Seeley on the virtues of small SOA projects

<<When introducing the service-oriented approach within an
organization, the software architect does not have to take on a
"boil-the-ocean" implementation, according to an industry analyst who
has looked at the current state of enterprise architecture.
				
In fact, small can be beautiful in service-oriented architecture
(SOA), said Mike Rollins, senior analyst, Burton Group.

An early project does not necessarily have to be a full SOA
implementation to showcase the application development philosophy,
Rollins said. A successful architect instead may start out conducting
analysis to identify the services that support business processes, he
said.

Architects can gain or lose momentum based on choices they make in
selecting SOA projects, emphasized Rollins, who has just authored a
report on "Establishing and Maintaining Enterprise Architecture
Momentum." Because SOA is still a relatively new approach to
application development, services architects need to select projects
that demonstrate business value from the get-go, he said.

"Gaining momentum with SOA initiatives involves working on the right
one," the analyst said. The selection of the right project includes
making sure it not only has business value but is doable given the
resources the architect has, he explained.

"If I have a small team of SOA architects, I need to recognize that I
can only staff one project to really start to try out this
technology," said Rollins.