Johan Versendaal

Defining collaborative business rules management solutions: framework and method

Abstract The goal of this research is to define a method for configuring a collaborative business rules management solution from a value proposition perspective. In an earlier published study (Business rules management solutions: added value by means of business interoperability. In: van Sinderen M, Oude Luttighuis P, Folmer E, Bosms S (eds), International IFIP working conference on enterprise interoperability, vol 144. Springer, Twente, pp 145–157, 2013) we took a business rules perspective on interorganisational collaboration optimization, when we addressed the question what the relation was between types of business interoperability and an organisation’s business rules management solution. Different types of collaboration were defined and subsequently combined with eleven identified types of service systems; these service systems together make up the business rules management solution. In this paper we re-address and -present our earlier work, yet based on the findings, we extend it with the construction of a method for determining the configuration of collaborative business rules management solutions. This method is tested by applying it to a case study at an alliance of airlines. Presented results provide a grounded basis from which empirical and practical research on business rules management solutions can be further explored.

Representation of abstract concepts: Differences across computing disciplines

Computer Science has evolved towards a discipline with different branches. Software is designed, produced and linked taking into account different viewpoints. This process typically involves multidisciplinary teams: Front End Developers, (OO)Programmers, Database Engineers. Software developers, who were educated in different computing disciplines, meet on the shop floor, where they link together software that was designed from different viewpoints. In this paper, the emphasis is on human characteristics, rather than on the formal properties of programming and modeling languages. Do the involved computing practitioners refer to the same concepts when they use the same words? A preliminary version of this study [1] addressed the assessment of differences in mental representations of abstract entities involved in programming and modeling. In this extended version we report the results of an experiment, designed to compare mental representations of abstract concepts with mental models described in the literature. We point at differences between groups of students, enrolled in different computing curricula, and explore possible explanations.

Business Rules Management Solutions: Added Value by Effective Means of Business Interoperability

Interoperability research, to date, primarily focuses on data, processes and technology and not explicitly on business rules. The core problem of interoperability from an organisation’s perspective is the added value generated from collaborating with other parties. The added value from a data, process and technology perspective has been widely researched. Therefore it is the aim of this study to provide insights into the added value for organisations to collaborate when executing business rules management solutions. Explanations of possibilities, opportunities and challenges can help to increase the understanding of business rules interoperability value creation. Presented results provide a grounded basis from which empirical and practical investigation can be further explored.