I was asked by BPM.com to share my thoughts of what to expect in 2019. Digital Decisioning and DMN will continue to play an essential role in BPM. I can see two major trends in this development:

1. Simplification. Representation of decision logic within business processes will be de-facto standardized using mainly simple DMN concepts such as decision tables and avoiding complex programming concepts. The simplified approaches such as “Goal-Oriented Decision Modeling” supported by OpenRules will continue to prevail in development of decision models incorporated into real-world business process models.
2. Addressing Complex Decision Optimization Problems. So far, human decision modelers were forced to describe exactly HOW to find a decision by handling all possible combinations of business factors using business rules with multiple exceptions on top of exceptions. More powerful decision engines will allow decision modelers to concentrate on WHAT instead of HOW and will automatically determine multiple feasible decisions and select the optimal decision.

I expect that in 2019 a model-based approach to decision modeling (as an alternative to the method-based approach) will start penetrating real-world decisioning applications. The examples of such approach are described here and here. As a vendor of the popular decision management product, we consider this approach as an important differentiator and OpenRules will continue its R&D in this direction.

Read what other people say: “The Year Ahead for BPM — 2019 Predictions from Top Influencers”