thoughts from first day of editors' mtg

[Ken Laskey <klaskey@mitre.org>]

In considering today's discussion, I went over the points of what is SOA and what concepts are abstract versus what is implementation.  I also came back to our wanting to dispel the notion that SOA is a silver bullet for all business (used in the broad sense) ills.  

My conclusion is that part of the confusion we see may stem from the fact that we are writing a reference model for a design and implementation approach.  SOA is not the solution of domain problems but rather a way of structuring the delivery of a domain solution.  SOA is not a silver bullet because it cannot magically provide a solution to a difficult domain problem where a satisfactory solution does not already exist.  SOA can, however, provide a delivery mechanism that enables you to get more value from use of your solutions.  It also enables you to express your solutions in a way that makes it easier to modify/evolve the delivered solution or try alternate domain solutions.  SOA does not provide you with any domain elements of a solution that you do not have without SOA.

Note, in our previous discussions, the domain solution (or building blocks of functionality on which a solution can be built) are what I refer to as capability.  Yes, we are probably talking about the capability as being an *implemented* domain solution.  The service is a mechanism to enable access to that implementation, but note the solution exists without the service as an access mechanism (although we believe access via a service will, in the long term, provide more value).

Note further that the domain solution (implemented or not) is an SOA concept but there is nothing in this specification that restricts its implementation except as it may be affected by considering what may facilitate current or future service access.

Finally, a slick solution without a reasonably well-defined problem is worthless except as bait for naive groups with too much money.  The only benefit of such a solution is to relieve the group of its excess capital.

Ken

P.S. I have notes from the board but they're on the other laptop and I don't feel just now like fighting with a PC to get them.  Later.

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Ken Laskey

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