Alan N. Fish 
Knowledge Automation 
How to Implement Decision Management in Business Processes

A proven decision management methodology for increased profits
and lowered risks

Knowledge Automation: How to Implement Decision Management in
Business Processes describes a simple but comprehensive
methodology for decision management projects, which use business
rules and predictive analytics to optimize and automate small,
high-volume business decisions. It includes Decision Requirements
Analysis (DRA), a new method for taking the crucial first step in
any IT project to implement decision management: defining a set of
business decisions and identifying all the
information–business knowledge and data–required to
make those decisions.

* Describes all the stages in automating business processes, from
business process modeling down to the implementation of decision
services

* Addresses how to use business rules and predictive analytics to
optimize and automate small, high-volume business decisions

* Proposes a simple ‘top-down’ method for defining decision
requirements and representing them in a single diagram

* Shows how clear requirements can allow decision management
projects to be run with reduced risk and increased profit

Nontechnical and accessible, Knowledge Automation reveals
how DRA is destined to become a standard technique in the business
analysis and project management toolbox.

Table of Content

Foreword ix

Preface xi

Acknowledgments xvii

Chapter 1: The Value of Knowledge 1

The Economics of Knowledge 1

The Knowledgeable Business 7

Notes 14

Chapter 2: Decisions in the Business Process 15

Business Process Modeling 16

Decision Points and Decision Services 17

Redesigning Process Decisions 20

Originations Process Template 33

Approaches to Process Design 36

Notes 39

Chapter 3: Encapsulating Knowledge in Decision Services 41

Business Rules 43

Algorithms 52

Predictive Analytics 56

Putting It All Together 65

Notes 68

Chapter 4: Decision Requirements Analysis 71

Principles 72

Decision Requirements Diagram 73

Draw 79

Notes 91

Chapter 5: Using DRA in Knowledge Automation Projects 93

DRA in Project Management 94

DRA in Knowledge Discovery 107

DRA in Design 115

DRA in Implementation 124

The Knowledge Production Line 131

Notes 133

Chapter 6: Common Decision Patterns 135

Implementation Types 135

Collaborative Decision-Making 147

Conclusion 155

Glossary 159

Suggested Reading 167

About the Author 171

Index 173

About the author

ALAN N. FISH is Principal Consultant in Decision Solutions with FICO: the leader in Decision Management. He is an authority in the use of business rules for decision management with innovations including new methodologies for decision service analysis, design, and development, in particular the technique of Decision Requirements Analysis (DRA). He has over twenty-five years of experience in implementing decision-making systems and has been responsible for many significant IT projects at the forefront of current technology. He has published numerous papers covering such diverse topics as rule-based systems, multi-agent systems, human factors, robotics, and process management.