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The Importance of Business Rules

Importance of Business Rules

The Importance of Business Rules

The Importance of Business Rules
by Behnam Ataee, CIO
Dream Warrior Design Group

Regulation is much more than consideration for laws of the land. It involves fine tuning and understanding the business and communication rules behind your E-Commerce startup. These rules are both formal and informal.

For instance, in the late 1980’s, I headed a team of designers and programmers in the creation of a concise, functional and user-friendly data management system.

Our client was a major corporate entity in its field of operation and they desperately needed to upgrade their data management process. We worked on the project for over eighteen (18) months.

By the time it was finished, I felt like a proud father. The outcome was everything promised and more. Subsequently, our code sat on the shelf for the better part of three years until it was ultimately implemented.

Unfortunately, what I had failed to realize were the facts facing me squarely in the face. The Corporate Culture (Organizational Behavior – Cultural Rules as a subset of Business Rules) of the end users did not approve of or want any change. Furthermore, this industry’s legal climate required testing measures far beyond anything that may be considered reasonable in any other business arena.

Most of these issues could have been accommodated within the information design process. For example, we could have (and on hindsight should have) created a user interface that would have been identical to the previous software they were so used to using. Our attempt at enhancing the usability had backfired.

While we asked for user input, we failed to involve those with “informal power” within this large organization or allowed them to test and provide feedback at intermediate points. Rather, the managers performed this function. Additionally, we could have (albeit with great difficulty) brought in State Officials to the process of development by providing constant updates and feedback.

This, as I learned subsequently, tends to increase the time of development by a small factor but decreases the approval process significantly. Ultimately, the project earned regulatory approval and was implemented statewide. Although over fifteen years old, the software is still in use today by one of the largest insurance companies in the United States.

As you can see, understanding the Environment (Regulations/Business Rules) is of paramount importance.

To create concise Business Rules for your E-Commerce, the first step is to ensure a clear understanding of your organization and the response to technology. Analyze the work habits of your company, this will tell you what level of automation you will need for your Web site. Next is your technical understanding, which will provide you with a measure of how much work should be outsourced or training considered. Then you must consider the financial rules you live by. Is your company experiencing Cash Flow issues? If so, you will want to consider when choosing your financial alternatives (i.e. having a viable E-Commerce site so that the funds are deposited into your account directly).

Another consideration is your privacy rules. Many privacy rules reflect a set of “fair information practices” first drafted in the 1970s.

Although formulations vary, basic components are:

• Notifying the person (a.k.a. “data subject”) that data is being collected.

• Giving the data subject choices about what is collected and how it may be used.

• Limiting what is collected, how it may be used and how long it is retained to what’s needed
for the original purpose.

• Ensuring the data is accurate, which includes allowing the data subject to review the data
and make corrections.

• Providing reasonable security from unauthorized access or modifications and ability to
verify compliance through audit trails.

In order to combat SPAM (Junk Mail) on the Internet, please feel free to contact us at Dream Warrior Design Group to learn more.
When thinking of the regulation dimension of your E-Commerce, I strongly recommend that you

• Outline all important business practices particular to your sector that you wish to have implemented for customer dealings.

Think of your own organization and its strengths and weaknesses. What is necessary
within the E-Commerce system and your organization to create synergy between the
E-Commerce system and your company’s culture.

• Find out about all relevant legal issues that may affect your business practice on and off
the Internet and ensure that the programmers implement these rules within your E-Commerce system.

• Assign someone to continually keep track of the laws and regulations with regard to your industry and Internet. This person will have to be able to create effective and understandable documentation from which the programmers can modify the E-Commerce system.

• Adhere to and display the privacy rules within your Web site. You must also understand the consequences of your choices.
For example, if your Site clearly states that you will resell people’s information for profit, expect a lot less people to sign up for anything you have to offer.
Regulations (Example Company)

• Only Products that are drop-shipped by vendor are resold

• Vendors are paid weekly

• Immediate payment by customer

• All of our inventory should go through a fulfillment house

• A webmaster should be assigned to handle the site

• An accountant should be assigned to verify and certify payments to vendors

• Customer information is strictly private and for internal use

As you develop proper regulation, you must also pay attention to other dimensions of your developing E-Commerce business.
In order to do so, you must be able to define your company, your product or service, advantages and shortcomings of your offerings and most importantly your audience and target client.

