Agile Rule Services

Business rules (also referred to as "rule services" or "business services") are the components in SOA that are most frequently changed - due to new laws, the market, and other causes.

It is necessary to separate these rules from technical services for them to be maintained as easily as possible.

This is exactly what BRM systems such as Visual Rules make possible. Visual Rules is used to graphically model business rules, test them separately and deploy them, for example, as an interest calculation service. For the service to be used it must be registered in the Service Repository (including service provider and consumers). 

Seperation of Business Processes and the Business Rules

In monolithic applications, a layer of application logic holds both the process and the business logic. A strict separation is done in an SOA: a separation in process and business logic.  Going one step further, there is further separation in process-specific and process-independent logic. 

The process-specific logic is implemented by means of BPM. The rules in an SOA become a design principle for the reusability of process-independent business logic.

BRM & SOA - Driven by IT or by Business?    

Intuitive BRM systems allow business experts to be involved in implementing these business services and to ultimately be assigned as service owners.

A precondition for the company-wide integration of an SOA is its conformity with the company strategy.  SOA governance creates the conditions for successful exploitation of the potential of a service-oriented architecture within the company.

Rule-Based and Governance Enforcement

Contract compliance (governance enforcement) can be implemented with rules that are easy to alter and track.  
Such rules include:
•    Violation of authorizations
•    Breach of threshold values
•    Error or warning messages from service or infrastructure
The Benefits of Implementing a BRMS
Implementing rules in governance using a BRMS always makes sense when modifications or expansions occur frequently, or when a great deal of flexibility is required.

The benefits for the business unit are always paramount:

•    Solution-oriented problem identification with automated escalation
•    Breaches of agreements can be made apparent
•    Implementation of contracts can be traced by the departments involved.