Service Oriented Business Modeling to Identify Software Services Aida Amini Motlagh, Mir Ali Seyyedi
Service Oriented Business Modeling to Identify Software Services Aida Amini Motlagh, Mir Ali Seyyedi Software Engineering Department, Islamic Azad University South Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran
[email protected],
[email protected] doi: 10.4156/aiss.vol2.issue2.1
Abstract Service orientation is one of the solutions for achieving agile enterprises, that helps make an alignment between business and information technology. By the influx of service orientation into the business domain, a new concept called service oriented organization is created that in business modeling of these enterprises, new modeling elements such as business and software services, rather than business processes are utilized, in which these new elements can describe the business operations more accurately. Based on the increasing significance of the software role in service oriented enterprises, business services and software services are the principal elements in this paper's proposed model. In most service oriented enterprises, the business structures begin from information technology and would create information technology services but in this proposed method, service oriented approach begins from higher layers of the organization such as strategy and the business layer, and identify and describe software services from business service oriented view.
Keywords: Service oriented Enterprise, Service oriented Architecture, Service oriented business, Business componentization, Business services, Software services 1. Introduction These days, companies are working in a dynamic environment from the business and information technology aspect. For the enterprises to be become agile, they have to be able to have the necessary flexibility. One of the main attributes that a company with good efficiency could have is that it could expand the information technology services from its business strategies, goals and needs. On demand business by aligning business and information technology would probably provide swifter, more responsive and more beneficial companies. These days, flexibility is one of the most useful things an enterprise could have. Here the meaning of flexibility is having the plasticity to comply with the new needs of the market by reaping the opportunities. In order for enterprises to increase their flexibility, first they have to look at their collective activities and then determine which one is pivotal and diverse and which one could be committed to the enterprise. If the companies could construct and coordinate these activities based on their tendencies, then they will have a substantial advantage in the market. [1] Aligning business and technology is so important that has a direct effect on the total assets of an enterprise, in them there is an alignment between business and technology they have a better more effective business with a higher efficiency. For this reason, the issue of aligning business with technology has become a very import subject for the enterprise chief information officer .One of the solutions that exists in the alignment context is service orientation that has caused the enterprise organizations to have a specific look at this approach for executing software projects. From a business layer view, service oriented architecture creates a connection between business processes and information technology as with the process changes, technology could easily be coordinated. Swift business changes is another fundamental subject that has occupied the mind of information technology executives and the service oriented architecture as an information technology guideline and gains the need for a swift coordination with the business changes.[2] In the proposed approach, a modeling based on the business services for software service identification is introduced. Service oriented architecture is a renovated method for achieving the desired goals in business. To speed up dynamic transactions with their customers, suppliers, partners and personnel companies are trying to figure what services to provide and how to quickly develop them to provide the needs and increase the profit. If the business performance is designed as well defined services, we could see the emergence of a service oriented enterprise. In this article’s proposed approach “Service Oriented Business Modeling to identify software services” business and software services will exhibit the different aspects of service oriented enterprise and
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Advances in Information Sciences and Service Sciences Volume 2, Number 2, June 2010 the old modeling approaches, such as business processes will be connected to the business and software services.
2. Challenges in the service oriented business modeling There are challenges in the area of business modeling that the submitted proposed method in this article has introduced to respond to these challenges: • How is the deduction method of suitable services from the requirements of high level businesses? • What are the key elements that have a role in an enterprise service orientation? • How does service oriented business modeling aligns the goals of information technology and business and eliminates the distance between technology and business? • How could you model all influential aspects of technology in business? • How service oriented business modeling is able to make an alignment between business and technology such that the technology and business changes are coordinated too? • How does service orientation cause enterprises to be flexible to the market changes? • How does service orientation cause the prosperity of an outsourcing market?
