Business Rules Engine

Intro

A business rules engine (BRE) executes defined business rules during process or application runtime. It matters in enterprise architecture because it separates decision logic from code, improving agility and compliance.

Key points:

• Centralizes rule definition and execution for consistent decisions.
• Speeds change by externalizing rules from process implementations.
• Common use cases: workflow routing (BPM), eligibility checks (Apps), data validations, pricing and authorization (Tech).
• Pitfall: unmanaged rule proliferation can cause conflicts and degraded performance.

Examples:

• Automatically routing service requests based on priority, risk, and regional policies.
• Applying product pricing tiers and discounts from a maintained rule set.
• Validating customer data fields before committing transactions.

In practice:

Keep rules versioned and governed, and integrate the BRE with a business rules repository to ensure traceability and consistency.

Related terms: business process management; business rules repository; application

FAQs:

Q: Is a BRE the same as a BPMS?
A: No; a BPMS manages processes, while a BRE focuses on executing decision rules.

Q: Where should rules be stored?
A: In a governed repository with version control and clear ownership.

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