Design of a unified data with business rules storage model for OLTP and OLAP systems

This paper reviews the literature concerning the practice of using Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) systems to recall information stored by Online Transactional Processing (OLTP) systems. Such a review provides a basis for discussion on the need for the information that are recalled through OLAP systems to maintain the contexts of transactions with the data captured by the respective OLTP system. The paper observes an industry trend involving the use of OLTP systems to process information into data, which are then stored in databases without the business rules that were used to process information and data stored in OLTP databases without associated business rules. This includes the necessitation of a practice, whereby, sets of business rules are used to extract, cleanse, transform and load data from disparate OLTP systems into OLAP databases to support the requirements for complex reporting and analytics. These sets of business rules are usually not the same as business rules used to capture data in particular OLTP systems. The paper argues that, differences between the business rules used to interpret these same data sets, risk gaps in semantics between information captured by OLTP systems and information recalled through OLAP systems. Literature concerning the modeling of business transaction information as facts with context as part of the modelling of information systems were reviewed to identify design trends that are contributing to the design quality of OLTP and OLAP systems. The paper then argues that; the quality of OLTP and OLAP systems design has a critical dependency on the capture of facts with associated context, encoding facts with contexts into data with business rules, storage and sourcing of data with business rules, decoding data with business rules into the facts with the context and recall of facts with associated contexts. The paper proposes UBIRQ, a design model to aid the co-design of data with business rules storage for OLTP and OLAP purposes. The proposed design model provides the opportunity for the implementation and use of multi-purpose databases, and business rules stores for OLTP and OLAP systems. Such implementations would enable the use of OLTP systems to record and store data with executions of business rules, which will allow for the use of OLTP and OLAP systems to query data with business rules used to capture the data. Thereby ensuring information recalled via OLAP systems preserves the contexts of transactions as per the data captured by the respective OLTP system.

Die Bedeutung von Business Rules im Customer Relationship Management

Der Beitrag diskutiert Möglichkeiten zur Automatisierung von Kundenbeziehungsprozessen im Customer Relationship Management mit Hilfe von Business Rules. Anhand einer CRM-Architektur werden Anwendungsmöglichkeiten erörtert und am Beispiel einer Cross-Selling-Kampagne vertieft. Technische Aspekte werden dabei nicht im Detail betrachtet. Der Schwerpunkt liegt vielmehr in der Diskussion von Automatisierungs- und Integrationspotenzialen durch den Einsatz von Business Rules, wie sie in zunehmend individualisierten Kundenbeziehungen in Massenmärkten gegeben sind.

Extracting Business Rules through Static Analysis of the Source Code

Красимир Манев, Нели Манева, Хараламби Хараламбиев - Подходът с използване на бизнес правила (БП) беше въведен в края на миналия век, за да се улесни специфицирането на фирмен софтуер и да може той да задоволи по-добре нуждите на съответния бизнес. Днес повечето от целите на подхода са постигнати. Но усилията, в научно-изследователски и практически аспект, за постигане на „’формална основа за обратно извличане на БП от съществуващи системи “продължават. В статията е представен подход за извличане на БП от програмен код, базиран на методи за статичен анализ на кода. Посочени са някои предимства и недостатъци на такъв подход.