3. Service Oriented Enterprises The goal of a business is to identify the occurring changes and their effects and adjust itself accordingly. A business that causes the advance of competition and could more quickly provide the consumers needs is called an “Agile Business”. Basically the purpose of an active and dynamic business is the same as a flexible business, to realize the “dynamism and agility” they desire, enterprises transform themselves into a service oriented business. Now, if the business performance is designed in well defined services, you could control the complications. Hence, we could witness the emersion of a service oriented enterprise. The need for interaction between information systems, information systems in enterprises and enterprise intractability in the information technology field are the reasons that make the existence of service oriented enterprises necessary. [3] Considering that the application of information technology is changing from technology oriented approaches to service oriented ones, technology oriented view does not reflect a correct value of the software services to consumers, whereas the activation of business services by using technology has appeared in many successful business but still, identifying software services has been mentioned as a challenge, for this reason service oriented business modeling in aligning the enterprise goals and strategies and identifying same direction software services with business will perform an important role in the efficiency of service oriented enterprises.[4]
3.1. Business modeling of service oriented enterprises The proposed model for the realization of business service orientation has three steps, first step: Identifying, description and business componentization modeling, second step: identification, description and business service modeling, third step: identification and software services description. Componentization and service orientation are two actuators for enterprises to achieve a dynamic and agile business. Important components that have a considerable role in the componentization and service orientation are business components, business and software services. [5] 3.1.1. First Step: Identification, Description and Business Componentization Modeling The goal of business componentization is the analysis of components with specified borders which in this process assists in understanding the complexity of the enterprise and the goal facilitates the business goal realization through software solutions. During the business componentization the below goals must be realized: 1) finding sensible groups from dependent
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Service Oriented Business Modeling to Identify Software Services Aida Amini Motlagh, Mir Ali Seyyedi activities that could be optimized in one figure. 2) To understand and optimize the components method of interaction with one another for alignment to reach a business goal. [6][7]
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Table 1. Input and output, technique and first step models of the proposed approaches Input Technique Output Business goals - Component Business Model - Description of a Business Business operation (CBM) Component Business activity - High level from business - Performance reference model Business artifact component element Strategic constituent capabilities
As it is seen in table 1, in this step goal identification and business strategy and the extraction of business components is done in alignment with the business goals and strategies. The key business component elements include the submitted services, requested services, business production, business performance and business activities that are extracted for each component. Connection method of these elements is shown in figure 1 in a high level. The utilized technique in this step for business componentization is the CBM technique, IBM Company and efficiency reference model. [8][9]
Figure 1. High level model from business component element constituent 3.1.2. Second step: Identification, description and business services modeling For business orientation only componentization is not enough. Service orientation is the integration key between business components. Each component uses a unique goal and submits one or several services for the utilization of other components. Modeling used in this stage is focused on the service business aspect and supports all of the service oriented business activities. In addition this model states the connections between the service consumer and provider in all of the service hierarchy levels. [10] Table 2. Input, Output, technique and second step proposed approaches models Input Technique Output - Business - Unified Service Model -Description of business components -Business Reference Model services -High level model from the business service constituent components As it is observed in table 2, the inputs of this step are the business components that had been the first step outputs and the utilized techniques are unified service model (USM) and business reference model (BRM). [9][10] The goal of this step is: 1- identifying business services 2description of business services (business characteristics, describes a service from a view point of
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Advances in Information Sciences and Service Sciences Volume 2, Number 2, June 2010 related individuals with business. Business characteristics describe how a service is executed, how it is used, how its efficiency is measured and how it is managed.3- Modeling explains service activities such as service activities model, different performance realization level from a business architect. Service activities are modeled, to ensure that the provider of the service is committed to his services based on the contract. The key elements of service activity model include business performances, business duties, business sources and achievements. In figure 2 a high level model from business service key elements is shown.
Figure 2. A high level model from business service constituent components 3.1.2.1. Proposed Reference Model: Business Service Oriented Reference Model
(BSRM)
In the second step, to identify business services a reference model has been proposed that in submitting the model from existing views in Business Reference Model (BRM), Performance Reference Model (PRM) and Unified Service Model (USM) has been used and an attempt has been made to eliminate their weak points. In the business reference model, some domains have been explained that this model helps the classification of services, but does not explain the existing services in every domain. Performance reference model is the declarer of the goals, strategies, activities, and processes of the enterprise and mostly works on describing the business components and the unified (integrated) service model also describes the services and will not take any action to identify the services. As for the proposed model, as it is also shown in figure 4, business service domains include five areas that are described below: • The mission domain: the existing services in this domain are directly related with the goals and mission of the enterprise and put on an effort for the realization of the goals and mission of it and are included in the enterprise processes and entities. • The support domain: the existing services in this domain guide the business activities in a way that achieve the goals and are included in the politics, planning and monitoring to support the enterprise performances. • Resource Management domain: the existing services in this domain effectively activate the performances of the enterprise for achieving it goals an includes supply chain management services, human resource management services, financial management services, information technology management services and asset management services. • Customer domain: the existing services in this domain explain a group of capabilities that are related to domestic or foreign customers and also explain the activities or functions based on customers and include customer relation management services and partner relation management services. • Infrastructure domain: the existing services in this domain are as a part of the required structures for the implementation of a business process in services oriented architecture, and improve productivity, availability and functionality and include security management services, collaboration and relation services. 3.1.3 Third step: Identification and Software services Description Whereas the activation of business services by using technology has appeared in many successful businesses, but still identifying business services based on technology is mentioned as a challenge and whereof the goal is identifying services that have the capability of being activated through technology, after the business services identification and placing them the in business domain, every domain is seen as a systematic view and the existing software services in each domain are identified.
