RE: [service-orientated-architecture] Executive Summary Request: SOA on One Page

[JP Morgenthal]

Today, I had to send in an abstract for an SOA talk at LinuxWorld Canada.  In that abstract, I had to capture the essence of SOA for a wide audience, not just IT practitioners.  This was a great exercise, but based on Anne’s slide, I’d like to float the results of my efforts across the group to see what the general consensus is on my thinking.   The abstract is provided in full below so you can see everything in context.  However, the line I’d like to focus on is “The SOA is the plan for how that service will be deployed, accessed and managed.”  For me, I think the greatest dilemma around SOA as a term is the word architecture.  I started picking apart the term in an effort to define it and, to me, architecture is a plan.  A building architecture is a plan, it’s not the foundation (ESB), it’s not the beams (SOAP), it’s not the floors (services).  It’s a plan of how all these things will come together into a complex structure that won’t fall down.     Many individuals on this list carry great weight with their words in the industry and upon reading their take on ESB and other attributes of SOA, I find much of the thinking focused on SOA being implementation-oriented rather than a plan.  It’s my belief that when we discuss SOA, we need to realize that every SOA is not going to be identical in the way that every building is not going to be identical.  However, there are some basic rules of engineering and physics that need to be adhered to, or the building will fall down.  I believe it’s these aspects of SOA that we need to capture, catalog and teach when developing and SOA.  After that, let’s see how magnificent the buildings can get!     ABSTRACT ========= SOA: The Macro and Micro View   Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA)—the micro view—is a powerful approach to developing and deploying software systems.  At the macro view, however, SOA can have far reaching impact for departments other than IT.  The service is rapidly becoming the representation of a unit of work within the enterprise.  If process represents the “what has to get done,” then the service represents the “how to get it done.”  The SOA is the plan for how that service will be deployed, accessed and managed.  This session will show attendees how to grow from a single service to an enterprise-scale SOA in a pragmatic fashion.  It will also show best practices for development of services contracts and service management.         From: service-orientated-architecture@yahoogroups.com [mailto:service-orientated-architecture@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Anne Thomas Manes Sent: Tuesday, January 10, 2006 5:11 PM To: service-orientated-architecture@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [service-orientated-architecture] Executive Summary Request: SOA on One Page I have attached a slide that I frequently use to describe some of the basic concepts associated with SOA -- specifically the concept of multiple applications sharing the same set of services. This slide certainly does not completely describe SOA, but I find it a useful starting point. Anne On 1/9/06, ballietf <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Has any one described SOA on one PowerPoint slide? If so, is it something you can share with me? I received a request for such a "picture" from a senior executive and, in the name of "re-use", I prefer to leverage the good work of another rather than create my own. Thanks for the help. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to:      http://groups.yahoo.com/group/service-orientated-architecture/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:     [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:     http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS  Visit your group "service-orientated-architecture" on the web.    To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:  [EMAIL PROTECTED]    Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.