Choosing a Delivery Strategy

To realize the strategic goals associated
with service-oriented computing,
carrying out a meaningful extent
of top-down delivery is generally
required. This does not necessarily
mean that all possible up-front analysis
be completed prior to service
delivery.

Top-down requirements need to be
weighed against an organization’s
tactical priorities. While some can
define a comprehensive inventory
blueprint in advance, others may
only be able to create a high-level
service blueprint before heading into
the service design phase. Yet another
approach is to carry out a full inventory
analysis but reduce the scope and size of the planned inventory.

Alternative processes can also be considered, such as the meet-in-the-middle strategy
(also known as agile delivery). This approach allows for an on-going analysis and definition
of a service inventory blueprint, while high-priority services are delivered in
advance. At a later point, after the analysis efforts have sufficiently progressed, services
that have been previously deployed are revisited. If necessary, they are then redeveloped
and brought in alignment with the revised blueprint.

Choosing a delivery approach is a critical decision point because it represents a decision
an organization will usually need to live with for quite some time.