When Dr. E.F. Codd introduced the relational model forty years ago it brought about a new way of thinking about data and how it is stored in databases that resonates with us today. In The Decision Model: A Business Logic Framework Linking Business and Technology Barbera von Halle and David Pedersen have produced a seminal work that will have a similar effect on modeling business decisions and how we manage them. Indeed, the authors have borrowed heavily from Dr. Codd in describing the guiding principles and rules one should apply to arrive at a normalized decision model.

The authors put forth the case that "The Decision Model structure is based on the premise that business logic has its own existence, independent of how it is executed, where in the business it is executed, and whether or not its execution is implemented in automated systems. The Decision Model has a recognizable structure that is not the same as the structure of other kinds of models." (The emphasis is my own.)

To that end the authors introduce the motivations for the decision model and gradually build up its structure and notation to help the reader understand its purpose and the mechanics of describing business decisions. The heavy lifting comes when the authors get into the details behind the guiding principles that address "structured simplicity, the declaritive nature and optimal integrity" of decision models. Here the authors have done a great job of explaining the principles, with examples and discussion points to consider.

Not content with simply describing the decision model and its application the authors have also included commentaries from John Zachman, Mike Rosen, Bruce Silver, Daniel J. Worden, James Taylor, Brian Stucky, David L. Haslett and Tracy Matthias, and David Pedersen. The commentaries speak to a variety of enterprise architecture, management and application considerations for decision models.

The decision model, like the relational data model, employs a simple notation but it will require some time and practice to understand its nuances and how to apply it effectively. The Decision Model is an important reference work that I recommend putting into practice at the earliest opportunity.

N.B. An introduction to business decision modeling can be found in these RQNG articles by the authors: "What Business Analysts Need to Know about the Decision Model" parts one and two.