Mike Blechar
When service-oriented architecture (SOA) platforms started to be implemented several years ago, I tracked the success and failure of the early adopters doing service-oriented development of applications (SODA). Most seemed to understand that building reusable software and data services was different from building siloed applications and required different development approaches. Most elected to use methodologies based on object-oriented analysis and design (OOAD) principles. While many originally thought they were being successful, subsequent attempts at reuse showed that many of the services being built were at the wrong level of granularity for assembly purposes when related to business processes.
Since many of the computer-aided software engineering (CASE) tools from the 1980s and 1990s were focused on assembly and reuse of business and data logic, and successfully used flavors of methodologies with a “component-based development” mentality, it became obvious that this might be a better approach to the design of services – or at a minimum some of its concepts could be applied to OOAD methods (and, also business process management methodologies) to get a more practical level of service granularity for reuse than objects.
Application and solution architects and analysts should be interested In the just-released research note by David Norton and me called “Determining Whether OOAD or CBD Best Supports Reusable Software and Services*” where we present three findings:
In the note we contrast the major differences between objects and components (and object vs component methods) as well as how these are related to application frameworks. It should be noted that weel-designed software services may need to call other services, especially “data services” – which need to be designed by data architects and analysts. Note: For more information on data services see Research note “The Emerging Vision for Data Services: Master Data and Content Management for SOA*” by my colleagues Mark Beyer and Andrew White.
Net: When designing services a new mindset is needed and a good understanding of the tradeoffs between OOAD and CBD concepts – and when to use each or some hybrid – is invaluable to application, solution and data architects and analysts.
*Available to Gartner clients or for a fee
Please note my vacation: I will be off on a much needed vacation the next two weeks, so if you do not see an immediate response to your comments, please be patient until I return. Until later my friends….!
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