Software Architect's Handbook

The top-down strategy

The top-down strategy begins with analysis. It centers on the organization's business logic and requires that business processes become service-oriented. The top-down approach, when done properly, results in a high quality SOA. Each service is thoroughly analyzed, and as a result, reusability is maximized.

The downside is that this approach requires many resources, in terms of time and money. There is substantial pre-work that must take place with the top-down strategy. If an organization has the time and money to invest in a project, then this may be an effective approach.

It should be noted that, because analysis occurs at the beginning, it could be quite some time before any results are realized. This may or may not ...