Business rules as alternative to custom code and customizing – Manage TCO better

Use rules instead of custom code or customizing to define the decision logic.
Enable the business users as domain experts to define the rules.
==> Keep the application stable and still keep the market speed.

Business Rules Framework plus (BRFplus) is a business rules management system in which one can model and display business rules in a business-oriented manner. The rules can support you in different areas in which you use custom code or customizing, for example in the following use cases:

• Logistics and Shipping: Parts management, duties calculations, pricing calculations
• Banking: Relationship based pricing, credit decisioning, scorecards
• Public Sector: Tax calculations, customs duties, land regulations, license fee calculations
• Insurance: New products, claims settlement, agent commissions
• Education: Fee calculations, course selections
• Healthcare: Patient monitoring, fraud detection, claims

TCO Benefits of BRFplus?

BRFplus allows the business to adapt quickly to changed market requirements in creating or adapting rules. This enhances productivity. In addition, it allows reducing the total cost of ownership (TCO) with the following aspects:

Rules modeling from business perspective
      = decrease in maintenance and testing efforts for business specifics

On-going maintenance and adjustments at low cost and low risk
      = sustainable solution and low administration cost from IT, thus freeing up capacity for other IT projects

BRFplus integral part of SAP NetWeaver
      = low costs for system maintenance and setup as it is covered with SAP NetWeaver activities

What is BRFplus?

Business users can define and process business rules themselves without destabilizing the application or using over-stretched IT resources but still improving process quality and compliance. BRF plus is an ABAP application available as of Enhancement Package 1 for SAP NetWeaver 7.0 and recommended as of its version with Enhancement Package 2 for SAP NetWeaver 7.0.

BRFplus provides the following:

• A comprehensive application programming interface (API) and user interface (UI) for modeling rules and to reuse these rules in different applications, for example in the following areas:
  • Decision support
  • Data validation and error detection
  • Classification and derivation
  • Matching
  • Calculation determination
• Separation of fix parts of an application (code) and flexible parts (rules) that are subject to more frequent changes
• Rules Definition for services, data validation and error correction, derivations and classifications, and calculations
• Possibility of being enhanced in the backend and the UI
• Features like simulation, trace, transport, as well as XML export and import (download/upload functionality to distribute to different systems possible in addition to transporting content)

Why using BRFplus?

Everything that goes beyond simple customizing tables and requires visibility should be transferred to a business rules modelling framework like BRFplus. It provides the strong advantages of simplifying customization and allowing business analysts to play a more meaningful role in setting up the details. You can benefit from the following advantages in general when using BRFplus:

• High degree of transparency in the business units
• Convenient graphical representation
• Reduced effort for customizing of settings that must be changed regularly through representation of rules
• Business users are enabled to model and deploy business logic by defining rules without support by IT
• Consistent and transparent business rules at one place
• Flexible frontend allows for role-based user experience

More Information on BRFplus

• Video

This introductory video explains the basic concept and principles of BRFplus also highlighting typical use cases.

• SAP Community Network (SCN)
  This page is a comprehensive collection of all available material grouped into introductory material, tutorials, conference sessions, publications, blogs, etc.
• SAP Library with Standard Product Documentation
  The linked docu contains the version for BRFplus in Enhancement Package 1 for SAP NetWeaver 7.30 as an example. You can navigate also to the specific version for your release at http://help.sap.com –>SAP NetWeaver  –> SAP NetWeaver Platform –> <Release> –> Application Help –> SAP NetWeaver Library: Function-Oriented View –> Application Server –> Application Server ABAP –> Other Services –> Services for Business Users –> Business Rule Framework plus (BRFplus)