DMN: what is Decision Model and Notation

If you could organize, in a clear and structured way, all possible options, wouldn’t decision-
making be easier? It is precisely this type of ability that the DMN provides.

Being a powerful resource, Decision Model and Notation is an application that ensures a
structured and standardized approach for companies to represent, understand and manage
business decisions.

Each choice has a logic involved. What the DMN favors the understanding of this rationality in a
visual way. A coherent approach to business management and decisions.

Understand more about the subject, start controlling the deliberations of your business and
have greater transparency in corporate operations.

Understanding DMN: Decision Model and Notation

Decision Model and Notation is a modeling language that offers a standard and understandable
way to visually represent business decision.

The DMN transforms data about business rules into knowledge. It is important because, many
times, the sequence of activities to deliver a result is different from the rules used in the
process.

Business rules, per se, are pre-established conditions to determine resolutions for different
situations. These rules vary in complexity. Manual and repetitive tasks have simple rules.
Complex tasks require rules that analyze various factors until they are solved.

The DMN is a method that standardizes the composition of decision tree diagrams by
automating the underlying logic. Although it can be used alone, it is commonly related to other
tools such as process modeling.

To understand better, let’s consider the procurement process. In the process modeling logic,
BPMN will describe all its steps, such as, for example, inventory checking, purchase request,
quotation, negotiation, approval, receipt of goods, among others.

The DMN focuses only on decision-making and not on procedures and tasks.

In practice, the BPMN defines the steps of the process, the DMN explains the reasons for
approvals or rejections. While the former models the flow of the process, the latter models the
set of business rules that govern that flow.

Why use a decision model and notation?

The use of the tool is suitable for all types of organizations, in all departments where decision-
making must be accurate and comply with legislation.

Currently, financial, environmental, and labor regulations have expanded the use of DMN.
Especially in organizations that carry out risk management.

Operational decisions have a high impact on operations, and can affect the company’s
performance. In this sense, the DMN contributes to making complex decisions easily
understandable, both for experts and laymen.

Another important point is that, by automating the decision-making process, there is a
reduction in the time needed to make decisions. Consequently, there is greater agility,
efficiency, and decisions are more accurate and reliable.

When there is greater clarity and understanding about the rules of the business, there is
greater understanding of the factors that determine the decision. This strategy favors the
transfer of knowledge between teams and collaboration between different areas of the
business, making all efforts directed to the same goals.

Benefits of DMN

Using this type of tool not only allows you to model, but to implement an interchangeable
decision model across the organization.

Among the advantages that can be obtained, the following stand out:

• Standardization: representations of decisions are standardized so that there is a clear and consistent understanding of the parties involved. It encourages collaboration and avoids ambiguities of interpretation;
• More efficient processes: modeling and optimizing business decisions allows you to identify and eliminate redundancies, make decisions quickly, and increase the efficiency of processes and the entire operation;
• Agile and accurate decision-making: with detailed representations, the analysis of stipulated variables makes the decision-making process faster. Mainly, because they are based on pre-defined criteria and relevant information.

Elements that make up the Decision Model and Notation

The DMN is basically composed of 4 elements of representation, namely:

• Decision: action of choosing between different options, based on the available information and established business rules;
• Business Knowledge Model: It is a source of knowledge within the business. It has the function of storing the origin of the information. For example, decision table, rule or norm;
• Data input: information provided to the decision model that serves as a basis for the evaluation and generation of the result;
• Knowledge source: are the standards, policies, regulations, decision-makers and the business culture consulted for the decision-making to be carried out.

DMN in my business

Who wouldn’t want to have the decision-making process facilitated?

The DMN standard defines the requirements for effectively modeling business decisions,
including identifying stakeholders, separating documentation, defining evaluation criteria, and
performance metrics.

The model identifies decisions at the logical level, separate from the underlying technical
implementations, and uses formal expression language.

Applying DMN in business follows a roadmap that involves:

1. Identification of critical decisions: the first step is to identify the critical decisions that are part of the most relevant business processes;
2. Mapping and documentation: Mapping and documenting the decision-making process associated with each of the critical decisions. It involves finding the guidelines used, the data needed, and the results of each choice;
3. DMN modeling: decisions are represented graphically with business rules and associated logics;
4. Validation: testing and validating the effectiveness of representation in decision-making. Perform simulations, impact analysis, or use experts to perform reviews;
5. Integration with processes: for there to be benefits, the DMN must be interconnected to business operations. That is, configured as a decision support system and workflow automation;
6. Continuous improvement: once implemented, it is necessary to monitor the result of decisions over time. Analysis of performance metrics and updates to models are necessary to adjust according to changes in the business environment.

The DMN ensures greater control and transparency to operations, having a significant impact
on automated activities.

There is no doubt that adopting this mapping and notation model brings a number of benefits.
With the DMN, your processes become much more efficient, with clear and accurate decisions.

Take advantage of the best of both solutions, try the Fusion Platform and revolutionize the development of digital solutions.