There is a specific set of questions to address. Many of these questions will integrate with the answers you have already provided with regard to regulation.

Go back and look at your business, privacy and financial rules once you have answered the following set of questions:
Purpose Questionnaire:

• What are you offering?

• Who needs it? (target client)

• Who else is selling it?

• How are they selling it?

• Why your product/service and not your competitor’s?

• How would a customer feel while making a purchase?

• How would the customer feel after they have bought it?

• Who would the customer turn to after they have purchased your product?
Purpose Questionnaire (Example Company)

• We sell online pay per use videos, music, games and short animations.

• Our target audience is between the ages of 13 and 30.

• Our largest competitor is Apple Corporation (in music arena).

• The competition uses three sales models: pay per play/pay per volume/membership.

• We are much less expensive in all three areas and we provide more comprehensive content.

• Customer should be able to make the purchase with ease and without unnecessary page changes.

• We provide customers with the means to make the purchase part of their permanent collection
for a nominal fee, and the combination of two fees is still less than the competition for those
who purchase more than 30 songs.

• The customer is assisted in all stages so they can choose, find and download exactly what they seek.

• We have an outsourced customer service center which will be there to assist the consumer
with all their questions regarding download.

Now that the purpose questionnaire has been answered, let us see how the rules might change.
Regulations Modified (Example Company)

• Only Products that are drop-shipped by vendor are resold.

• Vendors are paid weekly.

• Immediate payment by customer.

• Implementation of a membership model is essential thus we will need a membership section
and discounted pricing for members.

• An In-House Customer Service Representative is necessary to handle membership issues.

• All of our inventory should go through a fulfillment house.

• A webmaster should be assigned to handle the site.

• An accountant should be assigned to verify and certify payments to vendors.

• Customer information is strictly private and for internal use.

As you can see, your purpose has a direct effect on the business rules.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions or comments

Dream Warrior Design Group
Telephone: 818.610.3316
7131 Darby Ave Suite 203
Fax: 818.475.5144
Reseda, CA 91335 http://www.dreamwarrior.com

Copyright Dream Warrior Design Group, Inc. 1993 – 2009
Creative Commons License photo credit: ArtemFinland

Mind over Matter or Matter over Mind?

His Hand

Mind over Matter or Matter over Mind?

When one thinks one is basically a body then the universe seems quite frightening. One believes death is the end of everything and one is a creature. One wants to survive at all costs.

We live in a society that virtually worships the physical and for most people science rules. This means that for the more enlightened it is quite oppressive. Watch TV for an evening and notice all the drugs being advertised. Notice all the illnesses and ailments being advertised too. It is amazing how many fantastic malfunctions one can catch. The tremendous group agreement on what to eat or not eat and care of the body in general is enough to keep one totally busy from dawn to dusk. The medical profession and the drug companies together with the insurance industry work very hard to instill both the fear of illness and the urgency of putting yourself in their hands. So get your checkups so we can find out early if you have some dire disease. Of course, this generates much business for them.

Usually they are sold on their own products and services and believe they are doing the right thing with a fervency that is positively cult-like. Even a Sovereign Being when surrounded by well meaning script writers advising him or her to be careful, to take care etc. can fall for this and become unstable. The first symptom of this is worry and doubt of one’s ability to rise above the physical.

When one thinks one is basically a spiritual being one has a different attitude. One expects the universe to co-operate and so it usually does.

At the root of Dynamism is the idea that one is creating one’s own universe however bad or good it may seem at any given moment. The Rapport Course exercises, when done enough times, demonstrate to the person that he can control his emotions and is in fact able to shift them at will.

The big argument about “when is a fetus a live person?” is easily answered when you consider the being as the source of life energy (dynamis). Obviously it is a live person when the person, the being, arrives to enliven it. (The mother, if at all psychic, usually knows exactly when this happens).

Within our society we have a lot of fixed ideas about the nature of reality. If one does not realize that agreements shape the world, it can seem as though those ideas are simply the way it is. When we are young we absorb these ideas. Until we inspect them newly in a new time and space they lurk in our mental basements ready to trick us later. This creates an insidious situation because we don’t really know they are there until under stress we find ourselves doing or thinking things that we consciously know are wrong or stupid.

When we dare to disagree with some of society’s sacred cows we are often told to face reality or that we are in denial. Anyone who has had metaphysical experiences or spiritual revelations finds himself at odds with many of the sacred concepts that our culture holds dear.

