Enterprise SOA

Why does modeling matter? Isn't it just another form of coding?

Modeling is as old as computer programming itself. The first time a programmer added a parameter or two to his code, he created a model. While using modeling to configure and design software is nothing new, it is important to understand how modeling manifests itself at multiple levels, in a variety of forms within ESA, and not just as code. ESA shifts the burden of application development off the backs of IT and onto the shoulders of the emerging business analysts discussed earlier. To enable that shift, business analysts will need models that not only envision code, but also trace the flow of data through business processes, visualize the business objects in which transformations take place, and then finally use modeling tools to produce the code that makes all of this possible. Let's walk through each type of model.

At the highest, most abstract level is process component modeling, where complex business processes are unpacked into functional components that represent business objects and services, such as a purchase order connected to another similarly large financial component. These models don't specify the process automation itself, just the components needed for carrying out that automation. This kind of modeling is how the structure of a business is captured.

After that, business analysts zoom into each process component to orchestrate the process flow and the individual business objects and services comprising ...