Why Rules-as-Code Matters

Every application has business rules. Pricing logic, risk checks, compliance validations, approval workflows — they all encode decisions that the business owns.

The Status Quo

In most systems, these rules are scattered across:

  • if/else blocks in controllers
  • Database flags and configuration tables
  • Hardcoded values in constants files
  • Comments that say "TODO: make this configurable"

When a rule needs to change, an engineer has to find it, understand the surrounding code, make the change, test it, and deploy it. The business stakeholder who requested the change has no way to verify it until it's in production.

A Better Way

With rules-as-code, business logic is expressed in declarative formats:

  1. DMN tables for structured decisions (input → output mappings)
  2. Policy rules (Rego) for authorization and compliance
  3. Workflows for multi-step processes with skills and goals

Each rule is:

  • Versioned — every change is tracked, diffable, and rollbackable
  • Testable — rules have test cases that run before deployment
  • Auditable — every evaluation is traced and explainable
  • Readable — business stakeholders can review decision tables directly

The TIATON Approach

TIATON provides the runtime that makes this practical. It's not just a rules engine — it's a complete platform for managing business decisions across their lifecycle: authoring, testing, versioning, deploying, and observing.