InRule Technology, Inc. provider of InRule, the premier .NET solution for authoring, managing and executing business rules, today announced InRule Version 4.0. The rule authoring experience is simplified and personalized, enabling more business users to control the decision logic that supports their core activities and processes. This enables organizations to keep core logic of applications aligned with changing business needs, without custom programming. Many new features are the direct result of InRule user community meetings using an online bidding system that lets users bid “Rule Bucks” on potential product enhancements.

Business Rule Authoring As Familiar and Comfortable as Microsoft Word and Outlook
Forrester analyst John Rymer, checking in via Twitter, likes the “great usability enhancements” of InRule V41. These usability enhancements enable business users with easier and more intuitive navigation and include:

A look and feel similar to Microsoft Office applications including a ribbon, quick access toolbar, and an Outlook-style navigation bar. The Microsoft Office-like user experience provides familiar, consistent and predictable behavior.

Bookmarks, frequently-used lists, advanced searches and saved searches make navigation and editing easier for all business rule authors. 

Rule authors see everything they need and nothing they don’t: developer-oriented rule elements can be hidden from less technical rule authors, shielding business users from unnecessary complexity.

Extensible Model Makes InRule the Most Flexible Rule Authoring Environment
While other business rule management systems are often feature-rich but difficult to navigate, InRule’s deep functionality is coupled with a flexible, easily navigated interface. Developers can add, remove, or augment authoring functionality without extensive coding to create a custom authoring environment. InRule’s extensible framework allows the rule authoring environment to reflect industry-specific vocabulary and business-specific semantics and policies so that business rules are more readily understood and shared across the business. “This ability to make the rule environment a tightly coupled part of a broader environment is a very powerful one,” said industry expert James Taylor, CEO of Decision Management Solutions.

Developers can easily add custom authoring capabilities through Extensions. Extensions enable unique and varied functionality such as enforcing consistent naming standards or allowing users to open and save rule applications directly against any data store.  InRule Technology will enable licensed customers and partners to share Extensions with each other through its Community Forum.

Rule Execution Tracing Enables Business Analysts to Debug Rule Applications
InRule’s new trace visualization feature shows users the values of data going into and out of a given rule execution step, uses filters to focus on elements that are most important, and displays the trace stack for a particular rule element. Coupled with InRule’s real-time integrated testing capabilities, rule execution tracing simplifies testing and debugging for all rule authors.

Rich Web-Based Authoring Environments with Comprehensive Silverlight Controls
InRule provides more than 60 authoring controls, including Business Language, Decision Tables, all Actions and the Condition Editor for use with Silverlight, enabling the creation of a rich web-based authoring environment.

Ease of Use and Extensibility Make Business Rule Authoring Accessible to More Users
New functionality and features are nice to have, but only matter if they provide benefits. InRule’s innovative functionality and features deliver decisive benefits. InRule Version 4.0 enables broader adoption of business rule technology: from a flexible authoring environment to expanded debugging enhancements and to state of the art Silverlight support, InRule makes it easier for users to author and businesses to leverage the power of business rules.

Here are just a few of the ways users are getting more decisive results by leveraging rule technology:
A medical clinician manages rules that correlate medical data to predict possible diagnoses… the rules updated by an agricultural worker ensure food safety by tracking food “from farm to table”… a credit analyst updates her risk assessment scorecards in real time to reflect new regulations… 

All of these scenarios and many others are possible because InRule’s configurable, extensible interface makes rule authoring more accessible for business users and rule execution more decisive.