Knowledge Partners International

Barb von Halle 

Barbara von Halle is founder and a managing partner of Knowledge Partners, International LLC (KPI). She is responsible for evolving KPI’s acclaimed business rules KPI STEP ™, a licensable product of Business Rule Management methods and tools.  Barbara is also responsible for evolving KPI’s Rule Maturity Model (KPI RMM™) and ensuring its proper use across industries.  She was the instigator in developing KPI’s BR Mining Approach for excavating rules from program code.

Barb is well known for pioneering in Business Rules through writings and consulting work, as early as the 1980s. In 1996, she received the honored Outstanding Individual Achievement Award from the International Data Management Association.  Most recently, Barb co-edited the book, The Business Rule Revolution, as an anthology of business rule success stories.  Previously, she published the book, Business Rules Applied (John Wiley & Sons) which readers and judges selected as a finalist for the 2002 Software Development Jolt Award.  It continues to be a best-selling BR methodology reference book.   She was the original co-founder of the Business Rules Forum and an original member of the industry-wide Business Rule Group.

The highlights of Barb’s experience in the Business Rules Approach include:

• Assisted clients in scoping rules through the unique capture of KPI rule classes
• Oversaw the development of KPI BR ReqPro Extensions
• Oversaw the initial development of the KPI Workbench
• Developed Business Rule training materials
• Assisted in designing a rules repository in DB2
• Provided mentoring to the Business Rule Enterprise Management team for a federal government agency
• Developed business rule methodology, templates, and guidelines used on various client engagements and are now part of the KPI STEPT™ License
• Co-developed KPI’s business rule mining methodology and tested it.

Prior to founding KPI, Barb co-authored The Handbook of Relational Database Design (Addison-Wesley) which is beyond its 20th printing and has been translated into Japanese.  She was co-editor of Auerbach’s Handbook of Data Management, three editions.  As a part-time journalist, she served as the leading columnist for 5 years in Database Programming and Design Magazine.  The publisher, Miller Freeman, often displays “The Best of Barbara von Halle” on their web-site.

Prior to starting KPI, Barb served as Practice Leader and member of the Executive Management Team for a medium-sized consulting company.  Before that, she worked in the IT Research Area of Exxon Corporation after serving as a college intern at a nuclear engineering company.

Barbara earned an MS Degree in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology, graduating among the top in the class.  She also earned an undergraduate degree in Mathematics from Fordham University, graduating as the valedictorian and recipient of Fordham’s Mathematics Award. 

Larry Goldberg 

Larry Goldberg is a managing partner of Knowledge Partners, International LLC (KPI). He shares responsibility for evolving KPI’s acclaimed business rules KPI STEP ™, a licensable product of Business Rule Management methods and tools.  He also shares responsibility for  evolving KPI’s Rule Maturity Model (KPI RMM™) and ensuring its proper use across industries.  Larry drives KPI’s business strategy and KPI STEP™ Alliance Program -  a network of first-class companies supporting the KPI STEP™ methods and software visions.  Larry is co-editor of The Business Rule Revolution, a book of practitioner success stories, and a frequent contributor to "Business Rules Bulletin". With 30 Years of success in Information Technology entrepreneurship, the highlights of Larry’s professional history are;

1970 -1980 Larry pursued an entrepreneurial career in South Africa, building a $35m (1980 revenues) company. The group was sold to a large South African institution.  Larry played the role of Chairman and chief strategist with a focus on both business and technical strategy. 

1980 -1982 Larry led to the acquisition and turnaround of a Dutch-UK container tracking software company where he acted as Managing Director and refocused both the business and technology strategy of the company.   Within a year, the company was brought from a 5 year history of growing losses to profitability, with expanding revenues and was sold to Freightliners, a subsidiary of British Rail, for a significant profit to the investors. 

1983-1999 Larry built a company providing supply chain solutions to mid-size companies (PowerFlex Software) and sold it to Sapiens Americas Corporation. 

1999-2004 Larry was Senior Vice President of Sapiens Americas Corporation, responsible for Business Development in the US.  Larry participated in the leadership of the turnaround of Sapiens Americas Corporation from $15m in 2000 to $20m in 2003, and led the creation of an Insurance Practice in the Americas, as well as a major strategic contract with the IRS. In 2004, Larry completed the 5 year earn-out contract with Sapiens and joined KPI.