Business rules
“A business rule defines or constrains some aspect of business and always resolves to either true or false.”
- Wikipedia
Frequently I hear people talking about business rules as way to constrain systems, and there are places where business rules makes sense to clarify transactions and set limits on how the business operates. However some business rules have been developed for a different context and must be revised or thrown away to be relevant in the digital era.
First and foremost a business rule is dictated by humans and can be easily changed, if we are not happy with a business rule we can change it. They are frequently not that formalized or widely used so cost of change is often low.
Secondly as per definition business rules do not deal very well with variation in context or fuzzyness, when you hear "business rule" it can be interesting to prod a bit deeper into if it actually is a business rule or just a preference or perhaps an opinion.
When working with systems that apply heuristics or AI to optimize it is critical that you get difference right. An algorithm not heeding important business rules can have catastrophic economic results. The opposite is equally true, an algorithm constrained by too many opinions will not be able to perform optimally, which can lead to just as bad results.
- Wikipedia
Frequently I hear people talking about business rules as way to constrain systems, and there are places where business rules makes sense to clarify transactions and set limits on how the business operates. However some business rules have been developed for a different context and must be revised or thrown away to be relevant in the digital era.
First and foremost a business rule is dictated by humans and can be easily changed, if we are not happy with a business rule we can change it. They are frequently not that formalized or widely used so cost of change is often low.
Secondly as per definition business rules do not deal very well with variation in context or fuzzyness, when you hear "business rule" it can be interesting to prod a bit deeper into if it actually is a business rule or just a preference or perhaps an opinion.
When working with systems that apply heuristics or AI to optimize it is critical that you get difference right. An algorithm not heeding important business rules can have catastrophic economic results. The opposite is equally true, an algorithm constrained by too many opinions will not be able to perform optimally, which can lead to just as bad results.
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