Service Oriented Architecture Field Guide for Executives

PREFACE

This book began its journey in June 2005 when Web Age Solutions delivered its first customized service oriented architecture (SOA) education program. As the standard and custom curriculum developed and mentoring engagements ensued, best practices and enterprise-level implications for service orientation began to emerge. Executive-level overviews of SOA were offered in 2006, as well as architect and developer bootcamps. In 2007, Web Age produced several whitepapers around SOA and expanded its curriculum to include a broader set of roles, increased focus on enterprise strategy and executive decision making, and industry-centric solution offerings. This book builds on this body of work and incorporates frameworks, methodologies, best practices, and guidance that have been honed based on real-life experiences with clients of all shapes and sizes from a wide range of industries and market segments.

Throughout our client engagements and participation at various conferences, a very real gap between the business and technology communities made itself apparent. Massive resources are available to technologists who wish to pursue SOA. A smaller set of resources are available to senior analysts and managers who wish to pursue SOA. Virtually no resources exist to provide business leaders, technology executives, or other key innovators with guidance regarding what SOA is really about, when it makes sense, when it does not, and how to pragmatically go about evaluating and ultimately ...