The five fundamental principles of business rules

Business rules are the invisible force behind consistent decisions and efficient processes in every organisation. They determine how you translate business goals into concrete actions and ensure that everyone works according to the same rules. But what are the foundations of good business rules? In this article, we discuss the five basic principles of business rules.

Principle 1. Declarativity

Business rules are declarative. That means they establish what needs to happen, not how this is technically implemented.

For example:

Rule: ‘If a customer spends more than €100, they get free shipping.’

This rule describes the action (free shipping), but not the technical steps in your system to implement this.

This principle

• makes the business rules easy to understand: They speak the same language as the business, without technical complexity.
• makes the organisation flexible: Decision-making and operations are separate from each other. This allows you to adjust the underlying executive technology without changing the rule itself.

For example:

Whether a discount is applied via a webshop, a physical store or a mobile app, the rule remains the same: ‘10% discount on all products in January.’

Why is this important?

• Reusability: A rule can be used in multiple processes.
• Easy management: Adjustments only need to be made in one place.

Principle 3: Objectivity.

A good business rule leaves no room for interpretation. This prevents many misunderstandings. Complete and unambiguous rules are used in the same way by everyone and all systems within your organisation. Vague rules with room for interpretation are not applied in the same way by everyone.

For example:

Vague rule: ‘Customers with a high turnover receive a discount.’

Clear rule: ‘Customers with an annual turnover of more than €10,000 receive a 5% discount on new purchases.’

Complete rules offer:

• Consistency: Everyone understands the rules in the same way.
• Efficiency: Fewer errors and miscommunication.

This results in fairer and continuously reproducible processing, reducing your risk in the area of compliance and dissatisfied customers due to unequal treatment.

Bijvoorbeeld:
De regel “klanten met een jaaromzet van gelijk of meer dan € 10.000 krijgen 5% korting op nieuwe aankopen” en de regel “klanten met een jaaromzet van meer dan € 20.000 krijgen 7,5% korting” zijn niet mutually exclusive. Iemand met een omzet van € 25.000 heeft immers meer dan € 10.000 en meer dan € 20.000 omzet en zou dan recht hebben op 5% én 7,5% korting. Dit leidt tot verwarring en biedt niet alle klanten duidelijkheid. De regelset is pas volledig wanneer is vastgelegd dat klanten met een jaaromzet van minder dan € 10.000 geen korting ontvangen.

Principle 5. Adaptability

Company rules should be easy to adapt to changes in the market, legislation or internal strategies. This principle is essential in a dynamic environment where legislation and market conditions change rapidly.

For example:

Current rule: ‘VAT rate is 21%.’

Adjustment: If the government increases the rate to 23%, this change must be able to be implemented quickly and without too much effort.

How does this principle help?

• Flexibility: Respond quickly to new requirements or opportunities.
• Continuity: Minimises disruptions to business processes.

Conclusion

The five basic principles of business rules – declarativity, independence, objectivity, completeness and changeability – are the key to an efficient and scalable organisation. They ensure that your business rules do not remain loose guidelines, but form a solid basis for consistent decision-making and streamlined processes. It makes your decision-making understandable, consistent and future-proof.

Are your business rules already future-proof? We would be happy to show you how simple it can be in a personal demo.