Service Virtualization

Chapter 2. Service Virtualization Implementation

In this chapter, we take a look at some of the questions you should ask yourself when considering integrating service virtualization into your Continuous Delivery pipeline.

Selecting a Service Virtualization Approach

The first question that you should ask when considering service virtualization is whether it is necessary in the first place. Service virtualization implementation is not a quick fix, as you will see in the next section. Although the ease of use and the speed of creation of virtual assets is one of the drivers of service virtualization success, its implementation requires proper planning and, depending on the implementation scale, a significant investment of time and effort. This applies especially to organization-wide service virtualization projects. Of course, it is very well possible to begin the implementation process on a small scale to test the waters.

One of the alternatives to service virtualization could be to develop, deploy, use, and maintain your own set of stubs. Be sure to take into consideration the additional costs associated with software maintenance. These costs, including corrective maintenance costs (costs associated with fixing defects) and enhancements (costs associated with continuing innovations), often exceed the initial development and implementation costs significantly and you should not overlook them.

After you establish that service virtualization is the way forward, it is advised that ...