SOA Modeling Patterns for Service-Oriented Discovery and Analysis

Part I. SERVICE-ORIENTED DISCOVERY AND ANALYSIS ROAD MAP PATTERNS

We are now ready to start with the discovery, analysis, and modeling process of services. But where do we begin? What directions should guide us in identifying new services, analyzing their capabilities, and proposing a superior solution? What are the involved entities, and where do they originate? And finally, to what extent are these service formations influenced by the service environment that we are commissioned to inspect?

These questions are intrinsic to the service-oriented discovery and analysis discipline because they present the grassroots challenges of the software development process. Without a lucid direction and guidance, the practitioner commissioned to assess if a business solution and a proposed technological remedy will be effective may miss vital reuse and consolidation opportunities. Without a clear strategy to address the business problems that need attention, the software modeler, business architect, technical architect, developer, business analyst, technical analyst, and manager are doomed to fail.

Richard Veryard, the business and technology evangelist with the Component Based Development and Integration Forum (CBDI), has proposed a compelling model for service-based design. In an article published in 2004, Veryard introduces a new theory that outlines orientations for service design: Upward, Downward, Inward, and sideways.^[6] These design directions provide guidance and introduce discipline ...