdecisionoftenleadstotheexaminationofscoresofsub-decisionsandhundredsofdatainputs.Asdiscussedintheintroduction,thesedecisionsappearinrelatedbusinessprocesses,inusecases,agilestoriesorasaspecificrequirement.

Additionaltechniques,especiallyusefulinidentifyingdecisionsthatcouldbeautomated,managedorimprovedusingbusinessrulesandpredictiveanalyticsare:

› ReviewBusinessProcesses,particularlyBPMNmodels

› ExaminePerformanceMeasures

› ExamineBIReports

› ExamineLegacySystems,WrittenBusinessPlan

Inmostcases,thelargecriticaldecisionswillbeimmediatelyobvious.Youwillbesearchingfordetailsofthelargerdecisions—insomecasesthemicro-decisions.Acrossthewrittendocumentsanddiagrams:scanfordecisionkeywordssuchas:

› Determine(therapyeligibilityrequirements)

› Select(thebestcontract)

› Choose(thetransportationmethods)

Foreachdecisionidentified,plantomodelthedecisionsinDMNandincludethemintheoverallanalysis.WewilldiscusstheDecisionModelandNotationandhowtousethisinputinthenextsection.


6.2Model&DMNOverview

DecisionmodelinginDMNisacriticalaspectofthemethodsofBDM.Tounderstandthebasisfor theelementsofDMN,anunderstandingoftheelementscontributingtoanydecisionisneeded.Asimpledefinitionofabusinessdecisionishelpful.Abusinessdecisionisaresolutionofachoiceandthechoiceshouldbestatedintheformofaquestion.Itisintuitivetoassume:

› Decisionsmusthaveinformationtoresolvethequestions

› Decisionsshouldbedrivenormotivatedbyexperienceorlawsandregulations

› Decisionsmustapplylogicordeductionstotheinformation

Asdescribedhere,DMNmirrorstheseintuitiveconceptswiththreekeyshapes-decisions, input data, and knowledge sources.Decisionsmustgenerallybemadebysomeoneinauthority,evenifthedecisionisdigitized.

TounderstanddecisionmodelinginDMNletusconsiderthefollowingusecase:

“Anorderprocessingsystemdecidestoofferdiscountstocustomerthatarecurrentontheiraccountsandhavemadeacertainlevelofpurchases.Allcustomerswithcurrentaccounts receivea5%discount.Customerswithmorethan$10,000inpurchaseswillreceivean8%discount.Theorderprocesscallsthedecisionbeforecalculatingtheextendedcosts.”

6.2.1. BasicDMNElements

Decisions

InDMN,therectangledenotesthedecisionandcontainsatleastitsname.Adecisionselects,settlesordeterminesanoutputfromanumberofinputs byapplyingsomedecisionlogic.Decisionscanbedecomposedintosub-deci-sionsandreusedinotherdecisions.Decisionsimplicitlyretaintheirsub- decisionswhenusedintheotherdecisions.Top-leveldecisionsfrequently

selectanactionfromarangeofpossibleactions.Subdecisionsdecidetheseactions.Often,the lowerleveldecisionswillsimplyprovideinputtootherdecisions.Becauseofthishierarchy,asenterprisesmodeltheirdecisions,ahighlycomplexanddimensionaldecisionmodelwillemerge.SoitisimportantfortheDMNtooltopromoteunderstandingthroughthevisualizationandintuitivenaviga-tionofthestructureoftheserelateddecisions.

DMNrepresentsalldecisionsthesamewayateverylevelofgranularity.Therearenosubtypes.


Fundamentally,decisionsarethecoreoftheDMNstandard.Whenorganizationsmodeldecisions,theycreateDecisionRequirementsDiagram(DRD)foroneormoredecisions.Inmostcases,themodelingteamwillcreateonemasterdecisiondiagramforeachareaoffocus.Tocreatearepositoryofdecisionrequirements,asaminimum,thesepropertiesshouldberecordedforeachdecision:

› QuestionandAllowedAnswers-decisionsansweraquestionposedbyabusinesscontext.Decisionsresolveaquestionbyprovidingdatathatdirectsactionstobetaken

› Businesscontext-thepointwherethedecisionsarisesisthebusinesscontext.Oftenaprocessmightneedtoresolvesomething.Thebusinesscontextiswherethequestionisraised

› Organizationalcontext-Organizationsarestakeholdersinthedecisionandtheprocessthatisguidedbythedecision

› RelatedBusinessProcess-oftendecisionsdirectmanyprocesses

InputData

InDMN,theovaldenotesinputdata.Asaminimum,theovalshouldcontainthenameofthedata.Decisionsactoninputdatathatcanbeprovidedinternallybysubdecisionsorexternallyfromprocessmessages,queuesorsignals.Whenamodelconnectsadecisiontoaprocessactivity,theinput isfromthedatathatiscreatedbyprioractivities.Inabusinessprocess,the

inputdataisoftenastructureddatatypesuchasanemployee,contract,orpurchaseorder.Other inputdatacanbeastreamorafacthierarchy.

