Knowledge Automation: How to Implement Decision Management in Business Processes

Praise for Knowledge Automation

How to Implement Decision Management in Business Processes

"With this book, Alan has written a practical and straightforward guide to using the Decision Requirements Analysis approach . . . [and] shows how the approach helps at every stage of projects, from discovery to implementation. If you plan to analyze and model decisions, and you should, this book will show you how to do so. I feel strongly that this is the best approach for modeling decisions out there."
From the Foreword by James Taylor, CEO and Principal Consultant, Decision Management Solutions

Increase profits and lower risks with the solid decision management methodology found in Knowledge Automation

Revealing a simple but comprehensive methodology for decision management projects which use business rules and predictive analytics to optimize and automate small, high–volume business decisions Knowledge Automation introduces Decision Requirements Analysis (DRA), a new method you can employ in any IT project to implement decision management.

A true nontechnical how–to guide, Knowledge Automation presents the nuts and bolts for implementation of:

All the stages in automating business processes, from business process modeling down to the implementation of decision services Business rules and predictive analytics to optimize and automate small, high–volume business decisions A simple "top–down" method for defining decision requirements and representing them in a single diagram Clear requirements to allow decision management projects to be run with reduced risk and increased profit

Knowledge automation projects need careful management if they are to be successful. Improve your automated business decisions. Streamline the analysis and design of your business′s decision management systems. Do it all with Knowledge Automation.

Foreword ix

Preface xi

Acknowledgments xvii

Chapter 1: The Value of Knowledge 1

The Economics of Knowledge 1

The Knowledgeable Business 7

Notes 14

Chapter 2: Decisions in the Business Process 15

Business Process Modeling 16

Decision Points and Decision Services 17

Redesigning Process Decisions 20

Originations Process Template 33

Approaches to Process Design 36

Notes 39

Chapter 3: Encapsulating Knowledge in Decision Services 41

Business Rules 43

Algorithms 52

Predictive Analytics 56

Putting It All Together 65

Notes 68

Chapter 4: Decision Requirements Analysis 71

Principles 72

Decision Requirements Diagram 73

DRAW 79

Notes 91

Chapter 5: Using DRA in Knowledge Automation Projects 93

DRA in Project Management 94

DRA in Knowledge Discovery 107

DRA in Design 115

DRA in Implementation 124

The Knowledge Production Line 131

Notes 133

Chapter 6: Common Decision Patterns 135

Implementation Types 135

Collaborative Decision–Making 147

Conclusion 155

Glossary 159

Suggested Reading 167

About the Author 171

Index 173

ALAN N. FISH is Principal Consultant in Decision Solutions with FICO: the leader in Decision Management. He is an authority in the use of business rules for decision management with innovations including new methodologies for decision service analysis, design, and development, in particular the technique of Decision Requirements Analysis (DRA). He has over twenty–five years of experience in implementing decision–making systems and has been responsible for many significant IT projects at the forefront of current technology. He has published numerous papers covering such diverse topics as rule–based systems, multi–agent systems, human factors, robotics, and process management.