Ferramentas para optimização da solução NGIN da PT Inovação

Mestrado em Engenharia Informática

Adaptation and Localization of Open Source ERPs - The case of Parties in OFBiz

O software tem vindo a tornar-se uma parte importante de qualquer empresa, cobrindo várias áreas funcionais, tais como manufaturação, vendas ou recursos humanos. O facto de uma empresa possuir um software capaz de ligar todas ou a maior parte das suas áreas funcionais e de acomodar as suas regras de negócio permite que estas tenham acesso a dados em tempo real nos quais se podem basear para tomar decisões. Estes tipos de software podem ser categorizados como Enterprise resource planning (ERP). Tendo em conta que estes tipos de software têm um papel importante dentro de uma empresa, a aquisição dos mesmos é algo que deve ser bem estudado. As grandes empresas normalmente optam pela aquisição de soluções comerciais uma vez que estas tendem a ter mais funcionalidades, maior suporte e certificações. Os ERPs comerciais representam, no entanto, um esforço elevado para que a sua compra possa ser feita, o que limita a possibilidade de aquisição dos mesmos por parte de pequenas ou médias empresas. No entanto, tal como acontece com a maior parte dos tipos de software, existem alternativas open-source. Se nos colocássemos na posição de uma pequena empresa, a tentar iniciar o seu negócio em Portugal, que tipo de ERP seria suficiente para os nossos requisitos? Teríamos que optar por comprar uma solução comercial, ou uma solução open-source seria suficiente? E se optássemos por desenvolver uma solução à medida? Esta tese irá responder a estas questões focando-se apenas num dos componentes base de qualquer ERP, a gestão de entidades. O componente de gestão de entidades é responsável por gerir todas as entidades com as quais a empresa interage abrangindo colaboradores, clientes, fornecedores, etc. A nível de funcionalidades será feita uma comparação entre um ERP comercial e um ERP open-source. Como os ERPs tendem a ser soluções muito genéricas é comum que estes não implementem todos os requisitos de um negócio em particular, como tal os ERPs precisam de ser extensíveis e adaptáveis. Para perceber até que ponto a solução open-source é extensível será feita uma análise técnica ao seu código fonte e será feita uma implementação parcial de um gerador de ficheiros de auditoria requerido pela lei Portuguesa, o SAF-T (PT). Ao estudar e adaptar a solução open-source podemos especificar o que teria que ser desenvolvido para podermos criar uma solução à medida de raiz.

Towards the design and implementation of aspect-oriented programming for spreadsheets

A spreadsheet usually starts as a simple and singleuser software artifact, but, as frequent as in other software systems, quickly evolves into a complex system developed by many actors. Often, different users work on different aspects of the same spreadsheet: while a secretary may be only involved in adding plain data to the spreadsheet, an accountant may define new business rules, while an engineer may need to adapt the spreadsheet content so it can be used by other software systems.Unfortunately,spreadsheetsystemsdonotoffermodular mechanisms, and as a consequence, some of the previous tasks may be defined by adding intrusive “code” to the spreadsheet. In this paper we go through the design and implementation of an aspect-oriented language for spreadsheets so that users can work on different aspects of a spreadsheet in a modular way. For example, aspects can be defined in order to introduce new business rules to an existing spreadsheet, or to manipulate the spreadsheet data to be ported to another system. Aspects are defined as aspect-oriented program specifications that are dynamically woven into the underlying spreadsheet by an aspect weaver. In this aspect-oriented style of spreadsheet development, differentusers develop,orreuse,aspects withoutaddingintrusive code to the original spreadsheet. Such code is added/executed by the spreadsheet weaving mechanism proposed in this paper.

Web-based Implementation of Winter Maintenance Decision Support System Using GIS and Remote Sensing, May 2005

Winter maintenance, particularly snow removal and the stress of snow removal materials on public structures, is an enormous budgetary burden on municipalities and nongovernmental maintenance organizations in cold climates. Lately, geospatial technologies such as remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS), and decision support tools are roviding a valuable tool for planning snow removal operations. A few researchers recently used geospatial technologies to develop winter maintenance tools. However, most of these winter maintenance tools, while having the potential to address some of these information needs, are not typically placed in the hands of planners and other interested stakeholders. Most tools are not constructed with a nontechnical user in mind and lack an easyto-use, easily understood interface. A major goal of this project was to implement a web-based Winter Maintenance Decision Support System (WMDSS) that enhances the capacity of stakeholders (city/county planners, resource managers, transportation personnel, citizens, and policy makers) to evaluate different procedures for managing snow removal assets optimally. This was accomplished by integrating geospatial analytical techniques (GIS and remote sensing), the existing snow removal asset management system, and webbased spatial decision support systems. The web-based system was implemented using the ESRI ArcIMS ActiveX Connector and related web technologies, such as Active Server Pages, JavaScript, HTML, and XML. The expert knowledge on snow removal procedures is gathered and integrated into the system in the form of encoded business rules using Visual Rule Studio. The system developed not only manages the resources but also provides expert advice to assist complex decision making, such as routing, optimal resource allocation, and monitoring live weather information. This system was developed in collaboration with Black Hawk County, IA, the city of Columbia, MO, and the Iowa Department of transportation. This product was also demonstrated for these agencies to improve the usability and applicability of the system.

