Paper Info
Title
How a service-oriented architecture may change the software development process
Abstract
Introduction Software development practices have evolved substantially during the past decade. As so called "agile" approaches have gained more acceptance and applications have become progressively more distributed in terms of their physical execution and the development of components, the service-oriented approach to IT architecture has become an important alternative to traditional software development. Another impetus for the trend to a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) is provided by enterprise system vendors as they are incorporating the service-oriented paradigm into their products. Substantial efforts related to open standards (such as Web service standards) and open source products (such as open source enterprise service bus, development tools) are further driving a service-oriented approach for information systems. A key question is whether SOA adopters are going to be ready for this change and whether they can provide a technical and an organizational environment in which SOA-related technologies can be leveraged to their full potential. There is some indication that currently this may not be the case. In fact, some organizations that have embarked on SOA-related projects early have experienced disappointments. As with other technology waves, the important question is not whether SOA is inherently a good or a bad idea, but rather how it can be done right in a given context. This article tries to answer this question with respect to the software development process. While much of the literature, both in academia and industry, has focused on business implications of SOA, technological realization, architectural issues, and implementation guidelines, few publications have addressed the impact of SOA on the software development process and its methodology. As with any organizational change, modifications to software development processes or practices entail switching cost. Therefore, individuals as well as organizations are inclined to stay with "proven" methodologies, although adjustments based on task requirements and technology characteristics should be key drivers for the methodology choice and are needed to help adopters leverage the full potential of SOA. This article examines the differences and discusses which parts of development process and methodology may require adjustments to effectively leverage a SOA. It presents the results of a field study suggesting changes to software development practices that are necessary to accommodate the unique properties of the service-oriented approach.
Year
DOI
Venue
2010
10.1145/1787234.1787269
Commun. ACM
Keywords
Field
DocType
soa adopter,service-oriented paradigm,full potential,traditional software development,introduction software development practice,service-oriented approach,development process,software development practice,service-oriented architecture,development tool,software development process,web service,open standard,service oriented architecture,enterprise system,software development,field study,information system
Programming language,Personal software process,Package development process,Enterprise software,Computer science,Lean software development,Knowledge management,Software development process,OASIS SOA Reference Model,Resource-oriented architecture,Software development,Process management
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
53
8
0001-0782
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
13
0.60
3
Authors
2
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Marc N. Haines11058.62
Marcus A. Rothenberger2131852.77