Corticon Success at Unum Best Practices in Enterprise-Wide Deployment Bob Whyte 1
AGENDA Introduction Unum Timeline what happened when Evolution progressive change & lessons Business rules construction center of excellence vs distributed virtual team Business rules management keeping order at a higher level Business rules integration tying it all together Future where to now Q & A Abstract Unum, a leading employee benefits and life insurance provider, uses Corticon BRMS as an enterprise wide solution, touching most areas of the business. This session will discuss Unum s use of Corticon, the benefits provided, and the best practices learned, with a special focus on the organizational aspects to ensure success. 2
INTRODUCTION Bob Whyte Systems Consultant, Business Rules 36 years in business technology -- mostly IT, some non-it 31 years at UNUM 18 years interest in business rules 7 years full time in business rules various roles 3
. Unum Group consists of Unum US and Colonial Life in the United States and Unum UK in the United Kingdom. With primary offices in Chattanooga, Tenn., and Portland, Maine, Unum employs about 10,000 people worldwide. o Unum US is a market leader in group and individual disability benefits in the United States, and is one of the largest providers of group life and voluntary workplace benefits. o Colonial Life is one of the leading providers of voluntary worksite benefits, including disability, life, accident and critical illness coverage, in the United States. o Unum UK is a leading provider of income protection and critical illness coverage in the United Kingdom, and also offers dual benefit and life products and services. o More than 160 total years of experience in the Insurance Industry. o More than 25 million people and their families protected worldwide. o More than 800 applications to support a wide range of business areas. Products: o Disability Insurance: Short Term, Long Term o Life Insurance: Term, Universal, Whole o Supplemental Insurance: Accident, Critical Illness, Group Hospital Indemnity, MedSupport, Dental 4
TIMELINE Pre-2006 Disparate local application solutions 2006 Technology Methodology Organization Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) commitment SOA layers: rules, data, business function, UI Corticon selected Center of Excellence 2007 First production code implemented 2008/09 Recognized & promoted need for Business Rules Management (BRM) governance 2009/10 BRM implemented mandated 1/1/2011 architectural advances in implementation 2011 Virtual Practice Area (VPA), System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) enhanced integration Today 200+ Corticon decision services (ccj s) w/ 5000 business rules in forward leaning platform 5
EVOLUTION Ontology recapitulates phylogeny (wikipedia.org/wiki/recapitulation_theory) Our journey echoes the industry journey ( but don t push the metaphor!) Progressive incremental advances room to fail room to recover room to learn Start granular & local rules, rule engine, IT control Corticon center of excellence Guided by where it fits in architecture and vision Grow maturity CoE BRM VPA future have a roadmap involve the business Organize the big picture Business Rules Management (BRM), models, methodology Integrate architecture, data, methodology, organization, business models Future (more later ) Modeling decisions & business process models for traceable, transparent, responsive systems Fast path deliver agility to business put change closer to business Multi-layers & multi-technology integrate with multiple architectural layers & toolsets Pervasive embedded in business and architecture thinking Create your own ontology learn from others mature quicker use the tool triangle Technology Methodology Organization 6
BUSINESS RULES RULES CONSTRUCTION CONSTRUCTION Corticon Our primary rule technology In technology agnostic virtual decision services Sometimes coupled with other technologies Quick & easy to code suited to purpose granular tasks Good news o Need few people & hours to deliver quick, easy, inexpensive, controlled Bad news o Need few people & hours to deliver concentrated skill, vulnerable, isolated 7
BUSINESS RULES RULES CONSTRUCTION CONSTRUCTION (CONTINUED) Center of Excellence small specialist team 2007-2010 Lots of practice quick learning, maintains skills, nimble Rotate & cross-train resources build generic skills and general practitioners Application knowledge challenges not domain experts depend on domain for knowledge Disengaged from other construction teams & practices Virtual Practice Area distributed virtual team, multiple duties 2011-today Engaged with other construction teams & practices available to help other construction Build application knowledge & learn other practices Opportunities to exercise skills diluted challenge to acquire & maintain skills Scattered across organization challenge to cross-train and cross-support In either organization Standardize train cross-train build skill leaders expand knowledge involve in unfamiliar 8
BUSINESS RULES RULES MANAGEMENT MANAGEMENT Manage business rules with umbrella governance Business Rules Management (BRM) function physical or virtual team Document rules with uniform, transparent, business terminology and traceable method(s) The goal is simple make it easy to find em understand em communicate em know who owns em when & where you need em Business rules are a business & IT asset try doing your job without them treat them as such Integrate BRM with business glossary & data management Use standard terms 9
BUSINESS RULES RULES MANAGEMENT MANAGEMENT (CONTINUED) Organization Business Rule Management is a business and management function get a sponsor Have common rule repository(s) Have common rule format(s) Have common rule tracing ids, meta-data & processes Recognize that rules come in groups & contribute to decisions document them as such Keep the faith but be pragmatic zealotry about the new can turn people off Engage people to appreciate the value make their jobs easier & point to future gains 10
BUSINESS RULES RULES INTEGRATION INTEGRATION Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) Make business rules part of your architecture What is a rule without a decision to be part of? Just a statement. A decision = rule(s) + rule flow + data + interpretation at point in time + for a specific consumer Decisions are in a separate SOA service layer separate from process, UI, data, etc Decision services decide consumer services take action keep action out of decisions Data Result of a decision is a business object/entity consumed across service boundaries Result of a decision is passed and persisted Result of a decision should be traceable to business and rule management Therefore recognize the results of business decisions and rules in data model 11
BUSINESS RULES INTEGRATION (CONTINUED) Business Decision Modeling Model at decision level, not just granular rules include rules, rule flow, data, consumer needs Model business decisions in integration with business systems, process & data Model during requirements don t wait till construction System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Integrate decision service development into application design What business function is decision supporting? Use cases? Requirements? What decision does consumer service need? One at a time, or many at a time? Performance goals? Volatility, agility? Design for these goals, including appropriate agility design for speedy change if needed 12
BUSINESS RULES INTEGRATION (CONTINUED) Organization Rules like data are part of everyone s job but coding rules like managing databases is a specialized skill so find the balance for your organization between central specialists and distributed practitioners and involve the business IT can t do it without the business and find a business sponsor and organize for fast rule changes measured from business intent to production Successful business rule practice is a partnership between business & IT. Use the tool triangle to facilitate it. Technology Methodology Organization 13
FUTURE Business decision modeling? Integrate with Business Process Modeling (BPM) Fast path changes? Deliver changes to business outside normal SDLC cycle Business agility not just technological agility Measure from business intent to production Better business control? Move changes closer to business. IT should cut out the middle man as much as possible without giving up control 14
FUTURE (CONTINUED) Long term persistence of decision results? How did we reach a decision? Can we audit it? Reproduce it? Defend it? Explain it? Embedded decisions & rules? Put rule execution closer to where needed Implement decisions convenient to consumer. UI? Server? Mobile (disconnected)? 15
QUESTIONS QUESTIONS?? 2013 Unum Group. All rights reserved. Unum is a registered trademark and marketing brand of Unum Group and its insuring subsidiaries. Insurance products are underwritten by the subsidiaries of Unum Group. ADR1020-2013 16