Rating: 
Summary: A Must-Read for Business Rule Managers
Review: There are only a handful of classic books that define the data and information management industry. Barbara von Halle has now written two of those books. Business Rules Applied defines business rule development the same way that the Handbook of Relational Database Design defined data modeling and database design back in 1988. Business Rules Applied is a must-read for all professionals that are serious about managing their business rules.
Rating:
Summary: For experienced practitioners and implementors
Review: This is one of two books currently in print about business rules, and each book addresses the subject from a different perspective. The other book, Business Rules and Information Systems by Tony Morgan, is a better introduction because it assumes less technical knowledge. This book, however, has unique strengths that the other book doesn't, including:(1) A comprehensive approach to preparing for and implementing business rules as an enterprise-wide discipline. It accomplishes this by providing a life cycle approach to business rules development through ongoing management.
(2) The implementation approach is provided as a work breakdown structure, which significantly reduces your planning for an enterprise-wide initiative (or a pilot initiative based on a single project).
(3) There is an accompanying web site that provides additional papers, case studies and other materials that enhance the value of the book.
The introduction to business rules and concepts is perhaps too verbose, but is thorough. What this part of the book lacks in sparkling prose it more than compensates in detail. I particularly liked the chapter devoted to business rules methodology, which takes the concepts and applies them in a structured way. Another strong point is that the book provides many examples to reinforce points under discussion, and summarizes key information in easy-to-read tables. The illustrations that are sprinkled throughout the book also add clarity. If you're new to business rules the best book, in my opinion, is Morgan's Business Rules and Information Systems. However, after reading that book you'll also want this one if you are serious about implementing business rules because of the way Ms. von Halle has structured the flow and content. Also, the author is one of the pioneers in the business rules community, which adds considerable authority and credibility to her approach.
Rating:
Summary: For experienced practitioners and implementors
Review: This is one of two books currently in print about business rules, and each book addresses the subject from a different perspective. The other book, Business Rules and Information Systems by Tony Morgan, is a better introduction because it assumes less technical knowledge. This book, however, has unique strengths that the other book doesn't, including: (1) A comprehensive approach to preparing for and implementing business rules as an enterprise-wide discipline. It accomplishes this by providing a life cycle approach to business rules development through ongoing management.
(2) The implementation approach is provided as a work breakdown structure, which significantly reduces your planning for an enterprise-wide initiative (or a pilot initiative based on a single project).
(3) There is an accompanying web site that provides additional papers, case studies and other materials that enhance the value of the book.
The introduction to business rules and concepts is perhaps too verbose, but is thorough. What this part of the book lacks in sparkling prose it more than compensates in detail. I particularly liked the chapter devoted to business rules methodology, which takes the concepts and applies them in a structured way. Another strong point is that the book provides many examples to reinforce points under discussion, and summarizes key information in easy-to-read tables. The illustrations that are sprinkled throughout the book also add clarity. If you're new to business rules the best book, in my opinion, is Morgan's Business Rules and Information Systems. However, after reading that book you'll also want this one if you are serious about implementing business rules because of the way Ms. von Halle has structured the flow and content. Also, the author is one of the pioneers in the business rules community, which adds considerable authority and credibility to her approach.
Rating: 
Summary: Some good material, poorly edited
Review: This is the book I was waiting for. Before this book I spent hundreds of hours researching business rules on the internet and still didn't get the detailed material that this book contains. I agree with other reviewers that you can use this book to base a business rules implementation on, and you can also use it to teach business rules to your team. I think it has a perfect balance of implementation, concept and practical information and recommend it to anyone who is interested in business rules. I skimmed through the Morgan book that others have recommended and like it too, but it is basic and will not help you in implementation. This (von Halle) book is the one to get and it's the most complete book on the subject available.
Rating:
Summary: Business rules bible
Review: This is the book I was waiting for. Before this book I spent hundreds of hours researching business rules on the internet and still didn't get the detailed material that this book contains. I agree with other reviewers that you can use this book to base a business rules implementation on, and you can also use it to teach business rules to your team. I think it has a perfect balance of implementation, concept and practical information and recommend it to anyone who is interested in business rules. I skimmed through the Morgan book that others have recommended and like it too, but it is basic and will not help you in implementation. This (von Halle) book is the one to get and it's the most complete book on the subject available.
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