ItisimportantfortheDMNmodelingtooltoprovideadictionaryofdatatypesandtermsthatthemodelerscanuseacrossDMNandprocessmodels.Termsofthedecisionshouldbemappedacrossrelateddecisionstohelpcreateimportantmodelimpactanalysisacrossmodels.Inaddition,themodificationofconnectedprocessesanddecisionsfrequentlyrequiresnewdataelements.Acentral-izeddictionaryiscriticalforcoordinatingthisdataandmeetingorganizationsspecificneeds.

InformationRequirements

Theprimaryrequirementlink,shownbyasolidarrow,isaninformationrequirement.Theseareusedtoshowtheinputstoadecision.Ifadecisionrequiresapieceofinformation,thenitwillhaveanappropriateinformationrequirementlink.Theelementatthebluntendofthelinkisrequiredbythedecisionatthearrowend.


KnowledgeSource

DMNdenotesknowledgesourceswithadocumentshapethatcontainsatleastitsname.Knowledgesourcesconnotetheorigins,sourcesanddocumen- tationfortheconstraintscontrolsandobjectivesofadecision:oftenacompliancedescription.Sourcesincludecodes,regulationsorpoliciesabouthowan entitymustmakeadecision.Iftheoriginsofknowledgesourcesarecompliance

regulations,sourcescanalsoincludebestpracticesfromprofessionalorganizationsandnon-profitNGO’s.Governingagenciesandregulatingauthoritiesissueregulationsandlegaldocumentsthatdetailthecompliancerequirements—theseareimportantknowledgesourcesforacompliancedecision.

Theownersofthedocumentsfrequentlyupdatetheknowledgesources.Highlyregulatedenterprisesmustkeeptrackofthechanges.Releasesofdecisionsshouldtrackchangestoversionsofthe knowledgesource.AcomprehensiveDMNsolutionshouldprovideconnectionstoexternaldocumentmanagementsolutions.

DecisionRequirements

Thefourshapes—decisions,inputdata,knowledgesources,andbusinessknowledgemodels—comprisethenodesinalldecisionrequirementsdiagrams.Thelinksbetweenthesenodesarerequirementslinks,denotingoneofthreekindsofrequirements.

KnowledgeRequirements

IfBusinessKnowledgeModelsarebeingusedthenKnowledgeRequirementsshowhowthoseBusinessKnowledgeModelsareinvokedtomakedecisions.

AuthorityRequirements

Authorityrequirementsshowwheretheprocessneedstogotofindouthowtomakeadecision.Shownbyadashedlinewitharoundend,authorityrequirementsidentifythattheelementatthebluntendisanauthorityfortheelementattheroundend.Thisallowsforaknowledgesourcetobelinkedtoadecisiontoshowthatitcontainssomeoftheknowledgeneededtomakethatdecision.Authorityrequirementsarepurelydocumentaryandhavenoimpactonexecution.


DecisionRequirementDiagrams(DRD)

Figure4belowdepictsaDRDforthecustomerdiscountexample.

Figure4,ADRGforcustomerdiscounts

Thesethreeelements—decisions, input data, and knowledge sources —canbecombinedtocreateDecisionRequirementDiagrams.Therelationshipscreatedbyaddingrequirementslinks tothesediagramsproduceanetworkoflinkedelementsandformthebasisofadecisionmodel.

InBDM,multipledecisionrequirementsdiagramswouldbedeveloped.TheDRDmodelwillcontainallthespecifiedrelationships.Therearenoprescribeddiagrams,andnomasterdiagrammustshow alltherequirementsrelationshipsinwhichagivenelementparticipates.Experiencesuggeststhatthereareanumberofwaystousethediagrams.Theseincludecreatingdecisionmodelsthatsupportuserstoriesandprocess-specificdecisions.Anothersuggestionistocreatebusinessdecisionsacrosstheorganizationthatcanbeconsolidatedandsimplified.

DecisionLogicinDecisionTables

TheDMNstandardincludesmanydetailsondetailinglogicindecisiontables.Acriticalpartofdecisionmodelingisthecreationofbusinessrulesandexpressionlogicindecisiontables.

