With so much code to deal with a tool could easily be misdirected to focus on irrelevant patches of logic. Our initial technical and functional analysis set the stage to more effectively use granular tools to find rules. Rule capture and reuse, however, is just one component of systems transformation. Defining a process to leverage these tools is a must. The benefits of any tool in the absence of a well defined transformation process is limited.
Rule extraction is a subset of the transformation analysis, improvement, extraction and reuse cycle.
This cycle involves technical, architectural and functional analysis to segment systems in preparation for rule extraction and reuse. As Kidder Peabody's Leonard emphasizes, skipping this process can lead to focusing on irrelevant patches of logic. Technical analysis identifies weaknesses in the current system that should be corrected prior to rule extraction. Corrective measures includes code stabilization, data name rationalization and remodularization. Architectural and functional analysis identify candidate source code for rule extraction and isolates programs and systems to be targeted for corrective measures.