English abstract
The rapidly changing business requirements expect high business process flexibility. These requirements necessitate a swift composition of applications, which is no longer supported by the monolithic architecture. Therefore, service oriented architecture (SOA) is introduced for enhanced business control. As an architectural style, SOA improves the efficiency of developing information systems and also enables a rapid response to everchanging business needs. Currently, the enterprises are not only adopting SOA but also using SOA maturity models (SOAMMs) to guide them to reach desirable maturity levels. SOA adoption is a complex process, with different levels of maturity that require knowhow in terms of practices. This research aims to develop a methodical framework for SOA realization based on the SOA maturity model. The framework concerns with capturing knowledge on how to identify and shape the main building blocks for methodology dimension at different SOA adoption maturity levels. We follow the design science research methodology for information system development to develop the framework. More precisely, a systematic mapping study of existing SOAMMs is conducted to guide the selection of a maturity model. Welke's model is extended to serve as a base to structure the proposed framework. The extended model defines methodical building blocks, methodical guidelines, and SOA capabilities for different maturity levels. Two algorithms are specified and implemented for the metric definition to predict SOA capabilities. This research applies the basic principles of method engineering to define method fragments for different maturity levels. Eclipse Process Framework Composer models and stores the method fragments for further reuse. The proposed framework is evaluated using various evaluation techniques. The framework provides methodical knowledge and components that fit with the methodology dimension of Welke's SOAMM. Logically the framework has two views, (i) the capability view offers the structural properties that influence the SOA capabilities, and the quantitative metrics for structural properties, (ii) the method view includes the method fragments to realize the building blocks. The framework is supported by tools for maturity assessment, metrics definition, and method base. The applicability of the proposed framework is evaluated using a case study. The evaluation results revealed that the framework would help enterprises to select method fragments required at each maturity level and ultimately to accomplish business excellence. The proposed framework outperforms the existing frameworks in methodical knowledge coverage and tool support. The implications of this research are twofold: from a theoretical perspective, the researchers or practitioners can use the results to engineer new methods. From a practical standpoint, enterprises can use the extended Welke's SOAMM to assess their current maturity level and select the required method fragments from the method base provided in the proposed framework for further implementation.