Considertherulesembeddedinourcustomerdiscountexample:

“Anorderprocessingsystemdecidestoofferdiscountstocustomersthatarecurrentontheiraccountsandhavemadeacertainlevelofpurchases.Allcustomerswithcurrentaccountsreceivea5%discount.Customerswithmorethan$10,000inpurchaseswillreceivean8%discount.Theorderprocesscallsthedecisionbeforecomputingtheextendedcosts.”


Whenmodelingthese‘rules’orlogicinthewrittenrequirement,evaluationoftheinputsagainstexpressionswillsettlethequestionsposedbythedecision.Inthiscaseourquestionis‘Whatdiscountshouldwegivetoourcustomer?’Inourassignmentofoutput,wecreatearuleforeachcombinationoftheinputs.Thisselectsthewayindividualrulesareevaluatedinadecisiontable.Asolutionforthecustomerdiscountproblemispresentedhere.

Figure5,adecisiontablesolutionfortheexampleproblem

NOTE:Amoreextensivediscussionofmodelingisneededtoadequatelycoverthistopic.Thetopicswouldinclude,hitpolicies,completenessandexpressions.

6.3ConnectProcesses

BDMisaprocessenabler.Everybusinessprocessmustactondecisionsthataremadewithintheenterprise.Withregardstoprocesses,businessdecisions:

› Simplifytheprocess,activitiesandscriptscanbemovedtothebusinessprocess

› Providesamechanismforadaptiveintelligence

› Addsagilitytobusinessmodelsandoperations

Intermsofsimplicity,thebusinessdecisioncanmoveanestofgatewaysintoasingledecisiontable.Datascriptsthatretrievedataforgatewaystoactcanalsobemovedintothebusinessdecision. Theoutputofadecisionisfrequentlymorethanasimple‘Yes’or‘No’.Theanswertothequestionscanbeapersonoramaterialasset.Forinstance,thebusinessdecisioncanprovidedirectanswersto thequestions:

Whocancalibratethegaschronographinlab6?

Whatcomputershouldbeissuedtothenewengineer?

Inaddition,thesedecisionscanbebuilttoprovidefinegrainedcontrolofabusinessprocess.

Organizationsalreadyfamiliarwiththebenefitsofprocessmodelingwillexperienceamindshiftinthinkingabouttheirprocessdiscovery/optimizationprocess.CombiningdecisionmodelinginDMNwithprocessmodelinginBPMNcreatesmorefocusedprocesses.ProcessdetailsmovenaturallyintoDMNdecisions.UsingDMNalongsideBPMNincreasesclarityandreducesthenumberofBPMNshapesneededtocaptureaprocess,andlimitstheneedfordepictingcomplexaccesstodatasources.


Adecision-drivenprocessactsontheoutcomeoftheevaluationofdecisionlogicinseveralpossibleways,including:

› Changingthesequenceofactivitiesthataretakenafteradecision,includingwhatthenextactivityorprocessthatisrequiredtomeetthedirectiveoftheprocess

› Selectingbetweenthepathsonthedivergingorthesplittingsideofagateway

› Decidingwhoorwhatparticipantshouldperformtheneededactivity

› Creatingdatavaluesthatwillbeconsumedlaterintheprocess

Inputsintothedecisionincludedata:

› Tohelpidentifyeventsorprocess-relevantconditions

› Thatmustbevalidatedforcorrectness

› Usedincalculations

Thedecisioncanbethoughtofasameta-gatewaywithmerginginputs(eventsanddata)andsplittingoutputsthatdirecttheprocessinanoverarchingway(i.e.,participants,tasks,andgateways).

Integratingbusinessprocessmodelingwithdecisionmodeling,aswellaseventprocessing,cancreatecomprehensive,agilesolutionsinmanyproblemdomains.Withoutdecisionmodeling,processmodelinginBPMNcanbothovercomplicateamodelwithlogicandmisscriticaldesigndetails.As decisionsaremodeled,thingswillbediscoveredthattheprocessmustdotoaccommodatetheresultsofthosedecisions.Exploringdecisionswillleadtothediscoveryofimplicitprocessevents,activities,andsequences.

Inourexampletheorderprocess,inBPMNisconnectedtothedecisionfromfigure4.

Figure6,BPMNDiagramshowingruletaskthatinvokesthecustomerdiscountdecision

The‘rule’activityistraditionallyusedtoconnectaDRDtotheBPMNdiagram.Theoutputdiscountisappliedtothecustomerinvoice.


6.4BuildandDeploy

Onceamodelhasbeenvalidated,testedandsimulateditcanentertheapplicationdevelopmentcyclesoftheorganization.Itiscriticalforthesourcedesignstoremainconsistentwiththedeployedartifacts.ThelogiccreatedbythedecisionmodelingmustremainconsistentwiththespecificationsoftheDRD.