MiLoc-Sys Mobile: gestão em locação

Companies that invest in current technologies maintain themselves updated, improve their business rules and anticipate themselves against rivals providing a better service to their customers. This project aims to develop an ERP - Enterprise Resource Planning module for Android which complements an existing manager system and, that attends the needs of a rental equipment business for civil building, i.e., it improves the communication channel company-client and betters the identification and control of products. During the developing of this project, it was necessary to study the company business rules, analyze the requirements and the appropriate technologies. This project was organized in two parts, contemplating e ach of these needs. It were implemented specific modules for generate budgets and pre-orders in the first part and, the use of radiofrequency tags in the second one. Thus, it was possible to assign mobility to company business rules so that a better rental service can be provided and the equipments can be better managed

Reference model for implementing an MRP system in a highly diverse component and seasonal lean production environment

Companies are currently choosing to integrate logics and systems to achieve better solutions. These combinations also include companies striving to join the logic of material requirement planning (MRP) system with the systems of lean production. The purpose of this article was to design an MRP as part of the implementation of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) in a company that produces agricultural implements, which has used the lean production system since 1998. This proposal is based on the innovation theory, theory networks, lean production systems, ERP systems and the hybrid production systems, which use both components and MRP systems, as concepts of lean production systems. The analytical approach of innovation networks enables verification of the links and relationships among the companies and departments of the same corporation. The analysis begins with the MRP implementation project carried out in a Brazilian metallurgical company and follows through the operationalisation of the MRP project, until its production stabilisation. The main point is that the MRP system should help the company's operations with regard to its effective agility to respond in time to demand fluctuations, facilitating the creation process and controlling the branch offices in other countries that use components produced in the matrix, hence ensuring more accurate estimates of stockpiles. Consequently, it presents the enterprise knowledge development organisational modelling methodology in order to represent further models (goals, actors and resources, business rules, business process and concepts) that should be included in this MRP implementation process for the new configuration of the production system.

La consulenza in materia di investimenti

Il lavoro propone un’analisi critica delle disciplina italiana ed europea della consulenza in materia di investimenti. Si considerano innanzitutto le problematiche generali del rapporto tra cliente e intermediario nella prestazione della consulenza, con particolare riferimento ad asimmetrie informative e conflitti di interesse. Si discute, in particolare, il tradizionale paradigma regolamentare fondato sulla trasparenza: le indicazioni della finanza comportamentale suggeriscono, infatti, un intervento normativo più deciso, volto a caratterizzare in maniera fiduciaria la relazione tra cliente e intermediario. Dopo aver analizzato, alla stregua dei modelli teorici illustrati in precedenza, l’evoluzione storica della disciplina della consulenza nell’ordinamento italiano, si sottolinea il ruolo svolto dall’autorità di vigilanza nella sistematizzazione dell’istituto, nel contempo rilevando, tuttavia, la complessiva insufficienza delle norme vigenti al fine di un’adeguata tutela dell’investitore. Si esamina poi la disciplina introdotta dalla MiFID, con specifica attenzione alle implicazioni sistematiche dell’estensione della nozione di consulenza operata dalle autorità di vigilanza: la nuova configurazione del servizio ha determinato un’intensificazione dei doveri fiduciari imposti agli intermediari, testimoniando un superamento del paradigma di trasparenza e un percorso indirizzato verso un approccio maggiormente interventista sul lato dell’offerta. Le conclusioni sono, peraltro, nel senso di uno sviluppo solo parziale di tale processo, risultando dubbio il valore per il cliente di una consulenza non indipendente e potenzialmente esposta, soprattutto negli intermediari polifunzionali, al conflitto di interessi. Particolare enfasi viene posta sulla necessità di introdurre un’effettiva consulenza indipendente, pur nelle difficoltà che la relativa disciplina incontra, anche in ragione delle caratteristiche specifiche del mercato, nell’ordinamento italiano.

