As a followup to my post from last month, there is another aspect of datatypes I've been thinking about. When a simple type is subject to constraints, such as a numeric range or a list of enumerated values, I have been teaching students to create an item definition that expresses those constraints. For example, if a numeric value is always positive, we might assign it the datatype tPositiveNumber, a Number subject to the constraint >0.
In my DMN Method and Style training, we cover a lot of advanced topics, including calendar arithmetic, iteration, filters, and data validation. But I have found that problems in students' certification exercises more often relate to something much more basic, which we discuss at the very beginning of the course: assignment and naming of datatypes. Actually, the runtime engine often does not care whether you've assigned some decision to a datatype or not.
With the imminent launch of version 11 of the Trisotech platform, I am happy to announce a new version of my DMN Method and Style training, effective immediately. Previously I offered two courses, DMN Basics and DMN Advanced, in which the focus of DMN Basics was top-down logic decomposition using Decision Requirements Diagrams (DRDs) and the proper use of decision tables, including hit policy. Unfortunately, the features of DMN most important in real projects, including Business Knowledge Models (BKMs), contexts, and FEEL, were left to the Advanced course.
Recently I viewed a DecisionCamp presentation on an application of DMN to a public-facing portal in the Netherlands for what we call in the USA building permits. Here is the link. The scope of the project is impressive, combining regulations defined at the national, provincial, and municipal level, plus those of special districts. The ultimate decision on what kind of permit is required depends on not only the location of the property but the nature of the property improvement.
Here's a thought: What if the greatest opportunity for DMN is not decision management? Over the past year, I have come to this conclusion, and that greener pastures lie in the direction of Low-Code Business Logic. Its addressable market is far larger, and there is less organized resistance among incumbent vendors than DMN faces in its home territory. In fact, I will assert that DMN should be considered the standard for Low-Code Business Logic.
By:
Bruce Silver
February 14, 2022
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A couple weeks ago my attention was called to a LinkedIn post, one of those clickbait polls: "Is BPMN the standard? Do you use it? Would you expect it from others?" About 65% said Yes, but naturally the haters clogged the comment thread. Of most interest to me was a comment by Alec Sharp, a respected process modeling consultant, who says... BPMN is what I call a "claimed standard"... in practice rarely followed, at least as intended.
In my Low-Code Business Automation methodology, the first step is something I call whiteboarding - developing examples of the logic created in Excel with an eye toward generalizing the logic to handle any possible example and then translating to DMN. This is actually the hardest part of the project, and the only part requiring subject matter expertise. The rest of it is purely mechanical. In the beta testing of my Business Automation training, some students have complained about the difficulty of doing this.
By:
Bruce Silver
September 30, 2021
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In recent posts, I have explained why anyone who can create rich spreadsheet models using Excel formulas can learn to turn those into Low-Code Business Automation services on the Trisotech platform, using BPMN and DMN, and why FEEL and boxed expressions are actually more business-friendly than PowerFX, the new name for Excel's formula language. That's the why. Now let's discuss the how. In recent client engagements, I've noticed a consistent pattern: A subject-matter expert has a great new product idea, which he or she can demonstrate in Excel.
I read with mixed feelings Larry Goldberg's post "Just Not FEELin It". Larry is the one who introduced me to decision management a decade ago. He was the first to promote a strict methodology for business users creating model-driven decision requirements, which is essential. So he is a very smart guy, and I respect his opinion. That is why his blanket dismissal of DMN's key features - FEEL (and, by implication, boxed expressions) - was so disappointing.
By:
Bruce Silver
September 20, 2021
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Last month I showed why Trisotech is a great Low-Code Business Automation platform, based on its use of FEEL and boxed expressions in executable BPMN. How ironic is it, then, that many decision management vendors don't even include those features in their DMN tools! The only part of DMN they use is the Decision Requirements Diagram (DRD), but what is the point of using a standard diagram to describe business requirements that are not even testable?