Enhancing usability of business rules in software systems: a comparative study of SBVR and DMN business rules writing methods

The usability of business rule representation methods is essential for ensuring the efficiency and effectiveness of software systems, particularly in software development life cycle (SDLC) activities like software testing. Business rules govern software behavior, ensuring consistency, accuracy, and compliance. This paper compares two business rule methods Semantics of Business Vocabulary and Rules (SBVR) and Decision Model and Notation (DMN) to assess their effectiveness in SDLC activities. While BPMN is widely used for modeling business processes, it lacks explicit business rule representation, leading to potential transparency and execution challenges. We evaluated SBVR and DMN to address these issues using seven key usability metrics: understandability, modifiability, ease of use, effectiveness, user satisfaction, efficiency, and learnability. We evaluated SBVR and DMN with 142 software engineering students in a crossover experiment involving two case studies: FLEX (academic management) and EU Rent (car reservation). Our findings indicate that DMN outperforms SBVR in several usability areas offering insights for developers, analysts, and system implementers.