Enhancing Evacuation Plans with a Situation Awareness System Based on End-User Knowledge Provision.

Recent disasters have shown that having clearly defined preventive procedures and decisions is a critical component that minimizes evacuation hazards and ensures a rapid and successful evolution of evacuation plans. In this context, we present our Situation-Aware System for enhancing Evacuation Plans (SASEP) system, which allows creating end-user business rules that technically support the specific events, conditions and actions related to evacuation plans. An experimental validation was carried out where 32 people faced a simulated emergency situation, 16 of them using SASEP and the other 16 using a legacy system based on static signs. From the results obtained, we compare both techniques and discuss in which situations SASEP offers a better evacuation route option, confirming that it is highly valuable when there is a threat in the evacuation route. In addition, a study about user satisfaction using both systems is presented showing in which cases the systems are assessed as satisfactory, relevant and not frustrating.

Extração de casos de teste utilizando Redes de Petri hierárquicas e validação de resultados utilizando OWL.

Este trabalho propõe dois métodos para teste de sistemas de software: o primeiro extrai ideias de teste de um modelo desenvolvido em rede de Petri hierárquica e o segundo valida os resultados após a realização dos testes utilizando um modelo em OWL-S. Estes processos aumentam a qualidade do sistema desenvolvido ao reduzir o risco de uma cobertura insuficiente ou teste incompleto de uma funcionalidade. A primeira técnica apresentada consiste de cinco etapas: i) avaliação do sistema e identificação dos módulos e entidades separáveis, ii) levantamento dos estados e transições, iii) modelagem do sistema (bottom-up), iv) validação do modelo criado avaliando o fluxo de cada funcionalidade e v) extração dos casos de teste usando uma das três coberturas de teste apresentada. O segundo método deve ser aplicado após a realização dos testes e possui cinco passos: i) primeiro constrói-se um modelo em OWL (Web Ontology Language) do sistema contendo todas as informações significativas sobre as regras de negócio da aplicação, identificando as classes, propriedades e axiomas que o regem; ii) em seguida o status inicial antes da execução é representado no modelo através da inserção das instâncias (indivíduos) presentes; iii) após a execução dos casos de testes, a situação do modelo deve ser atualizada inserindo (sem apagar as instâncias já existentes) as instâncias que representam a nova situação da aplicação; iv) próximo passo consiste em utilizar um reasoner para fazer as inferências do modelo OWL verificando se o modelo mantém a consistência, ou seja, se não existem erros na aplicação; v) finalmente, as instâncias do status inicial são comparadas com as instâncias do status final, verificando se os elementos foram alterados, criados ou apagados corretamente. O processo proposto é indicado principalmente para testes funcionais de caixa-preta, mas pode ser facilmente adaptado para testes em caixa branca. Obtiveram-se casos de testes semelhantes aos que seriam obtidos em uma análise manual mantendo a mesma cobertura do sistema. A validação provou-se condizente com os resultados esperados, bem como o modelo ontológico mostrouse bem fácil e intuitivo para aplicar manutenções.

The design and implementation of a repository for the management of spatial data integrity constraints

This paper reviews the key features of an environment to support domain users in spatial information system (SIS) development. It presents a full design and prototype implementation of a repository system for the storage and management of metadata, focusing on a subset of spatial data integrity constraint classes. The system is designed to support spatial system development and customization by users within the domain that the system will operate.

IT support for managing aircraft spares in a closed-loop supply chain

This paper reports on the development of elements of an e-supply chain management system for managing maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) relationships in the aerospace industry. A standard systems development methodology has been followed to produce a process model (i.e. the AMSCR model); an information model (i.e. business rules) and a computerised information management capability (i.e. automated optimisation). The proof of concept for this web-based MRO supply chain system has been established through the collaboration with a sample of the different types of supply chain members. The proven benefit is a reduction in the stock-holding costs for the whole supply chain whilst also minimising non-flying time of the aircraft that the supply chain supports. This type of system is now vital in an industry that has continuously decreasing profit margins, which in turn means pressure to reduce servicing times and increase the interval between maintenance actions.