Meta Rule Engine for Business Rule Style Enforcement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional Business Rule Management Systems (BRMS) lack the capability to effectively enforce style consistency across business rules, leading to variations in style and potential violations of organizational preferences, despite rules being syntactically and semantically correct.
Innovation Solution
Implementing meta rules on an executable rule engine that parse and analyze business rules to check for style conditions, using a common syntax with business rules, and generate notifications for violations, allowing for style reporting and enforcement of organizational conventions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If business rules are executed without style checking, then execution speed is maintained, but style consistency and adherence to organizational conventions deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments style checking from business rule execution by introducing meta rules that operate separately from executable business rules. Meta rules parse and analyze business rules for style compliance independently, allowing execution and style checking to occur in separate phases, thus maintaining execution speed while ensuring style consistency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces meta rules as an intermediary layer between business rule authoring and execution. These meta rules serve as style guides that analyze and evaluate business rules without interfering with their execution logic, providing style enforcement without adding complexity to the execution path.
2Manufacturing precision
If meta rules are implemented to check style conditions, then style consistency is improved, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
Style checking via meta rules is performed preliminarily during rule authoring and validation phases, before business rules are deployed for execution. This preliminary style analysis ensures compliance is established upfront, avoiding rework and delays during critical execution phases.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies partial style checking by allowing business rules to be executed while simultaneously evaluating style conditions through meta rules. Not all aspects of style are enforced with equal strictness, and the system provides warnings rather than blocking execution for minor style violations, balancing thoroughness with efficiency.
3Manufacturing precision
If style checking is enforced through meta rules, then adherence to conventions is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Meta rules provide immediate feedback to rule authors about style violations through warnings and notifications during rule authoring. This feedback mechanism guides users to correct style issues without preventing rule creation, maintaining ease of operation while ensuring style adherence through constructive guidance.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service style checking where meta rules automatically analyze and evaluate business rules for style compliance without requiring manual intervention. Rule authors receive automated style assessments and can independently correct violations, reducing the need for expert review while maintaining style standards.
Data Source
AI summary
The method for implementing meta rules on an executable rule engine includes parsing a business rule as input into a meta rule on a rule engine. The meta rule includes a first expression defining one or more style conditions for business rules. The business rule includes a second expression defining logic for an entity. The method includes determining that a business rule violates a style condition defined by the meta rule. The business rule and the meta rule conform to a common business rule syntax. The method includes generating a notification in response to determining that the business rule violates the style condition of the meta rule.