Policy-Oriented Enterprise Management: Computational Logic in SAP Software

1. Policy-oriented Enterprise Management (POEM) Steering committee meeting, September 18, 2007 Matthias Kaiser, Ph.D. Sr. Research Scientist SAP Research

2. Overview • Project vision and objectives regarding enterprise software • The value of computational logic applied to enterprise software • The Power of Poem: case study in policy-oriented management • Stanford technology for POEM • Research issues and collaboration • Identified target areas of POEM technology at SAP • Management and future work • Lessons learned and conclusions: open discussion

3. Project vision and objectives regarding enterprise software • Computational Logic • Algorithm = Logic + Control. • algorithm = problem description (logical part) • strategy to carry out useful computations on this description (control part) • Programmer is actually a domain expert who concentrates solely on the problem description • computational part is realized by the control strategy. • This programming paradigm is called declarative programming, implemented using computational logic • POEM idea is illustrated by enterprise physics metaphor

4. Advantages Of the use of computational logic in enterprise software • software is realized from specification rather than actual programming • a declarative approach facilitates uniform representation across domains and functionality on the basis of one reasoner • easy understandable declarations for humans and machines can be extended dynamically, simulation of new policies leads to easy exploration and realization of new business management • found solutions can be verified/proven and explained to users in case of inconsistencies

5. Advantages Of the use of computational logic in enterprise software • declarative programs are relatively easy to parallelize (e.g., using grid computing) for high scalability and efficiency • software support is easier and maintenance costs go down • instead of composing business processes prescriptively, they emerge based on declared goals, available functionality (services) and domain-relevant policies, all declared, which can be changed dynamically. • So processes can emerge the user/designer did not forsee.

6.  power of Poem presentation  outline of Stanford technology  outline of research issues and collaboration

7. Areas identified to particularly benefit from computational logic • enterprise SOA: processes emerge from user-declared business goals at runtime • business task management: flexible task interpretation and routing on dynamically changing criteria • automated system configuration: correct configuration, resolution of inconsistencies using logical spreadsheets • application areas of policies (business rules, pricing, GRC) easy-to-understand and maintain, dynamic, correctrule acquisition, representation, application, improvement. • HR and project management and administration • generation, verification and adaptation of provably correct software on the grounds of automated reasoning

8. Management and future work • access to SAP system by collaboration partners • resources for more collaboration • funding • collaboration with external partners from academia and industry

9. Future work with SAP groups for technical transfer • transfer of worked-out examples to a more SAP-relevant demonstrations • target SAP production groups: • A1s (system configuration, task management) • group of cto to bring innovative power of POEM into the discussion • more basic research is needed in the areas policy maintenance with respect to user interaction • more research in business process emergence based on real world SAP business objects/services • the benefit of logical spreadsheets has to be studied in real world settings including related research in rule creation, preference handling etc.

10. Further Information E-Mail-Address: matthias.kaiser@sap.com