Service Oriented Architecture Field Guide for Executives

12.4. ADOPTING SOA

Provided that the first three steps result in a green light for SOA, then the final three steps define and ultimately implement an SOA adoption plan. What metrics will be used for gauging SOA success? How will ROI be calculated? What incremental steps and corresponding milestones will be used? How will the initiative be communicated and other stakeholders brought in to support the plan?

Step 4: Crystallize Your SOA Objectives and Requirements

At this point in the process, it is time to collect, refine, and document your requirements regarding SOA adoption. There must be agreement within the team and the project stakeholders regarding what adopting SOA will accomplish, what metrics will be used to measure success or failure, and what figures and formulas will be employed for gauging the ROI for SOA initiatives. Chapter 7, "Calculating SOA ROI," will provide assistance with that last item, but the first two must be accomplished using standard discovery techniques (use cases, agile stories, process modeling, stakeholder interviews, collaborative brainstorming, etc.).

It is critical that the results of this step be physically documented, approved by the stakeholders, and configuration controlled. When moving out of SOA evaluation and into SOA adoption, organizations tend to find considerable value in taking a more disciplined and in some cases formal approach to the whole process. Evaluating SOA as a possibility still includes multiple opportunities to jettison ...