6.5Analysis

Ingeneral,decisionanalysisaimstoevaluatetheperformanceofanexecutionaldecisionmodel.Analysisofdecisionsrequiresdataassociatedwithversionsofthedecision.Thisdatashouldincludeallthechangesandpermutationsthatoccuralongthelogicstepsofthedecision.Withthisan organizationcanperformdecisions.Thislevelofanalysiscanpermita‘decisionyield’.Adecisionyieldapproachwouldevaluatetheinteractionbetweendecisionandperformancealongfivedimensions:precision,cost,speed,agility,andconsistency.Thatinformationcanbecollectedandcalculationscan beperformedbythedecisionmanagementsystemsthatcompaniesincreasinglyusetoguideemployeeresponsesorexecutefullyautomateddecisions.

6.6BusinessIntelligence

Thedecisionmodelcanbeexplicitlytransformedintoastarschema,adecision-processschema,forBIanddatavisualization.Foracomprehensivedecision,factsfromtheprocessshouldbeaddedtotherelevantfacttable.Theattributesoftheschemawouldbetheinputdataandtheevaluatedcondi-tionsofthedecisiontable,theseattributescanbefactsordimension,dependingonthenatureof thedata.Generallyaninputfact,suchasthepurchasesdatafromourexample,willresultinbothafacttableandadimensionoftheevaluatedlogicfromthedecisiontable.Eachexecutionofadecisionwithaddedprocessfactswouldbearowinthetable.

Theresultingdatawarehouseiscriticalforassessingtheperformanceofthedecisionandthecomplianceoftheprocess.

6.7MonitorandImprove

Operationdecisionmodelsshouldbesimulatedtodeveloptherelevantmetrics.Withthebenefitofa DMNmodelandadecision-processschema,decisionscanbemonitoredandanalyzedforimprove-ments.

Decisionimprovementspotentiallyinclude:

› Improveprocessresponses,exploringspecificandaggregateresponses

› ExploreDifferentDecision-MakingApproaches

Withsimulation,thedecisionmodelcanconfirmtheimpactofproposedchanges.Deployingthechangewillbevastlysimplifiedsincethebusinesslogicisexposedandeasilychanged.


7.Conclusion

BDMisacriticalnewmethodthateveryorganizationshouldconsider.Allcompliant,process-basedplatformsshouldsupportexecutablebusinessprocessesasdirectedbybusinessdecisionsanddefinedbyanongoingevolutionofbusinessesoperationalneeds.BusinessDecisionManagementaddsanimportantnewdimensiontoprocessmodeling.Decisionmodelsaremechanismsthat candrivesystemchangesandallowprocesstoaccomplishahighlevelofdynamicinteraction.Someoftheexpertisewillbetechnical,andsomeisbusiness,butallaremodeldriven.

Assuggestedearlier,decisionsgenerallycreatefivedifferentoutcomesthatgovernandcontrolbusinessoperations.Decisionsdirectthe:

› Orderorsequenceofaprocess’tasks,decisions,andinternalevents

› Selectionofwhoisincludedinandassignedtoatask

› Selectionofthecourseofaction

› Selectionofwhatistoberetained,itsvalidity,andduration

› Detection,control,andresponsestoevents

InthenewworldofcollaborationbetweenthebusinessunitsandIT,thebusinessprocesses,decisions,andbusinessruleswillbesupportedandmaintainedvisuallyandexpressedasBPMN/DMN. Movingforward,organizationsneedtomodeltheiroperationalprocessesusingacombinationofprocessmodelsinBPMNanddecisionmodelsinDMN.Combiningprocess-,event-,anddecision- centricthinkinginalinkedsetofmodelsmakesforeasiermanagement,amoreagileorganization–andenablesorganizationstomeettheirintendedgoals.


8.Contact

EMEA SignavioGmbH

NürnbergerStraße8 10787Berlin, Deutschland

Telephone:+49308562154-0 Fax:+49308562154-19

TheAmericas Signavio,Inc.

440N.WolfeRd. Sunnyvale,CA94085 UnitedStatesofAmerica

Telephone:+16503889251 Fax:+16503889252

APAC SignavioPte.Ltd.

#10-01/02TheGlobe 100CecilStreet Singapore069532

Telephone:+6566318334

Website:www.signavio.com Email:[email protected]

Date post:	25-Jun-2020
Category:	Documents
Upload:	others
View:	5 times
Download:	0 times

An introduction to Business Decision Management · An introduction to Business Decision Management...

Documents