A business rules engine is a software system that executes business rules in a runtime production environment. It creates an event when a specific business condition occurs. The event information can be fed into a companion, but separate, Business Process System (BPS) that is responsible for implementing appropriate business processes.
Business Rules Engine is part of the Business Rules Management (BRM) system that includes define, register, store, verify consistency, and define inter-rule relationship.
Generic Functional Requirements
Due to frequency of rule changes, the preferred approach should involve use of an inference engine, also referred to as data driven computation vs. more rigid procedural control. The inference engine should use three action states: match rules, select rules, and execute rules.
The rule definition should be in natural language with easy expandability. The rules should be implemented in conventional object oriented programming language.
Standards Support and Integration Considerations
The system should be designed to allow growth by adding functional elements utilizing standards based interfaces.
Key Design Considerations
Business Rules Engine / Business Rules Management system is a key infrastructure component and should be run locally (vs. a cloud service) and should be architected using high availability design considerations.