All businesses have policies and rules embedded in their IT systems, but not all businesses require a Business Rule Management System (BRMS) implementation. Though incorrect business rules in BRMS can easily be fixed, it is more complex to rectify a BRMS that was not needed in the first place. Thus, to fully reap the benefits of business rules, first, it is crucial to precisely identify the need of a BRMS in the enterprise recognize the aspects of the business which validly require a BRMS and distinguish it from other decision management technologies, such as Business Process Management (BPM) software.

Enterprises could highly benefit from a BRMS if it is characterized by the following conditions(IBM):

• Frequent Business Rule Changes. Rule changes originate from evolving business conditions (e.g. competitive pricing), regulatory amendments (e.g. government compliance laws), and varying organizational practices and policies (e.g. validation and feasibility checks). Organizations with frequent business rule changes are fortunate if modifications to their business policies and/or rules are foreseen and scheduled. However, in reality, this rarely happens. Oftentimes, the necessary changes are not implemented in the required IT systems correctly and/or on-time, risking missed opportunities or regulatory violations. Enabling the LOB to change the rules themselves through a BRMS shortens the release cycle for these changes and helps decrease the risks.
• Highly Variable Decision-Making. Certain business models require customized and/or personalized decisions, specific to locality, product, process or the customer itself (e.g. verification and pricing rules). When embedded in an application, the decision logic for these requirements is complex and even more complex to change and validate. With a BRMS, the organization is equipped with flexible and standard mechanisms for expressing and validating these complex rules.
• Enterprise Logic Sharing. Without a BRMS, business logic that is shared in different applications throughout the organization is either duplicated or embedded in the database. This model works well, until the logic needs to be modified. Logic changes are cumbersome to propagate or are implemented inconsistently. The shared repository and versioning capabilities of a BRMS reduce or eliminate these challenges.
  Business Rules and Information Systems: Aligning IT with Business Goals
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  Tony Morgan

Another pitfall to properly recognizing the need for a business rule management system is confusing its need for other decision management technologies. Sometimes the business problem requires a BRMS in combination with other systems. Other times, the solution may not need to involve a BRMS at all.

Decision management is a practice of combining software and expertise to automate and improve decision-making within critical business systems. The core purpose is to make the best possible decision at the current moment based on data and situational context (Wilson & Stineman, 2010). Not all decision management scenarios are necessarily a call to action by a business rule management system.

The fundamental distinctions of a BRMS from other decision management technologies are determining the decision based on what is known (e.g. corporate policies, regulations) and providing the tools to manage and govern those decisions. A BRMS does the following well: (1) standardizing of operational decisions; (2) straight through processing; and (3) decision brokerage (FICO, 2006).

However, it does not perform well when the problem involves waiting for human intervention, making asynchronous calls to remote systems or gracefully handling errors and exceptions to other services (Sparkling Logic, 2010). In those instances, look to other decision management technologies:

Business rule management systems can undeniably benefit enterprises with real business problems associated with highly variable and complex decision logic. Validate the need of the tool in the enterprise before getting caught up in the hype. Know the needs of the organization and how a BRMS can fulfill the requirements. Explore other decision management technologies and ensure that a BRMS is the right system for the organization. And reap the benefits of a much needed BRMS implementation!

References

Dixon, J., & Jones, T. (2011, July 25)Hype Cycle for Business Process Management, 2011.

FICO. (2006, February 9). Are BPMS and BRMS complementary or not? Retrieved February 17, 2011, from FICO Decision Management Blog: http://www.edmblog.com/weblog/2006/02/are_bpms_and_br.html

Gartner. (n.d.).Gartner Hype Cycle. Retrieved February 21, 2011, from Gartner:

IBM. (n.d.). What is a BRMS? Retrieved February 17, 2011, from IBM: http://www-01.ibm.com/software/websphere/products/business-rule-management/whatis/

Sparkling Logic. (2010, February 16). #1 Pitfall in Decision Management. Retrieved February 18, 2011, from Everything Decision Management, Technically Speaking: http://techondec.wordpress.com/2010/02/16/1-pitfall-in-decision-management/

Sparkling Logic. (2010, August 24). Business Rules in or out of BPM? Retrieved February 17, 2011, from Everything Decision Management, Technically Speaking: http://techondec.wordpress.com/2010/08/24/business-rules-in-or-out-of-bpm/

Wilson, C., & Stineman, B. (2010, November). Clear up confusion over BRMS, BEP, BA & BPM. Retrieved February 17, 2011, from IBM: http://www-01.ibm.com/software/solutions/soa/newsletter/nov10/brms.html