IBM Operational Decision Management
| Company type | Software product |
|---|---|
| Industry | Business rule management system, Business event processing |
| Predecessor | ILOG JRules, WebSphere Business Events |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Products | Business Rule Management System, Business Event Processing |
| Owner | IBM |
| Website | www |
IBM Operational Decision Manager (ODM) represents IBM's solution for Business Rule Management System (BRMS), incorporating capabilities for business event processing, including complex event handling.
IBM ODM can be installed either as a standalone product or hosted within the WebSphere Application Server environment. The latest release is version V8.11.0, issued in October 2022.
Rules
A business rule specifies the logic governing automated decisions, often reflecting organizational policies. These rules are processed to enable immediate decision-making based on predefined criteria.
Example
Consider a policy where a borrower's initial loan amount must not surpass three times their yearly income.
The corresponding Business Rule states:
if Loan > (Salary * 3) then disallow.
Events
A business event indicates a change in status communicated through messages. Event processing evaluates whether any responses are necessary and carries out the required actions.
Example
Notify the customer if a withdrawal causes their account balance to fall below zero.
Artifacts of IBM ODM
IBM ODM facilitates the development, administration, testing, and governance of both business rules and events, maintaining them in a centralized repository accessible to users and applications alike. This centralized storage enables swift updates to rules without needing to recompile software, thereby minimizing testing durations and ensuring consistent application of changes across systems.
Action rules
Action rules define specific logical conditions that trigger particular actions, expressed in Business Action Language (BAL) to enhance clarity and readability.
Examples
When a credit card transaction occurs outside the cardholder’s country, initiate a call to verify potential fraud.
If Country of Card Usage ≠ Customer's home country then send message to call customer.
For customers with overdraft limits:
If withdrawal causes account < $0 and overdraft allowed:
- permit transaction
otherwise:
- disallow transaction
Decision tables
Example
An insurance provider determines rates based on loan amount and credit rating.
| Loan Amount ($) | ||
| Credit Rating Group | Range | Insurance Rate (%) |
| A | Loan < 100,000 | 0.001 |
| 100,000 ≤ Loan < 200,000 | 0.002 | |
| 200,000 ≤ Loan < 300,000 | 0.003 | |
| Loan ≥ 300,000 | 0.005 | |
| B | Loan < 200,000 | 0.001 |
| 200,000 ≤ Loan < 300,000 | 0.002 | |
| Loan ≥ 300,000 | 0.004 |
For a group B customer applying for $250,000, the insurance rate would be 0.002%.
Rule flows
These specify the order in which rules are executed during processing.
Example
An insurance firm evaluates policy eligibility by considering:
- Applicant’s age
- Risk factors derived from speeding violations and accident history
- Customer profile score incorporating elements such as time since passing their driving test
Execution of each rule depends on outcomes from preceding rules. A rule flow is structured starting from an initial node through various decision points to a terminal node.
Score card
A statistical model that generates a numerical score for entities like customers or accounts based on consistent attributes. A typical example includes Credit scorecards.
Illustration
Scores are assigned to borrowers based on factors such as Age, Citizenship status, and Credit rating.
| Attribute | Range | Score | Expected Score | Reason code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Credit Rating | AA | 100 | 90 | |
| A | 90 | 90 | ||
| B | 70 | 90 | ||
| C | 40 | 90 | CREDIT_C | |
| CC | 10 | 90 | CREDIT CC | |
| Self-Employed Status | Yes | 10 | 30 | Self-employed |
| No | 30 | 30 |
Events
An event notification is generated whenever a designated state transition takes place.
Illustration
In a financial institution, clients exhibiting poor credit scores might be denied loan approval. Upon denial, an event initiates a notification to the client explaining the refusal and its rationale.
Summary
The fusion of Business Rules with Event management enables automated, instantaneous decision-making: events can activate rules, and the results of rules can produce new events.
Core Elements
IBM ODM comprises:
Decision Center
A centralized platform for storing and managing decision logic that directs system operations. It oversees the entire lifecycle of business rules and events, providing multiple user interfaces: Business Console designed for collaborative rule administration. Enterprise Console.
Decision Server
The execution environment responsible for running business rules and event processes.
Decision Server Rules
This module provides capabilities for designing and running business rules and automated decision workflows. Included is the Rules Designer, an Eclipse-based tool for building Decision Server Rules applications, supporting creation, editing, validation, testing, and deployment.
Decision Server Events
This component offers integrated resources for handling business events, featuring the Events Designer, an Eclipse-based application that assists in event modeling, development, testing, deployment, and upkeep.
