on 03-20-2012 10:33 PM
Hi,
I can't help noticing that most discussions on here are about BRF+ and there is very litte discussion around BRM.
Are many people using BRM? I'm currently using it as part of a CE BPM & PI project - I wondered how others are finding it?
Gareth.
Hi Gareth,
Yes there certainly are others using BRM. I have some customers I am working with currently - some using BRM alone and some using BRM as part of BPM. When we set up the new SCN spaces and subspaces we talked about separating BRFplus from BRM but decided in the end to keep them together. I can suggest a couple of reasons why you are seeing less BRM traffic in this forum... although there certainly are people posting here:
* Because BRM is often used in conjunction with BPM many of the BRM questions are likely to be entered on the BPM forum. I would suggest you monitor both forums if you aren't already.
* IMHO BRM is simpler to work with than BRFplus - if only because there are less component parts to work with - e.g. flow rules cover several equivalent expression types in BRFplus
* Because BRM is more request/response and does not make additional calls to e.g. databases within the rules there are fewer opportunities for failure.
* The BRM user interface (rules manager) is simpler
* There is a lot of activtity in BRFplus when particular solutions that include BRFplus are implemented - this can lead to peaks in activity
On the other hand I think it's useful understanding some of the challenges from both sides. The overall direction of the roadmap is for BRFplus and BRM to move towards each other, offering similar functionality and features over time, although what that means and when is something for the official roadmap. And of course rules design is a common challenge especially around decision tables which are probably the most commonly used rule type in both engines.
Hope that helps.
Regards,
Jocelyn
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Hi Jocelyn,
Thanks for the really comprehensive response, it's good to know I'm not the only one. I kind of assumed there was more content around BRF+ simply because it was based on the ABAP stack and that traditionally has wider usage than the equivalent Java stack and hence BRM.
Presently, I'm mostly using decision tables to support a complex BPM so I probably fit into a number of your use cases described above.
Thanks,
Gareth.
Hi Jocelyn,
I can see how that would increase adoption. I believe BRF+ is used in CRM and other ABAP based tech so understand why it is more prevalant for now.
My current project isn't too far away from what you describe although it is 7.1 PI (for now - I'm sure the customer will upgrade at some point.)
Generally, I believe the rationalisation of PI and CE (with BPM & BRM) to create the BPO platform is a smart move by SAP. There has been a bit of confusion and questioning around which of the two main platforms to leverage for certain functions as they have both offered aspects of similar functionality. 7.3 goes a long way to help resolve that and make it easier to guide customers on which aspect of their landscape should be used in particular scenarios.
Thanks,
Gareth.
Hi Jocelyn,
SAP BRM has two choice 1. SAP NetWeaver BRM (Java)
2. SAP NetWeaver BRFplus (ABAP)
Why can't we have clear & different name between SAP BRM & SAP NetWeaver BRM (Java)
like SAP BRM-> SAP Business Rule Engine or SAP BRMS (...System) & rest should be same.
For me it took some time to accept this fact & "used to it" . Whenever I read any document which say something about SAP BRM then I always have to depend upon the description (to be sure whether this document is related to "SAP BRM" or "SAP NetWeaver BRM (Java)" ).
regards, Rahul
Hi Rahul,
Ok well I know terminology is always confusing. But SAP BRM is not really one of the ways we describe BRMS engines at SAP ... we did have some small hiccups with the naming of this space in the new SAP Community Network and we've been working on getting those corrected. If you are finding other places where the term "SAP BRM" is being used please let me know and I'll take it up with the relevant parties.
We also did talk about splitting this space into two separate subspaces for SAP NetWeaver BRM and BRFplus but decided in the end that it would be very difficult to separate the existing content and there are also plenty of parallels in handling business rules regardless of which engine is being used, and the roadmap of both tools is to move towards each other (what that means and when is a whole other story of course).
We are also working on the rules of engagement for this space because yes it would help if everyone got into the habit of marking their posts as either BRM or BRFplus - although most people are generally quite good and making sure they indicate which one they mean already.
By the way the correct terminology for SAP's two Busines Rule Management Systems is:
* SAP NetWeaver BRM
* BRFplus
There is no term SAP BRM and no SAP NetWeaver BRFplus.
Hope that helps a little... and do please let us know if you are finding SAP BRM elsewhere because we can all do without that confusion.
Regards,
Jocelyn
We use BRM quite extensively in BPM mostly for determining recipients of tasks, but also for example date calculation based on decision tables holding lead time rules etc.
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Thanks Paul.
My main use so far is usually around decision tables, to replace old mapping spreadsheets in the processes I'm replacing with BPM. I've built a number of ruleflows in my own proof of concept applications but not needed to do anything that complicated in real customer solutions yet.
Gareth.
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