Easy-to-understand Business Rules

Business Rules are easy to understand if all target readers can readily grasp their meaning. Target readers usually include fellow members of the development team, prospective end users and decision makers in the organization the system is built for. In addition, because Business Rules are intended to be used during the entire life-cycle of the target system, their target audience includes people who do not participate at the time a rule is first discovered or written.

These target groups inevitably have different backgrounds and interests. To make rules understandable to them all, try to find a happy medium between plain, everyday English (or any other language) and technical jargon.

Use plain, everyday English whenever possible, because this is most likely to make sense to most current and future readers. Avoid telegram style such as "2% Gold Card default discount". It is better to use full sentences that have a verb, for example, "Gold Card members get a discount of 2% on any product to which no other discount scheme applies."

Special terminology and technical jargon is acceptable if it is frequently used by target end users. When you build a medical system, if doctors constantly refer to questionnaire systems as a "tractus", do not try to find a different word but speak the language of the customer or end user. Make sure that you document the meaning of such technical keywords in USoft TeamWork so they can be understood by all. You can for example write down definitions of technical terms as separate Business Rules with Classification = 'DEFINITION', 'TERM', or 'TERMINOLOGY'.

On the other hand, do not simply copy into USoft TeamWork all the complex technical jargon you come across. Trying to reformulate technical sentences in plain English can be very helpful in clarifying meaning and appropriateness, even to the domain experts who wrote it.