Architecture

Originally inspired by techniques used to design buildings and cities, and popularized by the Gang of Four during the mainstream emergence of object-orientation, design patterns have seen us through the various shifts in architecture, technology, and, of course, design. Pattern catalogs have periodically emerged, one building on the other, and each revealing a set of problem-solving techniques and providing invaluable insights as to how and when those techniques should be used to help us attain our design goals.

Service-oriented architecture (SOA) proposes a model of software as a distributed network of cooperating services, in contrast to the traditional, more monolithic application model. Operationally managing such applications requires a sophisticated management organisation and operating framework that are capable of defining and sustaining service levels to customers across the enterprise.

Have you ever wondered what makes for good SOA style services? Well, wonder no more. Good services must be:

Many organizations out there don't really have to sell SOA. They understand that hype is the driver, and, in essence, leverage the thousands of articles and books on the topic to sell this architectural pattern.

It's hard to think about service-oriented architecture without thinking of services; after all, services are the main focus of SOA (it's even in the name). If service-oriented architecture is an approach where the business and technical architecture is oriented around services, then what exactly is a service? Unfortunately, the answer to this question varies greatly depending on whom you talk to and how you're using SOA in your organization. This variation tends to create quite a bit of confusion when trying to design and implement a SOA-based solution.

Strategies for enterprise data management (EDM) and service-oriented architecture (SOA) are often pursued as separate, disparate programs and initiatives within organizations, both as a business requirement as well as an IT implementation perspective. However, there are important overlapping and interdependent components, processes, and quality checkpoints for each in which coordination is necessary to ensure the success of either strategy.

Furthermore, by coordinating these strategies, organizations will realize opportunities to optimize:

Focusing your service-oriented architecture (SOA) performance management efforts on the application testing stage or attempting to manage production SOA applications solely with traditional point solutions and network management tools is a recipe for disaster, putting your customer's satisfaction and your company reputation on the line. Production SOA Performance and Service Level Agreement (SLA) management must be built into the overall SOA strategy.

For most companies, employing the latest technology is vital to staying competitive. For some companies in fact, service orientation is a key pillar of business success. As the chief architect of a Fortune 100 company, my SOA challenges aren't small.

Organizations often pursue strategies for enterprise data management (EDM) and service-oriented architecture (SOA) as separate programs and initiatives. However, there are important overlapping and interdependent components, processes, and quality checkpoints in which coordination is necessary to ensure the success of either strategy.

How do you establish agile enterprise architecture? How can you rapidly develop and deploy applications to satisfy or even lead the market demand? Many enterprises are constructing and reorganizing the architecture using the concept of service-oriented architecture (SOA).
However, we may all encounter some problems when applying SOA using some existing development processes and notations, such as object-oriented analysis and design (OOAD), enterprise architecture (EA) frameworks, and business process modeling (BPM).