Definition(s) of "service"

["Peter F Brown" <peter@justbrown.net>]

As part of the closing remarks of the F2F, I read some of the attempts to
capture a satisfactory definition of "service". For info, here they are:

"A service is an action boundary between a resource and a consumer of the
resource. It is characterized by a well-defined interface that permits the
consumer to access the functionality provided by the resource without
requiring knowledge of the implementation of the resource or the service
that enables the access."
- we rejected this on the basis that this was a better fit to the concept of
"service interface";

"A behavior or set of behaviors offered by one entity for use by another
according to a policy and in line with a service description."
- reservations about the qualifiers introducing policy and service
description;

"The use by one entity of a resource made available by another entity"
and
"A service provides a resource or set ot resources to accomplish a task
required by another entity"
- reservations about the use of the term "resource", could be misunderstood
in IT circles (== "anything that has identity");

"A service is the capability to accomplish a task on behalf of another
entity."
- reservation over use of expression "on behalf of", implying agent and
proxy;

A couple of other formulations could be:

"A service is the capability to accomplish a task required by another
entity."
or
"A service is a behaviour made available by one entity for use by another."


Peter F Brown
Chair, CEN eGovernment Focus Group

ICT-Strategy Unit
Austrian Federal Chancellery