People that believe in matter over mind often get very passionate about their beliefs and thrust them upon you with tremendous passion. You could DIE if you don’t do this or that medical procedure. That the medical procedures are often simply increasing the agony and stressing the person seems to escape their notice. Because Doctors and medical personnel are so sure they are doing the right thing (after all they spent years in school being indoctrinated in the current belief system) the patients are often found to be almost hypnotically obeying orders without taking control of their own fates.

The certainty of their rightness and “knowledge” the medical personnel project is VERY hard to withstand.

The oddity is that we are all suggestible. We detest admitting this. That a suggestion carries extra weight due to all the agreement along with the respect we give to those who have studied and worked so hard to learn the system adds even more power to the suggestions gets overlooked. This is to say overlooked by both patient and doctor.

I have recently become aware that many children are being drugged to make them more controllable. They get told they have A.D.D. or some such and are put on mind altering substances. It is also amazing to me that so many adults are on some kind of mind altering substances, prescribed or otherwise. The agreement seems to be that a pill can handle anything. This is based on the idea that emotions are chemical in origin.

None of this is meant to say don’t use doctors when you have a health crisis.

For example modern medicine has come a long way in dealing with epidemics. Hygiene and inoculations have done a great deal to relieve us of the virulent plagues which once raged through whole populations. If you are exposed to such a sickness or in a region where certain ills are prevalent simply take your shots. Grin and bear it.

Too many spiritually aware people deny medicine its place, this is unwise; some ailments are physical in nature and must be dealt with as such. First aid when needed is essential in handling a crisis. However, even it should be used with the idea of getting the individual back in control of his body not with the idea that he must be drugged for the rest of his or her life.

Enid Vien

Dynamism tip: Sovereignty is the state of full responsibility for ones own existence and interactions with others and the universe.

Enid Vien, “The Sovereignty Manual”

Upcoming Course: Rapport Course

Sign up today! Don’t pass up this unique opportunity to take charge! If you’ve taken the course before and haven’t been back to move to the next level or to sharpen your tools this one day course is for you!

Would You like to improve your Rapport?

Does it frighten you to be close to someone?

Do you feel people misunderstand you?

Do you easily get distracted?

Do you stress out?

Do you have problems getting questions answered?

Are people afraid to approach you?

Are you afraid to approach people?

Are you easily annoyed?

Are you annoying?

Would you like?

…………………………To experience true connection?

People to see who you really are?

…………………………To be less stressful?

More confidence?

…………………………To be more present and focused?

More productivity?

To attend a 1-day workshop that’ll improve all these areas?

On March 8th 2008, Enid Vien and David Womack invite you to attend The Rapport Building Workshop

Here’s what you’ll learn and practice;

8 Secrets to developing Instant Rapport!

What is True Connection!

How to maintain Affinity in the face of adversity!

The Art of Listening!

The power of Acknowledgement!

Using your Intention!

Part of Dynamism’s mission consists of courses designed to keep you empowered and on track!

Location: Dynamism Institute

8667 Hayes St. La Mesa, CA

619-462-5160

Directions: From beach; 8 East to the Jackson/Grossmont off ramp. At end of off ramp make a right, go 1 block to Glen; make a very sharp right onto Hayes. We are the 4th house on left in the rear. Please park on street o at church parking lot.

New Release! Available Now; Be the first to get your copy of the new CD, Agreements and Reality

Have you ever acted thought about what reality?

Did you realize there are two main types of reality?

How do you create the reality you really want?

What role does keeping one’s agreements play in shaping your reality?

Dynamis Coaching and Clearing

Dynamis coaching and clearing is based on the idea that you really do know what you are doing and thinking, you’ve just simply buried the knowledge. In times of stress, loss or moments of anguish you came to some conclusions and probably learned some lessons that are no longer appropriate to the circumstances. From these conclusions and lessons you formed principles to operate by.

They probably worked for you at the time, but in examining them you will find they are definitely working against you now. They have become blocks, barriers, or invisible ceilings. They’ve become so much a part of your operating principles that you can’t put your finger on them. Part of the function of a Dynamis Clearing Practitioner is to help you find, uncover and re-examine those old lessons, conclusions and “givens”.

Call now and take advantage of our free 2 hour interview. This is not a pressure sell, but an opportunity for you to set down with one of our professionals and experience what makes dynamis clearing so effective.

A person receiving Clearing is called a Viewer or Seeker.

