Soa where i do start

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SOA: Where Do I Start?
Published: 25 March 2009 Analyst(s): Paolo Malinverno

This research contains five decidedly not easy steps for initiating your service-oriented architecture (SOA) journey, and for starting to approach SOA complexity. Without specific advice, it is far too easy to start SOA fromthe wrong place

Key Findings
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Most successful SOA initiatives start small, and evolve slowly. The SOA pilot project must target the real "pain" in the organization, and at least partially reduce it in a measurable way. You don't need to build a full-fledged, expensive SOA backplane to start with SOA; you can start from very little, and add as needed.

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Recommendations
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In SOA,plan big, but start small. Growing SOA slowly will help you:
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Avoid service duplication. Maximize service reuse. Agree on SOA governance policies. Understand which SOA governance policies work in your company. Establish tight coordination between your SOA domains.

What You Need to Know
Choosing a starting point for your SOA journey is far from trivial. In fact, many organizationsare overwhelmed by the potentially enormous impact of SOA on their application development, deployment, maintenance and integration approaches, as well as the potential implications of SOA

This research note is restricted to the personal use of jesus.rendon@itesm.mx

This research note is restricted to the personal use of jesus.rendon@itesm.mx

for IT processes, organizational structureand governance. The result has been inertia, with many organizations effectively delaying any SOA-related initiatives, based on a lack of clear guidance on how and when to begin. The best approach to overcoming this inertia is to proceed with a succession of small projects, solidly linking each one to a combination of business and technology value metrics from the start, and measuring projectsuccess against these metrics in a welldocumented approach that is widely understood by IT personnel and business sponsors. Although this approach will, in almost all cases, result in a slower, more iterative adoption of SOA in your organization, it will also help ensure that this adoption is evolutionary, less risky and, ultimately, far more sustainable.

Analysis
Context
When enterprises breakthrough the hype, understand what SOA really is and see the benefits it can bring to their companies, a potentially crippling issue comes up: "I want to try SOA, but where do I start?" Similarly, other organizations have run one or two SOA scoping pilot projects and want to start tackling the big picture (for example, from an enterprise perspective). They are unsure, however, how to effectivelyprioritize the steps involved, which part of the SOA backplane on which to start developing first, or how to approach the big issue of funding. This research provides guidance to clients seeking a structured approach to planning and initiating the series of activities — from the first sensitive steps of the long journey through to companywide SOA enablement (while also helping to reinforce thefundamental truth that SOA is, and will remain, a journey, not a destination). This research will also help clients avoid the most-common pitfalls, and take best advantage of a maturing SOA endeavor.

Analysis
Step 0: Understand Practical Realities and Avoid False Promises
There are two common approaches that clients take at this stage. Although these approaches might work, in some cases, they alsoare quite risky, and we would not rate them as best practices. Approach 1: Embark on an SOA "crusade"; collect SOA case studies and success stories, bet your professional credibility, and build a comprehensive, enterprisewide SOA business case. The odds of success with this approach are slim, at best. That is not to say that the motivations are wrong; SOA certainly has the potential to deliver...