Dealing With Unknown Data

DMCommunity.org published an interesting challenge “Greeting a Customer with Unknown Data” that deals with the real-world decision modeling issue: your decision model has to produce a meaningful outcome even when expected input is not available. We provided our DMN-like solution utilizing various OpenRules constructs – it is described here.

Developing Custom Decision Modeling Languages with Enhanced DMN

The modern Business Rules and Decision Management Systems help users to move business logic from a code to business rules controlled by subject matter experts (not developers).  In particular, the latest Decision Model and Notation (DMN) standard [1] defines powerful and broadly applicable concepts for decision modeling that allowed experts [2] to call DMN a “decision modeling language”. DMN even includes a friendly enough expression language, FEEL, to express complex relationships between different decision variables. However, DMN is a general purpose “decision modeling language” that naturally stays away from domain-specific decision modeling constructs. In this article I will discuss how to enhance DMN to support specialized decision modeling languages.

OpenRules Release 6.4.0 Supports DMN FEEL and DMN Interchange

OpenRules, Inc. was among the first Business Rules vendors who announced its support of the DMN standard and published a DMN Primer implementation just two weeks after the first DMN announcement in 2013. Since then we are steadily improving our DMN compliance.

OpenRules Wins 10th International Rule Challenge Award

Congratulations to OpenRules team: I’ve just learned that our “What-If Analyzer for DMN-based Decision Models” won the 10th International Rule Challenge Award. Here is the certificate:

DecisionCAMP 2016

Last year the organizers of the DecisionCAMP (including myself) were not able to organize this very popular event that started in 2008 (see the history below). So, this year I put a lot of time and efforts to revive the Decision CAMP and have become its Chair and the main driving force behind the event. Thanks to support of our colleagues from RuleML and DMCommunity.org, we will  hold DecisionCAMP-2016 on July 7-8, 2016 at Stony Brook University, New York.

DMN Interchange

The DMN 1.1 standard includes a new interchange format that soon will become public. Meanwhile, DMCommunity Apr-2016 Challenge provides a very simple xml-file for the decision model “Vacation Days” created by Bruce Silver.  Ideally, DM vendors may take this file (and much more complex DMN XML files), transform it to their own format, and execute using their own tools. While vendors are not in a hurry to support DMN XML yet, this weekend I decided to give it a try. Below I will describe the results.

OpenRules at BBC 2016

This year OpenRules will again be an exhibitor at the Business Rules and Decisions Forum 2016 at BBC conference on Oct 31- Nov 4, 2016, Las Vegas, NV. We are sponsoring this major BR&DM event for 13 years in a row. I’ve just received a confirmation that my presentation“Why” and “What-If” Buttons for Business Decision Management” has been accepted. Here is an abstract: