If I can add to Michael's comments. In our -CBDI- SAE approach, we make the following statements, which are built in to our CBDI-SAE Meta Model for SOA. You can download this from http://www.cbdiforum.com/public/meta_model_v2.php (free on registration)
The meta model contains a Business Modeling Package that defines various Business Modeling concepts, mainly those to which a Business Service can be usefully linked. (line 213) A Business Service is expected to handle the requirements of zero, one or more business model elements, that we call Business Service Subjects. The meta model currently enables a Business Service to handle the requirements of the following Subjects: Business Processes Business Capabilities Business Types Business Events Business Rules Business Policies. A Business Service can also be related to: The Business Objectives that it supports (this can help justify the acquisition of the Service) The Business Processes that it is expected to (or actually does) support, directly or indirectly (once again, this can be used to justify service acquisition) A Business Domain. We later go on (in Appendix A1) to provide rules regarding how these associations place Business Services into spefic layers in the Service Architecture. So, if a Service doesn't have these associations to objects in the business model, then it isn't a business service. Our model permits infrastructure services and also the use of what we term Underlying Services as a mechanism to include other services (which I won't go into now...) Lawrence --- In [email protected], Michael Poulin <m3pou...@...> wrote: > > Augusto, > > SOBA is interpreted as 'SOB Application' as well as 'SOB Architecture' in our > days. My comment relates to both. Why? Here is a short story: in Udi's BLOG > I asked - > MP: "what's the place/role of SOBA in SOMA?" > Tilak Mitra [co-author of 'Executing- SOA-Practical- Service-Oriented > -Architect', the book that discussed the recent update of IBM SOMA]: "SOMA > provides prescriptive techniques and guidance on how to extend the SOMA > method to develop SOBA's" > (http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/msg08468.html) > > If we still lock ourselves in IT, we think that a collection of technical > services can constitute a business application. I disagree. I insist on that > business application has to be constructed based on business services some of > which may be implemented using technical services. A service becomes business > service not because Business uses it but because it implements business > function, feature, service, or process. If a SW component just carries > business data, it is a driver/object, not a service because it implements > technical task, not a business task. > > If SOBA is constructed by SOMA where 'Interface=Service, Service=Web Service > and Business=Process', I do not think it is a service-oriented business > application. It is, probably, an aggregation of integrated applications > utilising Web Services as the integration technology; whether it implements > any business functionality or not is an open question. Use of Web Services > does not automatically constitute service, and, especially, service-oriented > business service. > > - Michael Poulin
