Designing Services, Messages &
Business Rules for eBusiness
Graham Witt
Topics
 Some background

Why this project was a bit different

The techniques we used

Managing change

Lessons and benefits

Further reading
© Graham Witt 2012
Slide 2
Some background

The client:
 NSW Land & Property Information
• their examples reproduced with thanks

The overall requirement:
 a set of services, to support supply of information
• by industry to government (B2G)
• by government to industry (G2B)
 incoming information governed by numerous business rules

Implications:
 Business rules need to be:
• implemented in multiple platforms
• visible to multiple stakeholders (as far upstream as possible)
© Graham Witt 2012
Slide 3
Business rule visibility across the end-to-end process
Client
Financial
institution
systems
Subscriber Certifier
Industry
case
management
systems
Electronic
Lodgement
Network
Common
data
standard
LR
Prelodgement
acceptability
checks
Electronic
lodgement &
registration
systems
Land Registry Business Rule Book

To avoid rework data compliance should be checked as early as possible

Industry therefore needs access to Land Registry business rules
© Mathew Cooper / Graham Witt 2012
Slide 4
The challenge

To convert from
 unstructured information with accompanying
supporting evidence, to
 structured data for automated compliance
checking

To convert from
 manual compliance checking by expert
examiners at the Land Registry, to
 compliance checking by industry

To automate manual compliance checking
 in industry and the Land Registry
© Mathew Cooper / Graham Witt 2012
Slide 5
Information flow

Paper conveyancing: “show me”

Electronic conveyancing: “tell me”
‘Paper curtain’
Instrument
Certification
Digital
Signing
Registry
Instrument
Registry
Instrument
Registry
Instrument
Notice of
Sale
Lodgement
Instruction
Lodgement Case
Client
Client
Identity
Verification
Subscriber Certifier
Client
Authorisation
Agreement
Control of
Right to
Deal
Supporting Evidence
Subscriber
System
© Mathew Cooper / Graham Witt 2012
E
L
N
LR
Land Registry
Transaction
Services
Slide 6
Topics

Some background
 Why this project was a bit different

The techniques we used

Managing change

Lessons and benefits

Further reading
© Graham Witt 2012
Slide 7
A generic system
© Graham Witt 2010 - 2012
Slide 8
A typical system
© Graham Witt 2010 - 2012
Slide 9
This system
© Graham Witt 2010 - 2012
Slide 10
Topics

Some background

Why this project was a bit different
 The techniques we used

Managing change

Lessons and benefits

Further reading
© Graham Witt 2012
Slide 11
Techniques

Standardised terminology (common agreed vocabulary)

Business-friendly service definitions
 Service Use Cases aka Message Use Cases
 BPMN process models where service logic complex

Business-friendly message descriptions
 Business-friendly notations
 Design component re-use

Natural language business rule statements
 Catalogued against data items
© Graham Witt 2012
Slide 12
Standardised terminology

For all artefacts
 Services
 Message types
 Data items
 Data types
 Processes

Agreed Terms, compatible with current industry terminology, with:
 agreed definitions (intensional)
 synonyms (allowed and prohibited)
 exclusions (“as distinct from”)

Taxonomic relationships between Terms, e.g.,
 Person is a category of Party

Fact types, linking Terms using verb phrases, e.g.,
 Document specifies Transacting Party
© Graham Witt 2010 - 2012
Slide 13
Service Use Cases – 1
© Graham Witt 2012
Slide 14
Service Use Cases – 2
© Graham Witt 2012
Slide 15
Service Use Cases – 3
etc.
© Graham Witt 2012
Slide 16
BPMN process models
© Graham Witt 2010 - 2012
Slide 17
Business-friendly message descriptions

Describe content of message types in terms of
 data items
 relationships between them
 cardinality and some content rules

Various textual and diagrammatic representations tried
 Entity-Relationship diagrams
 XMLSpy diagrams
 “Hand crafted” structure diagrams (in Visio)
 “High-level” block diagrams
 Hierarchic block diagrams with legal numbering
© Graham Witt 2012
Slide 18
“High-level” block diagram
© Graham Witt 2010 - 2012
Slide 19
Hierarchic block diagram with legal numbering
© Graham Witt 2010 - 2012
Slide 20
Data types – 1

Reusable data objects, i.e., that appear in multiple places in messages

May be simple, e.g.,

May be complex, e.g.
© Graham Witt 2010 - 2012
Slide 21
Data types – 2

May be part of a taxonomy, e.g.,
© Graham Witt 2010 - 2012
Slide 22
Message types

Consist of data items that either:
 have a data type, or
 are composed of other data items
© Graham Witt 2010 - 2012
Slide 23
Natural language business rule statements – 1




Constrained natural language
 Standardised terminology (terms and verb phrases)
 Standardised syntax
Allows for easier checking of duplicates, contradictions etc
Can be understood by business stakeholders and information providers as well
as developers
Each catalogued against relevant data item
© Graham Witt 2010 - 2012
Slide 24
Natural language business rule statements – 2

Also full form of rule statement
 Stand-alone (requires complete context)
 Can be used as error message expressing desired condition
© Graham Witt 2010 - 2012
Slide 25
Topics

Some background

Why this project was a bit different

The techniques we used
 Managing change

Lessons and benefits

Further reading
© Graham Witt 2012
Slide 26
Managing change

No repository dealing with all this and change

Considered wiki approach: need relatively stable position for this to work

Many reviewers
 so needed accessible well-understood documentation and review platform

MSWord allowed:
 version deltas (revision marks)
 reviewers’ proposed changes (revision marks)
 reviewers’ comments (comments)
 hyperlinks for navigation within and between documents

PDF allowed:
 publication of final versions

Version number/folder discipline:
 Published\...vn.00
 WIP\...vn.mmaa (e.g., v2.01GW, v2.02PN)
© Graham Witt 2012
Slide 27
Topics

Some background

Why this project was a bit different

The techniques we used

Managing change
 Lessons and benefits

Further reading
© Graham Witt 2012
Slide 28
Lessons and benefits
Lessons:

the importance of agreeing, defining and using a common glossary

the need for precision in language used

the need to define concepts, messages (data), services/processes and
business rules concurrently and iteratively, e.g.
 errors in message design identified during rule writing
Benefits:

simplification of existing processes

the business has been able to define, communicate, review and update its
requirements
© Mathew Cooper / Graham Witt 2012
Slide 29
A measure of success

NECDL, the national body tasked with implementing electronic conveyancing,
needed:
 a single common data standard
 a set of message types
incorporating the various state requirements

That body:
 determined the functional requirements for the national system
 used the NSW message and document schemas as the basis for the
common data standard
 adopted the NSW documentation techniques
 then incorporated each jurisdiction’s additional or different requirements
 to produce a common data standard for the National Electronic
Conveyancing System
© Graham Witt 2012
Slide 30
Topics

Some background

Why this project was a bit different

The techniques we used

Managing change

A measure of success
 Further reading
© Graham Witt 2012
Slide 31
Further reading – 2

http://www.elsevierdirect.com/product.jsp?isbn=9780126445510

http://mkp.com/news/writing-effective-business-rules-by-graham-witt
© Graham Witt 2012
Slide 32
Further reading

www.brcommunity.com/index.php
Slide 33
Any questions?
What?
Why?
How?
Where?
Who?
When?
graham.witt@ajilon.com.au
© Graham Witt 2012
Slide 34