Knowledge Automation

Knowledge Automation: How to Implement Decision Management in Business Processes describes 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. It includes Decision Requirements Analysis (DRA), a new method for taking the crucial first step in any IT project to implement decision management: defining a set of business decisions and identifying all the information—business knowledge and data—required to make those decisions.

• Describes all the stages in automating business processes, from business process modeling down to the implementation of decision services
• Addresses how to use business rules and predictive analytics to optimize and automate small, high-volume business decisions
• Proposes a simple "top-down" method for defining decision requirements and representing them in a single diagram
• Shows how clear requirements can allow decision management projects to be run with reduced risk and increased profit

Nontechnical and accessible, Knowledge Automation reveals how DRA is destined to become a standard technique in the business analysis and project management toolbox.

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.

KNOWLEDGE AUTOMATION How to Implement Decision Management in Business Processes

Organizations are constantly searching for ways to make their business processes more effective, less costly, and more agile, with strategies increasingly involving three technologies: decision management; business process management systems (BPMS); and service-oriented architectures (SOA). Providing a methodology that allows companies to create a simple and clear approach for defining business decision needs, Knowledge Automation is your one-stop how-to guide to understanding the intersection of these technologies.

Sharing his twenty-five years of decision management experience, author and renowned industry expert Alan Fish presents a pragmatic and straightforward guide to help CFOs, CIOs, and technology managers use business rules and predictive analytics to optimize and automate small, high-volume business decisions. It describes Decision Requirements Analysis (DRA), a new, quick, and simple-to-use method for defining a set of business decisions and identifying all the information—business knowledge and data—required to make those decisions.

Examining the levels of a knowledge automation project, from the very top—the motivating business strategy—down to the techniques used to implement business knowledge in decision services, Knowledge Automation is your ultimate nontechnical guide to:

• How business processes can be redesigned to automate operational decision-making through the use of BPMS
• The most important technologies used for encapsulating business knowledge in decision services
• The principles of DRA and the Decision Requirements Diagram (DRD)—and how to run a structured workshop resulting in the creation of an automation-scoping document
• Using the DRD structure to scope, estimate, plan, and manage a project to implement a set of decision services

Exploring a simple method destined to become a standard technique in the business analysis and project management toolbox, Knowledge Automation explains how decisioning requirements can be represented in a single diagram and how the results of this analysis can be used to estimate delivery costs, manage projects efficiently, and facilitate system design.

KNOWLEDGE AUTOMATION How to Implement Decision Management in Business Processes

Organizations are constantly searching for ways to make their business processes more effective, less costly, and more agile, with strategies increasingly involving three technologies: decision management; business process management systems (BPMS); and service-oriented architectures (SOA). Providing a methodology that allows companies to create a simple and clear approach for defining business decision needs, Knowledge Automation is your one-stop how-to guide to understanding the intersection of these technologies.

Sharing his twenty-five years of decision management experience, author and renowned industry expert Alan Fish presents a pragmatic and straightforward guide to help CFOs, CIOs, and technology managers use business rules and predictive analytics to optimize and automate small, high-volume business decisions. It describes Decision Requirements Analysis (DRA), a new, quick, and simple-to-use method for defining a set of business decisions and identifying all the information—business knowledge and data—required to make those decisions.

Examining the levels of a knowledge automation project, from the very top—the motivating business strategy—down to the techniques used to implement business knowledge in decision services, Knowledge Automation is your ultimate nontechnical guide to:

• How business processes can be redesigned to automate operational decision-making through the use of BPMS
• The most important technologies used for encapsulating business knowledge in decision services
• The principles of DRA and the Decision Requirements Diagram (DRD)—and how to run a structured workshop resulting in the creation of an automation-scoping document
• Using the DRD structure to scope, estimate, plan, and manage a project to implement a set of decision services

Exploring a simple method destined to become a standard technique in the business analysis and project management toolbox, Knowledge Automation explains how decisioning requirements can be represented in a single diagram and how the results of this analysis can be used to estimate delivery costs, manage projects efficiently, and facilitate system design.