| Title: |
Business Modeling for SOA - Part Two: What the Business Knows |
| Author: |
Richard Veryard |
| Publication Date: |
16 February 2006 |
| Report Type: |
Journal |
| Report Class: |
Best Practice |
| Abstract: |
The second of a three-part article on the business modeling techniques. The adoption of SOA has caused a renewal of interest in information modeling. This is stimulated by the requirement to establish stable, comprehensive shared services for the core business types in an enterprise. Existing information models will generally represent the best picture of the current business, but it is highly unlikely they will be able to support an inherently fast moving, flexible business. We introduce new techniques to address this problem space.
The adoption of SOA has caused a renewal of interest in information modeling. This is stimulated by the requirement to establish stable, comprehensive shared services for the core business types in an enterprise. Most enterprises already have lots of assets in this area. While existing information models may not be consistent across an enterprise they will generally represent the best picture of the current business. In fact they will often be the basis for existing information systems.
However there is a real problem here. SOA is a strategy for flexibility, but if we take the existing information models we run the risk of casting the future business in yesterday’s concrete. Yes of course the SOA will have technical loose coupling, but will the core business services be based on the information model that’s needed to support the business of tomorrow and the day after?
Conventional information modeling techniques are largely about modeling today’s business. There is little guidance on how to model for adaptability. So we need a new and we suggest radically different approach that challenges the status quo. Of course we will continue to use the same UML or similar modeling notation – no problem there, but we need to apply appropriate techniques to ensure that we can support an inherently flexible business environment.
What the business knows – its knowledge – includes both information (produced from events and responses) and intelligence (produced by interpretation and analysis of available information). |
| Backgrounder: |
This series of articles is intended to provide an overview of the business modeling techniques recommended by the CBDI Forum. For the purposes of these articles, we shall assume some familiarity with the better-known techniques and concentrate on the lesser-known techniques. (More comprehensive coverage is available in our education products.)
In the recent CBDI Forum meeting in London, there was some lively discussion within the business track about the ways of using SOA to deliver value to the business. Business models can be used to define the context and business case for SOA within a specific organization, and to improve the scope of SOA projects. More interestingly, service-oriented business models can be used to support a new dialogue between IT and the business, with a joint exploration of the strategic opportunities of the service-based business.
In this series of articles, we are going to develop business models that show business from three perspectives.
- What the business does
- What the business knows
- How the business does |
| Report Size: |
9 pages |
| Report Access Type: |
 | Silver/Gold (Premium) |
|
| Available for separate purchase |
Single copies of recent CBDI Journals may be purchased |
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