Role: Rule Architect
The Rule Architect is responsible for defining and maintaining the structure of the rule-based application.
Extends: Architect
Role Sets: ABRD Roles
Relationships

Build Rule Project StructureDefine Rule Life CycleDefine Rule SetDefine Rule Set Life CycleDefine Rule Set Ownership and Access ControlDesign Business Object Models for Rule Engine ProcessingDetermine Rule ImplementationDevelop Business Rule Application ArchitectureIntegrate BRE Within the Service LayerPlan DeploymentArchitecture NotebookRule_Architect
Additionally Performs
Modifies
    Main Description

    A Rule Architect helps the team to: 

    • work together in an agile fashion,
    • jointly own the solution, and to
    • interface well with other parts of the organisation.

    The Rule Architect defines the structure and organisation of the rule-based system. Outside of the standard activities, skills, roles and responsibilities of a software architect, his role extends to:

    • Selecting the technology to ensure performance of the rule execution and usability of the BRMS platform
    • Designing the infrastructure necessary for editing rules, and producing one or several Rule Sets
    • Building the structure of rule projects, the dependencies on the executable domain object model.
    • Defining the decision services part of a SOA. Those services use Rule Sets.
    • Ensuring that the overall deployment organization of the rules makes sense from an application segmentation perspective
    • Ensuring optimization of rule execution
    • Establishing traceability for rules within the technical architecture
    • Ensuring rule reuse
    • Designing the structure of the rule repository (defining the required metadata customizations and possibly implementing the structure)
    • Developing the processes around repository management, rule life-cycle, rule set life-cycle, rule governance
    • Coordinating with application developers on system design, implementation and testing
    • Acting as a liaison between business and IT
    Staffing
    Skills

    Deep knowledge of BRMS, BPMS products, software engineering process, UML, application integration, JEE, .Net, and data to object mapping. Completed by the basic set of competencies such as:

    • Competent with structure, models, UML
    • Understands rule application infrastructure, EAI, SOA
    • Detail oriented
    • Diligent about enforcing standards
    • Works well with system designers, developers and testers
    Assignment Approaches

    The person in this role should be engaged in the project from start to finish.

    For smaller projects, a single person can act as both Architect and project manager. However, it is better to have these roles performed by different people to ensure that the pressures of one role does not cause neglect of the other role. The Architect and Project Manager must work together closely.

    For systems of scale, it is a common best practice to have an architecture board that is populated by the architects of each system, plus one or two chief architects.  In such cases, the members of the architecture board collectively play the role of the Architect.

    This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the
    Eclipse Public License V1.0, which accompanies this distribution.

    OpenUP Copyright

    ABRD Practice Copyright.