Review By: Scott Brookhart
07/02/2009People who manage software development and project teams or are software developers interested in service-oriented architecture (SOA) and would like some instruction on implementing SOA are encouraged to read this book. In it, the authors assess the needs and skills of roles in the organization to implement governance. I appreciate that most of the book is devoted to bulleted lists, checklists, diagrams, and tables with supporting documentation. I find this format usable and easy to follow rather than wading through a lot of text to understand the steps and needs for SOA governance.

Coincidentally I received this book as my organization starts to implement SOA governance. We are looking for some structure and guidance to assist with organizing the large base of developers and applications that are supported. We are also hoping to learn from others. This book provides the support we need for our endeavors. The authors are proficient and have a great deal of experience, knowledge, and expertise on the topic. Even though the authors have some relationship with IBM, the issues for governance are the same for different technologies.

The chapters are organized so that readers can easily understand this topic and implement the steps in their organization in a logical fashion. I liked the assessment the authors include that is recommended to determine if the organization is capable of a SOA governance body. I also liked the level of detail offered by this book and the recommendations for a successful launch of a SOA governance structure, which also includes how organizations can fail. Overall, I find this book is a must for organizations wanting to implement SOA or for those thinking about it. One of the goals of the SOA is reusability. Without some governance, this goal may not be reached to its fullest extent—or at all. The authors recommend that organizations set up a center of excellence to evaluate day to day operations. I wasn't so sure that my organization would consider this step, but after reading of its importance for success, this will be an activity that will be followed.

Several of my colleagues are already interested in this book as a result of my having read it, and I did not have to recommend it heavily. I simply offered the title, told them it is a well-organized, easy-to-follow, easy-to-implement book with details, and they seemed quite interested in finding out more. I also liked that this book has a free online edition when the book is purchased. For an organization needing a reference to this material, the online edition becomes handy.