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Service Oriented Business Modeling to Identify Software Services Aida Amini Motlagh, Mir Ali Seyyedi The definitions that have been submitted for software services are listed below: [11] • Business services that have activation capability through information technology. • Services that implement the enterprise business and have a high impact on the functionality of the enterprise activities. • Services that are defined based on the customers needs and according to those needs, present values that are a combination of methodology and information. Table 3. Input, Output, Technique and the proposed approaches of third step models Input Technique Output -Business Services -Service Reference Model (SRM) -Description of software services -IBM-SOA Model -Microsoft Taxonomy of Service Model As it is seen on table 3, the goal of this step is the identification and description of software services, in what domain they are located, what is the goal and reason for the existence of the software services, what systematic activities does the business domain perform, what the presented services by the existing software services in a business domain for other business domains are and what the utilized services by the existing software services in a business domain from other business domain are. 3.1.3.1. Proposed Reference Model: Software Service Oriented Reference Model In the third step, for identifying software services, as it is seen in table 4, a reference model has been proposed that in submitting the model of existing views has been used in the SRM reference model, IBM-SOA model and in the Microsoft service classification models. Attempts have been made to eliminate their weak points. IBM model explains domains that the connection between business services are not specified, in IBM-SOA model and Microsoft service classification models have not separated the borders between business and software services and also the domain in which the services that have the mentioned services are not specified. In the proposed reference model by being placed in every enterprise, It scrutinizes the business services and identifies the software services that each business service that could be transformed into them. [12][13]
Business components Resource Management Domain
Table 4. Software Service Oriented Reference Model Business services Software services Accounting Service, Investment Financial Management Control Service, Payable & Services Receivable Services, Wages services, Function Measurement Services Daily Management Services, Human Resource Recruitment Services, Bonus Management Services Management Services, Educational services, Personnel work progress and preservation service, Personnel health and security service and personnel work time service Inventory control service, Goods Supply Chain warehouse management service, Management Services property list management service, resource finding management service, tracking and approving request service or invoice
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Advances in Information Sciences and Service Sciences Volume 2, Number 2, June 2010 Asset Management Services
Information Technology Management Services
Support Domain
Planning Services
Monitoring Services
Customer Domain
Customer relations Management Services
Partner relations Management Services Infrastructure Domain
Security Management Services Collaboration Services Communication Services
Operational Domain
The services in this part depend on the enterprise business
Documents Management Service, Knowledge Management Service, Register or Archive Service, Forms Management Service System Development Service, System Management Service, Information Security Service, Information Technology Structure Management Service, Systems Integration Services, System Engineering Services to customers Sales Planning Service, Creation Planning Service, Asset Planning Service, Payable and Receivable Planning Services, Customer Relation Planning Services Risk Management Services, Personnel Pursuit Service, Sales Management Service, Creation Management Service, Product Management Service, Credit Assessment Service Customer Analysis Service, Contact Management Service, Call center Management Service, Online Assistance Service, Customer Schedule Service, Customer Satisfaction Assessment Service Partners Services, Consultancy Services, Intra-organizational Services Access Control Services, Electronic Encryption Services E-Mail Services, Search Service Chat Service, Voice Conference Service
4. Conclusion All modeling techniques in the service oriented domain either concentrate lightly on high level strategies or goals or service oriented concept in the software domain, but service oriented business modeling that has been presented in this paper has several outstanding traits that make it different from other works done so far. First, the proposed modeling technique begins from the enterprise high level strategies and goals and key processes and finally in three steps will have the ability to identify the software services and gives the possibility of reducing the entire course from the business goals to final implementation in the software. Additionally, the proposed model is used both in service oriented businesses and in business that technology has an important and extensive role and whereas today in most service oriented enterprises software role has significantly increased, the proposed model will have a high efficiency level so by
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Service Oriented Business Modeling to Identify Software Services Aida Amini Motlagh, Mir Ali Seyyedi decreasing the distance between business and technology layers, the service oriented enterprises could achieve an agile business. Hence, they will have the necessary flexibility for software, technology and the quick market changes. In addition, for the first time in business modeling a technique has been used that the modeling elements are not the business processes and the two new modeling elements are introduced as business and software services that in the business services have been used in the business domain and software services have been utilized in a more technical domain.
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