RE: [soa-rm-ra] A general comment on the SOA RA

["Lublinsky, Boris" <boris.lublinsky@navteq.com>]

Jeff, I looked quickly through the previous version and did not find two
much changes, compared to the current one. Yes you renamed the
viewpoint, but it even in the previous version, the word business was
there as just a name. The content was very similar to what it is now:

"View focuses on what a SOA-based system means for people using it to
conduct their business.9 The mode of business in a SOA-based system is
characterized in terms of providing services and consuming services to
realize mutually desirable real world effects."
The word real world effect is vague enough to mean anything. Besides,
and here is a kicker, service invocation does not really have to create
a real world effect to be useful. Here is an example of using Turbotax
service online (very appropriate timing wise). When you use this
services you submit your financial documents and receive back the amount
of tax that you owe or government owes to you. This is quite useful
service, but a pure calculational one. It does not change anything in
the world - just massage numbers. One can of course, say that returning
back a tax amount is a real world effect, but is it really? And there is
quite a few services like that, for example, calculating insurance
quote. On another hand, if I am using a banking service to do money
transfer, this one has a true real world effect - amounts are changing
in my accounts. But I consider all of these service useful services.
Now let's take a notorious example of temperature converter. From the
outside it seems like a valid service, but in reality you will rarely (I
think never) use this service in your SOA implementation. The reason is
twofold:
- I would be hard pressed to consider this one a useful business
service;
- The granularity of this one is so low, it does not make sense.
So if I am developing SOA I need to know:
-what constitutes a good service?
-how do I ensure that my services are aligned and supporting my
business?
-how do I decide, which services makes sense for my business?
-Do I grow my services organically - bottom up or do I try to develop
overall enterprise model - top down.

I think that in order for RA to be successful this considerations should
be part of the document, even if they are just asked, not necessary
answered. There is plenty of sources concentrating on this issues.   

-----Original Message-----
From: Estefan, Jeff A [mailto:jeffrey.a.estefan@jpl.nasa.gov] 
Sent: Monday, April 06, 2009 12:20 PM
To: soa-rm-ra@lists.oasis-open.org
Subject: RE: [soa-rm-ra] A general comment on the SOA RA

Folks,

Here is a link to our Public Review Draft 1 (PDR1) version of the RA
released almost a year ago (I can hardly believe it!):

http://docs.oasis-open.org/soa-rm/soa-ra/v1.0/soa-ra-pr-01.pdf

In it, you will see the former name of the first viewpoint and
associated view, which was referred to as the "Business via Services"
viewpoint/view.  It was renamed to the "Service Ecosystem"
viewpoint/view based on feedback from the tutorial given at last year's
OASIS Symposium and post subcommittee discussions.  I would encourage
you to have a look at the content of the former viewpoint reflected in
PRD1 to if the spirit of the message has been lost given all the changes
that have been made this past year; far too many in my opinion.  I think
we strayed from the 'business' focus of that viewpoint/view into a far
too an abstract perspective leveraging the ecosystem concept.  Those of
you on the subcommittee already know that I have expressed my opinion on
this matter a number of times.  I think what Frank had captured in the
PRD1 variant was closer to the mark but too many folks taking shots at
it have muddled the message.  Once again, I suggest it is time to
re-assess.  Wasn't that an action item a few months back?  We simply
dropped it.  Shame on us.

Finally, we need to be very clear about the distinction between the
organizational principle of "service orientation" versus SOA.  I see a
lot of the former in the recent threads.

Cheers...

 - Jeff



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