Integration between Components
Rules are authored and maintained within Decision Center using interfaces such as Enterprise Console and Business Console. These rules are stored in a Repository that handles artifact management, access permissions, and version control. Subsequently, they are deployed to Decision Server for execution, monitoring, and analytics. Alternatively, direct deployment to Decision Server can be accomplished via Rule Designer or Event Designer.
System Requirements
Decision Server Rules supports distributed deployments on: - WebSphere Application Server (including Network Deployment and Express editions) - Tomcat - JBoss application server and JBoss Enterprise Application Platform - WebLogic Server - As shared or scoped Java EE application
It is also compatible with z/OS mainframe environments: - Standalone Rule Execution Server on z/OS - WebSphere Application Server for z/OS (both standard and Network Deployment)
Decision Server Events along with Decision Center run on: - WebSphere Application Server for z/OS (standard and Network Deployment)
Rules Designer operates within Eclipse or Eclipse-based IDEs.
Supported Platforms
Hardware and software prerequisites
Version history
Prior to the V7.5 release of ODM, the platform consisted of distinct products: ILOG JRules (acquired through ILOG) and WebSphere Business Events (acquired from Aptsoft).
| Version | Release Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1996 | Initial launch of JRules |
| 3.5 | May 2001 | Transitioned to an XML-based architecture |
| 4.0 | March 2002 | |
| 4.5 | Late 2002 | Introduced decision tables and a rule flow editor |
| 5.0 | 2005 | |
| 5.1 | June 2005 | |
| 6.0 | Early 2006 | Rolled out Rule Studio (an Eclipse-based editor) and Rule Team Server web application, replacing Rule Builder |
| 6.1 | Late 2006 | |
| 6.5 | January 2007 | Added Transparent Decision Services and semantic query capabilities |
| 6.6 | July 2007 | |
| 6.7 | February 2008 | |
| 7.0 | July 2009 | Introduced Decision Validation Services as a replacement for Rule Scenario Manager |
| 7.1 | June 2010 | |
| 7.5 | December 2011 | Marked the first unified ODM release supporting distributed and z/OS environments |
| 8.0 | June 2012 | Released Business Console featuring a social media–style user interface |
| 8.0.1 | December 2012 | Added Java bytecode generation, REST API for Rules Execution Server, and a high-performance engine for z/OS |
| 8.5 | June 2013 | Launched Decision Governance Framework and enhanced integration capabilities |
| 8.6 | June 2014 | Upgraded Business Console functionality |
| 8.7 | December 2014 | Further refined Business Console; reorganized packaging structure |
| 8.8 | November 2015 | Improved cross-version compatibility and Business Console features |
| 8.9.0 | March 2017 | Advanced DevOps automation and improved API management integration |
| 8.9.1 | November 2017 | Enhanced Business Console with detailed error reporting and Docker support |
| 8.9.2 | March 2018 | Added support for IBM Cloud Private; simplified product architecture; introduced free developer edition |
| 8.10.0 | December 2018 | Integrated decision modeling within Decision Center; updated Rule Designer to Eclipse version 4.7.3; offered trial edition for developers |
| 8.10.1 | March 2019 | Various enhancements to Decision Center |
| 8.10.2 | June 2019 | Enabled testing directly from Rule Designer; additional Decision Center improvements |
| 8.10.3 | December 2019 | Supported OpenID Connect authentication; boosted Decision Center performance |
| 8.10.4 | June 2020 | Improved incremental migration processes; configurable session timeout settings; Certified Kubernetes enhancements |
| 8.10.5 | December 2020 | REST API upgrades; maxRunningTime setting for RES; further Certified Kubernetes support |
| 8.11.0 | June 2022 | Released latest feature set updates |
| 9.0.0 | December 2024 | Current major version introducing new functionalities |
Websites claiming or suggesting that ODM is a notable piece of software
Technology Blog
James Taylor on Everything Decision Management
References
IBM Websphere Business Events
IBM WebSphere
WebSphere Application Server
WebSphere Application Server for z/OS
External links
- IBM Operational Decision Manager
- IBM ODM on Marketplace
- Whitepaper on WebSphere Operational Decision Management
- IBM ODM Version 8.5 Documentation
- IBM ODM LinkedIn Community
- ODM Change Management Webinar
- Enhancing Decisions with IBM WebSphere Operational Decision Management
- Adaptive Decision Automation on zEnterprise Using Business Rules and Events
- WebSphere Software Solutions
- Global WebSphere User Group
- ODM Accelerator for IBM Operational Decision Manager