A Clearing Practitioner is a person who has trained years learning to effectively assist you in regaining your individuality, self-esteem and determinism. A Practitioner is not a therapist, advice giver, or psychologist. We do not use any technique that lessens the individual’s control. We are essentially listeners who guide you to discover your own point of view and to make your own decisions. No one knows you better than you!

http://www.dynamism.org/

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Six-Figure Marketing: Marketing Strategies to Attract New Clients and Improve your Cash Flow!

find cah flow in business

As with any type of marketing, you have to open your eyes and ears to new ideas. When you hear an idea or technique being used in an unrelated industry… PAY CLOSE ATTENTION. When you take a proven marketing strategy from an unrelated industry and make it fit your own – you will experience a breakthrough.

It’s always easier to look within your own industry for ideas – but the real good, profitable ones will almost always come from outside.

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What are you doing to keep in touch with your clients and prospects?

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It always amazes me to watch how the typical business treats their clients… after they become clients.

At first, it seems they would do anything to get you to buy from them.

Run advertising, offer special deals, bundle things together, new customer discounts… you name it, they do it.

BUT, as soon as they get you as a paying client – you get dropped faster than a steaming hot iron.

Why?

After all the work you put into getting your first deal from a client: earning their trust, showing them you are different, getting them to pull out their wallet, and getting them to put their cash on the table for the first time.

You do all of this – and then never communicate with them again. It makes no sense if you think about it.

You know as well as I that it is MUCH easier to get a person to buy from you if they have already bought before.

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Step #1: The biggest and most immediate returns you can see from your marketing efforts involve your existing clients. Not in finding a new army of eager first-time-buyers… which is where most small business owners put their efforts.

Your existing clients are where the real money is.

Cultivate a solid relationship with them – and build in a consistent communication stream with them – and you will see a big difference in your revenue growth.

The easiest way to use Step #1 in your business? Read more

There is an Ocean of Abundance No Matter What is Happening in the World

Sunset (with kelp pile and me myself

Nothing can take an economy down faster than the uncertainty and loss of confidence by its people.

After the 9/11 Tragedy, we knew that the Stock Market was going to drop-that many businesses would take a tremendous toll – it didn’t take long for the experts to start predicting a recession and possibly a great financial downturn in the economy. The traditional media thrives on fear.

No questions that there are many businesses that are suffering – we all have been affected by the domino effect – and on the other hand, there are many businesses that are thriving, and doing very well.

This is a good time to remember the “bartender’s philosophy of business”: when things are great, business is great; when things are bad, business is great. There are always opportunities in the darkest hours.

There are many industries and businesses that are making money and thriving: flag manufacturers, printers who see the opportunities, t-shirt manufacturers (some of the most obvious), car rental companies, Amtrak, Greyhound, flower distributors, card manufacturers, television/radio ads and many others – and to speak the unspeakable – war has always been profitable.

CNN reported on Oct. 9 in the Money Line Program that Bio-tech companies, because of the biological warfare fears, now have a huge market growth opportunity, where as before the 9/11, office space in NY was scarce; computers had been sold out. Every single business in that building needed to be recreated somewhere.

There are stories of the large financial institutions who had prepared with an emergency plan and had their offices duplicated in New Jersey and were back to work within 48 hours – and not one client left them. And then there were others who lost their businesses entirely because they had no contingencies for a tragedy such as with WTC, the Pentagon and the plane disasters. There is a great profit to be made now from security. In our own offices, we purchased additional back up materials for our computers, and have looked at security measures – money is being made all over the place.

On October 11, it was reported, again on CNN, that the Markets had returned to the pre-9/11 average, and that the Government had done a great job at stabilizing the economy, and that Unemployment had not gone through the roof.

What you may need, is new “ears” and “eyes” to perceive the opportunities when unexpected events occur. The business of the News is to get you to stay glued to the television, radio, or for you to go to their web site, keep you there as much as possible, and link you to other services and sites-all income generators. To this day, negative news has been the attraction to the masses-many of us, specially publications like The Light Connection are working on changing that paradigm.

Until that day happens , watch your tendency to want to buy into the Mass Consciousness of Negativity. It’s like looking at a deadly accident on the road – not wanting to look but can’t help it.

Money & You Seminar Notebooks

The minute that you buy into the fear, the more that money will make a quick exit from your life. If you buy into the Collective Consciousness of lack and scarcity, you can kiss your prosperity consciousness good-bye.

