How SOA design is changing
5th Oct 2016
SOA Modeling
How SOA design is changing
Standard SOA practices are certainly useful (and often very practical), but what about making it even easier for the technology to reach out and creatively address specific business problems and/or concerns as they arise? What about giving users the ability to use SOA in a more creative manner? It's really about analyzing where potential successes lie and then creating computing-based solutions (very often in a software environment these days). SOA modeling is simply another step in the SOA journey; an advancement in approach to business.
Previous methodologies for developing SOA models might have put too much strain on certain individuals in ways that might have been unrealistic or completely foreign to them. A classic scenario might involve managing tasks between a software designer / architect and a lead business analyst, for example. In this type of situation, concepts must be relegated to those with a forte in business, and the solutions can only come from those with the technological expertise and know-how to get the job done. Cross communication and exchange of additional ideas and concepts is certainly encouraged, but the main focus of any project must be outlined at the very start and followed stringently.
The process
There are essentially four main characters that must be present for SOA modeling to properly function. Setting things off in motion is the executive management; their job is to boil the entire operation down into a series of concepts and necessary steps. This is often done in an almost abstract manner, with execs simply focusing on servicing a particular sector with little regard or understanding of how it will be accomplished. But it's not their job to actually devise the solution(s), that's a task that's divided up further among other 'characters'.
Next, someone with a penchant for analysis will evaluate all requirements, including perhaps even those involving funding. While an analyst doesn't really develop technical software solutions on hand, they might actively participate in identifying, procuring, selecting and/or modifying components or tools for a project.
Once all relevant and collected information has been analyzed, a plan of action is put forward and handed off to a software specialist that basically takes the SOA components (apps / services) and configures, modifies or rewrites them entirely. The software architect will also actually design the infrastructure that is to house all the modularized services.
The final leg of the developmental journey is in the hands of a web developer; they are responsible for actually executing and establishing operation of the SOA. The Web development aspect of this process might also include additional team members which focus solely on individual parts of the architecture; like security, for example.
In many ways, the modeling process is really just an extension of adding yet another more comprehensive layer of analysis to the fray. Often times, it is necessary to approach a problem (or series of problems) from multiple angles in order to understand them more thoroughly. This is more or less, what is being carried out in SOA modeling; it's about transforming the development process into a smoothly operating assembly line, complete with an near equal division of labor. By dividing things up in this manner, you are ensuring that the quality of work being performed at each critical stage is also of a much higher caliber than it could possibly have been otherwise.
Why SOA Modeling important at this point in time
Prominent individuals in the worlds of both cloud computing and SOA are predicting a sharp increase in implementation of, and dependence on service oriented architectures in the very near future. In many ways, we are already starting to see this take hold; particularly in the healthcare, finance (banks) and governmental sectors of industry in the US. Large-scale adoption of SOA for other fields of privatized business is slowly gaining ground as well; it is mostly confined to activities like advertising or generating traffic however, and is perhaps not being utilized to perform the types of vital tasks for which it might have been designed.
The market for SOA is very likely to sharply increase, which might leave in its wake, a list of things that individuals 'with they had addressed or implemented'. This is all part of the natural process of trial and error of course, and is certainly familiar to anyone that's been exposed to the scientific method. SOA modeling is more than just another way of addressing things, it is a process that looks to bridge the gap between what can be conceived and what can be accomplished.
How SOA design is changing
Standard SOA practices are certainly useful (and often very practical), but what about making it even easier for the technology to reach out and creatively address specific business problems and/or concerns as they arise? What about giving users the ability to use SOA in a more creative manner? It's really about analyzing where potential successes lie and then creating computing-based solutions (very often in a software environment these days). SOA modeling is simply another step in the SOA journey; an advancement in approach to business.
Previous methodologies for developing SOA models might have put too much strain on certain individuals in ways that might have been unrealistic or completely foreign to them. A classic scenario might involve managing tasks between a software designer / architect and a lead business analyst, for example. In this type of situation, concepts must be relegated to those with a forte in business, and the solutions can only come from those with the technological expertise and know-how to get the job done. Cross communication and exchange of additional ideas and concepts is certainly encouraged, but the main focus of any project must be outlined at the very start and followed stringently.
The process
There are essentially four main characters that must be present for SOA modeling to properly function. Setting things off in motion is the executive management; their job is to boil the entire operation down into a series of concepts and necessary steps. This is often done in an almost abstract manner, with execs simply focusing on servicing a particular sector with little regard or understanding of how it will be accomplished. But it's not their job to actually devise the solution(s), that's a task that's divided up further among other 'characters'.
Next, someone with a penchant for analysis will evaluate all requirements, including perhaps even those involving funding. While an analyst doesn't really develop technical software solutions on hand, they might actively participate in identifying, procuring, selecting and/or modifying components or tools for a project.
Once all relevant and collected information has been analyzed, a plan of action is put forward and handed off to a software specialist that basically takes the SOA components (apps / services) and configures, modifies or rewrites them entirely. The software architect will also actually design the infrastructure that is to house all the modularized services.
The final leg of the developmental journey is in the hands of a web developer; they are responsible for actually executing and establishing operation of the SOA. The Web development aspect of this process might also include additional team members which focus solely on individual parts of the architecture; like security, for example.
In many ways, the modeling process is really just an extension of adding yet another more comprehensive layer of analysis to the fray. Often times, it is necessary to approach a problem (or series of problems) from multiple angles in order to understand them more thoroughly. This is more or less, what is being carried out in SOA modeling; it's about transforming the development process into a smoothly operating assembly line, complete with an near equal division of labor. By dividing things up in this manner, you are ensuring that the quality of work being performed at each critical stage is also of a much higher caliber than it could possibly have been otherwise.
Why SOA Modeling important at this point in time
Prominent individuals in the worlds of both cloud computing and SOA are predicting a sharp increase in implementation of, and dependence on service oriented architectures in the very near future. In many ways, we are already starting to see this take hold; particularly in the healthcare, finance (banks) and governmental sectors of industry in the US. Large-scale adoption of SOA for other fields of privatized business is slowly gaining ground as well; it is mostly confined to activities like advertising or generating traffic however, and is perhaps not being utilized to perform the types of vital tasks for which it might have been designed.
The market for SOA is very likely to sharply increase, which might leave in its wake, a list of things that individuals 'with they had addressed or implemented'. This is all part of the natural process of trial and error of course, and is certainly familiar to anyone that's been exposed to the scientific method. SOA modeling is more than just another way of addressing things, it is a process that looks to bridge the gap between what can be conceived and what can be accomplished.
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