Abstract: The word "service" has numerous meanings in the English language. Even in the context of SOA, the word "Service" could mean a Service implementation, a Service interface, or a Business Service. The core technical challenge of SOA, however, is creating and maintaining the Business Service abstraction, because Business Services are the central enabling principle of SOA. This session explains these differences of meaning in detail, and illustrates some essential techniques for building the Business Service abstraction, including the critical role of the Service contract.

Abstract: In today’s business world, measuring your success is a must especially in our current economic climate. It’s something we do as individuals, teams, and companies. But, with the drive to advance SOA, tying Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to your SOA strategy can get lost in the complexity and rush to move your projects forward. Avnet and Dish Network will share how they used a performance-driven approach to building consensus among corporate executives to gain approval and then among key stakeholders to advance adoption and build SOA momentum from one project to the next.

Abstract: If implementing SOA is like building a house, then data are the foundation. Without key best practices for accessing, abstracting, and managing data, the business Services and the processes that depend upon them can come crashing down. Furthermore, the essential Service design best practice of selecting the proper granularity of a Service interface depends in large part upon the underlying data as well. This session outlines the data issues all SOA architects must be aware of as they plan their SOA implementation, as well as a look at the semantic challenges that SOA brings to the fore.

Abstract: Has it been challenging for you to underpin your SOA strategy with ROI metrics? Join this productive workshop where our moderators will help you build a ROI report. You’ll walk away with a better understanding of how to quantify the benefits of a SOA strategy. Our workshop will guide you on how to measure the benefits of governance and service enablement. You’ll hear tips on how to sell the value of your SOA strategy internally. Finally, you’ll apply your new knowledge to building a customized ROI report for your company’s SOA strategy.

Abstract: Understanding policies in the SOA context and how to create, communicate, and enforce them is critical to SOA success. In particular, architects must understand which policies are relevant across the Service lifecycle from design time to run time to change time. This session provides practical advice on how to handle policies as part of a SOA governance initiative, and provides an in-depth look at a case study that exemplifies key SOA governance best practices.

Abstract: Projects are the lifeblood of an IT organization and almost everything in IT is measured through a project lens. SOA, due to its enterprise-wide nature, is often viewed as incompatible with project-based software delivery lifecycles. Most companies find themselves with the dilemma of how to effectively advance SOA initiatives and continue to deliver projects at the same time. The solution is to combine service lifecycle management, architecture, SOA governance, funding, and SOA metrics into a single comprehensive program. The ultimate goal is to ensure that through addressing project needs, services are being effectively designed and implemented, leverage takes place and is verifiable, and that the overall SOA program objectives are being achieved. This session introduces an effective technique adopted by National City Corporation (now PNC Bank) for moving your SOA program forward through an incremental, project-based approach.