About the Author

Ronald G. Ross

Ronald G. Ross is recognized internationally as the ‘father of business rules.' He is Co-Founder and Principal of Business Rule Solutions, LLC, where he is active in consulting services, publications, the Proteus® methodology, and RuleSpeak®. Mr. Ross serves as Executive Editor of BRCommunity.com and as Chair of the Business Rules Forum Conference. He is the author of nine professional books, most recently Building Business Solutions: Business Analysis with Business Rules (2011). Mr. Ross speaks and gives popular public seminars across the globe. His blog: http://www.ronross.info/blog/

Business Rule Concepts:

Getting to the Point of Knowledge (Third Edition)

By Ronald G. Ross

Format: 157 pages / Paperback
Publisher: Business Rule Solutions, LLC (July 2009)
ISBN: 0-941049-07-8
Price:

$29.95

Endorsements - Here's What Industry Gurus are Saying About the 3rd Edition of Business Rule Concepts: Getting to the Point of Knowledge

"Ron literally 'wrote the book' on business rules ... and this is that book. Actually, this is not the only book that Ron has written on the subject, but I would say that this is the most complete book on business rules. It is not a technical book. It is not a manual. It is not a tome. But ... it is complete. This book contains everything you need to know about business rules.

I really like this book! It is written in plain English that can be understood by the uninitiated, but will be useful for even the most experienced professional. It covers the waterfront, defining why business rules are important, what they are, how to transcribe them, and how to manage them once you get them transcribed. It is a book that makes sense for the manager as well as the practitioner.

Blaise Pascal once said something to the effect, 'forgive me for writing this long letter. If I'd had more time I could have made it much shorter.' That captures the idea. This book is not a long one, but Ron has spent most of the years of his professional life learning how to articulate this complex subject lucidly, concisely and succinctly. We are the beneficiaries of literally decades of hard labor ... but clearly a labor of love.

In his own inimitable style, Ron has hit another home run ... hit the jackpot ... thrown the bomb ... kicked the goal ... sunk the winning three pointer ... by whatever sports metaphor you like ... Business Rule Concepts: Getting To the Point of Knowledge is a winner. Read it and see for yourself!"

- John Zachman
President, Zachman International

"Organizations, today, are very focused on how they can usefully model, integrate, and improve their operational performance. Every analyst needs to understand just how business rules, business processes, and performance measures work together to structure the enterprise architecture and to define business decisions. There is no one better at this than Ron. His new edition of Business Rules Concepts is a book that every business analyst must read."

- Paul Harmon
Executive Editor, Business Process Trends

"Ron's book, updated again based on its widespread use, is a solid, practical and usable guide to understanding and developing the business rules that drive decisioning in your business

Organizations today must take control of their decision making. They must ensure it is compliant in the face of regulation, agile in the face of uncertainty, and rigorous in its use of information. Operational or transactional decisions are key as these little decisions add up - determining risk exposure, fraud loss, marketing effectiveness, customer relationships and much more. Only if the business rules behind these decisions are understood can organizations succeed.

Helpfully highlighted, Business Rules Concepts is equally useful for someone new to the topic and as a refresher or reference guide for experienced practitioners. "

- James Taylor
CEO, Decision Management Solutions

"Ron's new book presents an elegant description of what business rules really are and how they work. It articulates and sharpens the guiding motivation for business processes, and how you can enable the delivery and management of stable processes through ease of rule change. It offers a wealth of ideas about how to make business process models and operational business solutions more agile, more responsive to change, and better aligned to business drivers.

This easy-to-read book is a must for anyone charged with changing whole business areas, products and services, or internal business processes. The insight it brings is invaluable."

- Roger Burlton
Founder / Chief Consultant, BPTrends Associates

"I thoroughly enjoyed reading the third edition of Business Rule Concepts. I believe it should be mandatory reading for all curricula in management, business administration and computer science. Furthermore there is a category of professionals that can readily apply it - business practitioners. The book gives ample practical advice and is very easy to read.

Ron has been the pioneer of the business rules approach. Starting in the 1980s, he steadfastly developed the art into an engineering discipline. He systematically collected a large number of representative cases and used abstraction to induce various rules. He has been applying fact modeling for many years. In 2007 many of his ideas became part of the OMG standard SBVR.

I believe Ron's work is of Turing Award quality. This book is certain to become an evergreen."

- Dr. Sjir Nijssen
CTO PNA
Pioneer of Fact Based Modeling and Retired Professor of Computer Science

"The third edition of Business Rules Concepts is a welcome upgrade of the previous edition, including new insights gained from SBVR as well as industrial consulting practice.

Fact-based modeling is based on the belief that business rules need to be unambiguously formulated in plain language that is understandable by the business users who are best positioned to validate whether the rules really apply to their business. Consistent with this belief, the book explains the fundamental concepts of fact modeling and business rules clearly and simply, using practical examples to underscore key concepts. Main insights are conveniently highlighted for the attention of the reader.

As such, the book is recommended reading for anyone wishing to better understand the enormous potential of fact-orientation and the business rules movement."

- Dr. Terry Halpin
Principal Scientist, LogicBlox

Publications

Books

• Building Business Solutions: Business Analysis with Business Rules
• Business Rule Concepts: Getting to the Point of Knowledge (Third Edition)
• Principles of the Business Rules Approach

Free White Papers

• Decision Analysis Using Decision Tables and Business Rules