The Business Rules Approach and Its Effect on Software Testing

Codification and testing of business rules in application programs has historically been a challenge in software engineering. Many organizations have adopted the business rules approach to formalize and compartmentalize business rules as a separate component from application code. This article investigates and presents the effects of the business rules approach on testing activities in the software development life cycle at a Fortune 500 corporation. The findings suggest that the business rules approach has the potential to engage testing personnel early in the development process and to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of testing activities.