OK SOA

OK-SOA Open Knowledge Service Orientated Architecture

We have had

We have had

OnDemand

We have had

OnDemand

Adaptive Enterprise

We have had

OnDemand

Adaptive Enterprise

eBusiness

We have had

OnDemand

Adaptive Enterprise

eBusiness

So why is SOA supposed to be any different

We had this

were promised this

but ended up with this

Beware of vendor messages I am not vendor bashing, they do provide great thought leadership – but no magic wands.

SOA is not a different way

Its an evolution

SOA is different from the past

SOA is different from the past

Its about using what you already have

Your Systems

Your Systems

Your Data

Your Systems

Your Data

Your Processes

Your Systems

Your Data

Your Processes

and only adding complimentary technology when it is needed to enable or change an agile business.

Old Way New Way Designed to last Designed for change

Old Way New Way Tightly Coupled Agile and Adaptive

Old Way New Way Build in isolation Build Services

Old Way New Way Code is King Metadata Princess

Old Way New Way Takes time to complete Interactive progressive development

Old Way New Way Middleware Focus Architecture Focus

Old Way New Way Homogeneous Hetrogeneous

Old Way New Way Programmers Analysts

Old Way New Way Documentation Library Best Practice Library

Old Way New Way Read a document and design the process Write a document which is the design

SOA has four pillars

OK…………SOA

But how do I start

Think of your computer systems as a business asset and the business as processes, some of which rely partially or exclusively on Services

Think of systems integration as a natural outcome to building and combining Services

Think of SOA as an approach for dealing with frequent, and often unpredictable change…

Think of SOA as an approach for dealing with frequent, and often unpredictable change…

SOA should be promoted as a drive towards “simple and easy” not “rapid and reactive”

OK…………SOA

But what is it

Its not software – its best practices

It’s a little bit of methodology, a lot of opportunistic process improvement and loads of innovation

It’s a little bit of methodology, a lot of opportunistic process improvement and loads of innovation

Success Tip – Blog about ROI successes and Improvement achievements – people follow success, businesses follow what is successful.

It is not “think it, done”

It is not “think it, done”

SOA will be a gradual adoption of the principles – in the same way that an organisation does not become “Six Sigma” overnight

Remember; you evolve into SOA

It is not a Policing Policy or a Rule Set for the Business

Manage SOA < Manage with SOA

Policy and Procedure = Understanding

Policy and Procedure = Understanding

Understanding = Adoption

It is definitely not Silos and Areas – or even groups

SOA means shared and reused Systems & Services

Reuse means shared, not duplicated

Reuse means shared, not duplicated

Shared may mean centralised

SOA is not a road map, it’s a vision

Do not try and work out the detail,

Do not try and work out the detail,

most answers will end up as “ it depends ”

Do not try and build services as a beginning

“ build it and they will come” only works for sports stadiums

Do not limit processes to three or four layers of sub processes

Do not limit processes to three or four layers of sub processes

N+1 is a natural state – policy management and a good process tool ( Aris, iGrafx, Process Master, Provision ) coupled with a good document/content management system ( SharePoint, Meridio, Documentum ) will do the trick.

SOA is not a team play

SOA requires authority and authorisations before the work, not during the work

Services must be under joint and several ownership across the business – but focused and assigned responsibilities have to exist.

OK…………SOA

Quick recap on the definition

Service Oriented Architecture: Is a software design approach in which a client application requests one or more services from another application that provides similar or complementary services. The design allows internal and external business processes to be combined and recombined to support flexibility in business process execution.

So a vision statement might look like

Our SOA vision is to create a complete business process fusion on our global network of independent infrastructures. We believe in a federated access management policy for services, along with the development of a business process best practice library and the recognition of our centres of excellence.

Our SOA vision is to create a complete business process fusion on our global network of independent infrastructures. We believe in a federated access management policy for services, along with the development of a business process best practice library and the recognition of our centres of excellence.

Being politically correct is not being weak – systems are easy, people are harder to change so need to be won over slowly.

My point…..

Business Leaders make commercial and operational decisions based on features and benefits for the domain responsibilities they have to protect.

My point…..

Business Leaders make commercial and operational decisions based on features and benefits for the domain responsibilities they have to protect.

Show SOA as an individual set of improvements that will require their authorisation of the benefits when it includes them, not as something that will be enforced on them.

OK…………SOA

What first….

Catalogue all your business processes . SOA does not start with the quality of your process library, it needs quantity to be credible.

Catalogue all your business processes . SOA does not start with the quality of your process library, it needs quantity to be credible.

Success Tip: Achieve control by putting in something like Process Master and give it to colleagues to do quick and easy process discovery. This will give you the text, models and documentation you need going forward and will fill up your process repository quickly and easily. You could also do Visio & Word, but……..

Catalogue your Services

Catalogue your Services

Don’t do a database, do a Blog and get a Wiki, the future steps you take in this area will be defined from there

SOA is not a static fact, it lives and develops like a garden plant.

So do step one and step two, and as for what step three will be………

So do step one and step two, and as for what step three will be………

Its like I said before, that depends on you and your business – there is no template, your SOA is as unique as your finger print.

If non of this is of any use to you and you still believe that you do need a template, structure or road map , type in SOA in Google and you will get hundreds.

Every one is written to tell you what someone else would do if they were you and working for your company. Which is what they want to be by being employed as consultants and sell you loads of software .