IDIOM Overview and Features
Models of decision making behavior are the most important knowledge that your business has about itself
Tool assisted decision definition
- All actions are point and click; so no syntax to learn.
- User only types in the names of things; no other keying is necessary.
- Naming is the users own, so a private vocabulary (an "idiom") is created.
- Graphical 'mind mapping' style GUI is used to create Decision Models
- Business rule operations are predefined, and are assembled using wizards in the graphical Formula palette.
Tool assisted testing
- Test data can be immediately created within the GUI and tested interactively.
- The Decision Model palette becomes a testing template for the user to verify the models produced.
- Step by step presentation of business rule operations can be used for finding logic errors.
- All tests can be recorded and may be used for subsequent regression testing.
Management and documentation
- The decision formulas can be generated into a 'logical English' form to be used as a business accessible 'source of truth', replacing expensive manually produced and unreliable documents and descriptions.
- When a decision formula is released, the formula is protected from further changes. All versions of a formula can be permanently retained.
- Formulas and internal tables are effective dated, with the application of effective dating managed by the tool.
- Extensive 'where used' capabilities assist impact analysis and rule maintenance.
- Complete audit trails of who changed what and when are available for all rule changes
- Release of decision models can be 'production managed' for secure and auditable promotion of new and changed decision models.
Technical capabilities
- The logic capabilities are extensive; if the logic can exist within the scope of the decision, then it can probably be defined.
- Internal or external reference data tables are supported.
- Fully compiled code ensures that runtime performance is fast; Decision Models are deployed as compiled components for the Java and/or .Net environments.
- Integration is simple. It is likely that IDIOM already has an actual or reference implementation of any needed integration wrapper (see the Customer Resources library).
- Decisions from different experts can be aggregated into a single application without penalty, allowing delegation of decision ownership to subject matter experts throughout the organization and out to business partners.
For more information, see the IDIOM Evaluation Criteria PDF.