IT support for e-Rulemaking
Giosupport
Wiederhold for
Comp.Science,
EE, Medicine
IT
e-Rulemaking
Law Civil
and Environmental
Eng.
GioKincho
Wiederhold
_ Stanford
CSD,EE, Medicine
RegNet, RegBase @ Stanford University
Tasks
1. Rule making
2. Rule retrieval and storage
3. Rule validation
4. Processing of rules
All form a closed loop with the public
7/26/2016
ERulemaking
Gio 1
Rule making
Interaction with the public
• Representation: text
• Legacy input: text,
footnotes & tables
• Dissemination:
text & multimedia
• Feedback: text
• Volume: Large
• Formats: Varying
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ERulemaking
Gio 2
Text Parsing and Structuring
XML
Structured
Document
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ERulemaking
Gio 3
Rule Storage & Retrieval
Storing is easy, will be distributed at autonomous sites
Rules Linkage is Essential
– Within in the documents
– Among documents from different sources
• Linkages form arbitrary networks
– Should be preprocessed
• Textual storage is ordered
• Relational DBs link at query time
– Too hard for users
• Volume: Modest
• Format: Network Structured
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ERulemaking
Gio 4
Stanford Regulation Assistance System
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ERulemaking
Gio 5
Rule validation
Support at multiple levels
• Experts
• Public
• Formal processing to locate
– Conflicts
– Incompleteness


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Intent
Ignorance
• Volume: Modest
• Format: various structures
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ERulemaking
Gio 6
Automatic display of related Information
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ERulemaking
Gio 7
Rule Processing
Requires a formal representation
– Processable Rules ECA, ...
• If S1 & C then S2 else S3
– State tables (UML)
– Decision Tables
– Algebraic properties
for composition
Connect to models
• Volume: eventually large
• Format: Research topic, to be formal
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ERulemaking
Gio 8
Linkage for Automation
Rules processing services accessible to applications
• Help to proposals and forms preparation
Validation during the design process avoids rework
Completeness checking
Deadlock A:Step x precedes y - .B step y precedes x
• Performance-oriented rather than prescriptive rules
ADA compliance
Pollution tradeoffs
• Validation by Regulatory agencies
Reduced pressure on officials
7/26/2016
ERulemaking
Gio 9
Online Code
Compliance
Checking
Virtual
Simulation
7/26/2016
ERulemaking
Gio 10
Privacy Protection
Objective:
• Prevent the release of private & proprietary data
Setting:
• Broad public access, inter-linked systems
Cannot be achieved by Access Control alone
Release Control: Also filter outgoing information
• More costly: Release can & must inspect contents
• More secure: Access control only checks metadata
Use the tools that are right, not the one you happen to have
7/26/2016
ERulemaking
Gio 11
Symmetric Solution
www.2ST.com
Symmetric checking both of access to data and
the subsequent release of data
• Access Control with authentication and
authorization of collaborators upon entry
• Content-based release filtering of data
when exiting the secure perimeter
7/26/2016
ERulemaking
Gio 12
Conclusion
Regulations will stress Computer Science
• Complexity rather than Volume
• Multiple representations need transforms
• Validation and processing require formality
IT capabilities will continue to change:
Do not get stuck in perfecting an early phase
Concern:
Automation should serve, not inhibit Flexibility
7/26/2016
ERulemaking
Gio 13