Specifying Business Policy Using Agent-Contract Meta-Constructs

Abstract

Business policy is a set of rules, regulations, invariants and definitions that govern the behavior of an enterprise. It is typically formulated by business people and formalized by lawyers. Business policy is often written down. However, much policy exists only in the memories of those who work for or with an enterprise. Still other policy is embedded in the code of enterprise software systems.

Solution developers have long realized that software is a means of promulgating and enforcing business policy. Without a correct or complete understanding of that policy, software will not function as required by the business. In addition, software that indiscriminately mixes policy and technology is difficult to maintain and reuse. Finally, as the only place where much business policy is documented, software commonly becomes de facto policy.

For all of the importance of business policy to behavior in general and software in particular, it is curious that most businesses have no formal business policy management processes. It is ironic that the haphazard business policy management that is done is almost untouched by automation.

A new meta-model dubbed the “agent-contract” meta-model was created recently by the IBM Consulting Group in collaboration with several of IBM’s industry solution units. This model was created as a means to integrate of IBM’s existing and future industry models. During the development process, it became clear that this meta-model would also provide direct support for business policy analysis and management. This essay describes the major concepts in the meta-model and connects the work to the growing rules/invariants movement within the object community.