A sign of a book being a pioneering work is that it takes a collection of existing ideas and combines them in a new way that prompts people to say, “Well of course. I could have thought of
that!” (But you didn’t.)
Barbara von Halle’s latest book, The Decision Model:
A Business Logic Framework Linking Business and Technology , co-authored with Larry Goldberg, is one of those. It is a very carefully crafted
work that takes the logic that was part of Barbara’s vast experience in business rules and transforms it into the fabric of business decisions. She moves from concern with making sure that
input data make logical sense to one of making sure that the decisions made from that data make logical sense.
The book presents a formal model for decision making that is similar to but not quite the same as much that has been written before. The “not quite the same as” is the addition of both
rigor and relevance to business decisions.
The book is extremely well written and well organized. Part One begins with two introductory chapters describing both why this model is important and its overall structure. The next four chapters
put this in the context of modern information technology practices (business process modeling, requirements analysis, and service oriented architecture). The last chapter of Part One is about using
the model in system development projects.
Part Two describes the model in meticulous detail. It is described in terms of seven “structural principles” (describing the “look and feel” of the model), three
“declarative principles” (making the model technology independent), and “integrity principles” (to ensure the structural, logical, and business-oriented integrity of the
decision model).
Part Three includes extensive commentaries on the model, including extensive discussions of its relationship with enterprise architecture, service oriented architecture, the business decision
maturity model, and others.
Altogether, this represents a significant addition to our industry’s body of knowledge.
The Decision Model: A Business Logic Framework
Linking Business and Technology
By Barbara von Halle & Larry Goldberg
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