One of the key components of fear-if not handled properly-is lack of energy. Very few people know how to turn fear into opportunity, so here are a few tips:

Get energetically and physically prepared to handle the “emergency” – emerging out of a challenge. Take vitamins/immune boosters-stress creates disease-take long walks, yoga, exercise, do whatever you need to do to get your body moving and out of inaction, and the mass depression that has been in the air-and move into “action mode”.

• Any time you are having a down-turn in your financial picture, do a quick plan to recreate finances needed. Do a Budget to take you out of “mental panic.” Look at all the sources of money in your world; sell things, trade services, save, tithe, go into income-generating activities.

Think laterally. Brainstorm with close friends and associates, and move into the mindset of a true entrepreneur-move into the mindset of a millionaire-and a person who is used to reaching the financial goals they set for themselves.

Read publications like The Dynamics Laws of Prosperity by Catherine Ponder. No matter what spiritual path you follow, allow for the over-religious overtone to just be part of it and focus on the essence of those affirmations. Personally that book took me through a very rough financial patch; it supported me daily in remembering that true Prosperity Consciousness comes from within and trust in God.

Read the financial news, both in writing and through radio or TV to see the opportunities. Learn to “see” as you never have before, and you look for the opportunities available to make money.

• Balance between the Spiritual and the Physical. Intend, affirm, and take action.

Get support. Join a Mastermind Group, do this not only on-line but physically. Yes, you can get a lot of support through the Net, but there is nothing like the human touch and love and connection of other people. If you can feel yourself being supported by others, you will begin to accept the “invisible” support of the Universe and God.

Do programs to expand your consciousness and to support you in clearing blocks to having what you want in life. If the funds are not there, pick up a great book at the library, or read your old notes from past programs that you may have attended.

Move yourself into action. Move yourself into money-consciousness. Believe in miracles around money. Don’t exclude money because of old beliefs. This mindset will give you the energy to move forward and handle any financial challenges. To focus on handling money is like handling a physical disease, and it takes time, focus, attention and purpose.

If you don’t have what you want financially, trust the Laws of Prosperity, and know that possibly deep inside you may have blocks to feeling worthy, or negative conditioning that money is not spiritual, or people who have it have gotten it at the expense of others, or some other “garden variety” negative thought about money.

Lastly, remember: it is always a good time to make money. The opportunities are there.

DC Cordova

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The Prospering Power of Perception

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Being fortunate is first and always a state of mind and so is misfortune.

In an instant, one can become fortunate with the right attitude or unfortunate, just like that, because they believe they have lost someone or something they value. You can be feeling wonderful and then get a phone call from someone who criticizes you. Right then, if you do not keep your mind in a good place, you can become hurt and dejected and lose your motivation to do anything for the rest of the day or longer.

One day a while back, I mentioned to my friend that I was surprised how dark and gloomy the day was. She laughed and pointed out that it was a very sunny day, but I was wearing dark glasses. Taking off the glasses, I realized that she was right. This was such a good lesson for me to remember. Most of what we believe is happening is really the result of our perception. Perception determines what we think, feel, and do. From one point of view, the glass is half empty, and from another, the glass is half full and both are right according to their perception.

A lucky person thinks, “I am lucky,” and they always find a way to be a winner in every situation; whereas, an unlucky person thinks, “Nothing good ever happens to me” and will find a way to be a loser in every situation. Both are right because this is how they see things.

A friend of mine, who worked in an automobile agency, told me about one of his co-workers. Every morning the co-worker would check the coin return in the coke machine, and if he found money there, he would say, “Today, is my lucky day and would sell two or more cars that day.” After a while, the manager, who was smart, would put money in the coin return and the man would find the money and say, “Today is my lucky day and he would sell 2 or more cars.” On the other “unlucky days,” he didn’t sell any cars or perhaps one.

You may be thinking, “Yes, but, some people actually have won the lottery, prizes, and such and others have lost their jobs, mate, house, etc., so how can you say good and bad luck are the result of one’s perception?”

Right perception makes the difference between a loss or gain. For example, losing a job seen in the right fortunate way means that the universe is kicking you out of one situation because there is a much better position for you somewhere else.

Perhaps it is time to go into business for yourself rather than depending upon others. You are ready to do what you love and prosper from it, rather than being in a stale, dead-end, and unsatisfying job. Read more