Agile IT Architecture

Eclipse Process Framework just integrated the Agile Business Rule Development plugin into the OpenUp library. This abrd_openup plugin addresses the development of business application using rule engine technology and Business Rule Management System. This is pre-release 1.0 but it already integrates a lot of content around rule discovery and analysis. I am working on the architecture track and will be able to deliver a new version in March. So any comments or contributions are welcome. Please download EPF and the OpenUp library and let me know your thoughts.

The Agile Business Rule Development methodology details all the different activities to develop a rule set, from rule discovery to rule set deployment and maintenance. We can group the set of activities into five groups. Those groups will be used to build an iterative approach to the development: Rule Discovery Rule Analysis Rule Authoring Rule Validation Rule Deployment The following diagram represents how the five groups of activities can be executed in a process flow using loops to implement short iterations. The rule set will grow following these cycles to get closer to the outcome expected by the business. Figure 1 Rule Set Development Life Cycle In the first loop, between Discovery and Analysis, the team harvests the rules from the business process description, the subject matter expert knowledge, legal documentation, use cases or any other source. This loop represents the first phase of the rule set construction. 1.1.1 Cycle 1: Harvesting This phase is lim