Showing posts with label tools. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tools. Show all posts

Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA): Concepts, Technology, and Design Review

Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA): Concepts, Technology, and Design
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Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA): Concepts, Technology, and Design ReviewThis book is superb. I have read every SOA book available (up until Apr/06) because it's part of my job as a technology research analyst and all-around techno-geek. From those that I have read and studied, this is the only one I feel compelled to write a review about. AND - because I did have to go through it in such detail I'm going to raid my research notes and share with you a detailed review of not just the book, but each of its chapters.
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Nothing special here, this is just a chapter that introduces the rest of the book. Call it a glorified table of contents if you will. At first I felt like skipping it altogether, but then I did what I'm supposed to do for my job and that is read each and every part. In the end, I'm glad I took the time for two reasons: By reading a summary of each of the chapters I got a good feel for what this book was going to cover and what it wasn't going to cover. Secondly, I liked the author's intro stuff about ideal and not so ideal (real) SOA. Kind of insightful and stinging at the same time. Still, though, this is still just a description of other chapters. It's also a chapter you can get for free at the book's web site.
Chapter 2 - Case Studies
Here the author provides background information for the two companies he uses as case studies. If you're into case studies, then you'll definitely want to read through this. But - I found the subsequent samples pretty easy to follow and I think you could get away with skipping this chapter if you really wanted to.
Chapter 3 - Introducing SOA
Here's where I started getting into the meat of the book. If you think you don't understand what soa is or what the industry's made of it or turned it into then you need to read this chapter. It breaks it all down and builds it all up again in a very systematic manner. Make sure you leave this chapter with an understanding of how primitive and contemporary variations of soa are different because the author uses these terms later.
Chapter4 - The Evolution of SOA
Finally someone who makes a distinction between specification and standard and gets it right. This chapter talks about the soa industry and how vendors are responsible for soa but are also causing problems at the same time. How standards organizations are working for soa but also competing at the same time. Pretty interesting stuff and even though this was the least technical chapter, not once was I bored. It ends by comparing Ssoa with older architectures. I especially like how the author differentiates between soa and "traditional" distributed architecture that uses web services. (hint: rpc has a lot to do with it)
Chapter 5 - Web services and primitive soa
I read the author's first soa book last year and this chapter seemed to repeat a few sections from that. But if I remember correctly it goes into more detail and provides case study examples that the first book didn't have. If you're a web services veteran you can probably skip this one.
Chapter 6 -Web Services and Contemporary SOA (Part I: Activity Management and Composition)
Here he goes up a gear and dives right into that scary thing we've been calling ws-* Everything from transactions to context mgmt to orchestration and so on is covered. I really felt the author did a brilliant job building this chapter up by starting with simple meps and building up to activity management and bpel and so on. He really showed how each adds a layer over the other and how all add layers to soa.
Chapter 7 - Web Services and Contemporary SOA (Part II: Advanced Messaging, Metadata, and Security)
Yup, the rollercoast ride continues here as he gets into addressing, reliable messaging, security and other ws-* specs. All of these are specs I had already heard about and I think this type of coverage is appropriate forwhere soa is going. I forgot to mention that in this chapter and 6 he introduces 'in plain english' sections that are hilarious. They are humorous analogies that compare these complex technologies to analogies he writes about a car wash. Good, fresh writing in the usual dull and dry techno world.
Chapter 8 - Principles of Service-Orientation
Essentially a whole bunch of theory about designing services and then eight specific 'principles' (dos and don'ts) about how to design services the right way for soa. I had to go back and reread this chapter after I finished the book. I sort of glanced thru it at first but then found out that later chapters really use these principles. When I went through it again I actually thought this was pretty important stuff. This really is the next oo. You can get this chapter for free at the book web site too.
Chapter 9 - Service Layers
STudy this if you're a application architect or enterprise architect. It shows what you canh do with services built with service-orientation. The diagrams showing different types of layers combined together are pretty cool.
Chapter 10 - SOA Delivery Strategies
If you're a PM you'll love this chapter. It gets into the different phases in a soa project and how you can reorganize them using 'delivery strategies' depending on your budgets and priorities. I'd pay extra close attention to the pros and cons parts where, after documenting these strategies in abstract, the author points out their true colors.
Chapter 11 + 12 - Service-Oriented Analysis I + II
Don't know where to start when it comes to figuring out your services? Well, the author lays it all out here. He provides a process for systemtically breaking down your business logic and divying it up into services. Chapter 12 is like an instruction manual about service model. Being froma web services background this was all new to me.
Chapter 13 - 16 - Service-Oriented Design I, II, III, IV
Roll up your sleeves man, because here is where you get into the real muck of building web services for an soa. There are a bunch of processes that hash out the nitty gritty of wsdl, xsd, and bpel and show you how to build services for the types of layers set up in ch.9. Tons of code and case study samples and tips for design. This is probably the most valuable part of the book for developers and architects.
Chapter 17- Fundamental WS-* Extensions
I forgot tomention that in chapters 6 and 7 no code samples are given. He only covered ws-* specs conceptually. All of the corresponding code is placed in this chapter. A bit inconvenient if you're a developer who wants to see the code while learning about the spec, but not tragic. The neat thing is he ties the code samples into the case studies. This was my first experience with ws-* in real world tyhpe scenarios.
Chapte r18 - SOA Platforms
The author documents j2ee and .net frameworks here first in total abstract and then about how they support the different parts of soa. This was very interesting because it related a lot of the concepts stuff to actual technology and the let you compare different technologies in how they support soa.
I recommend this book to colleagures and clients and I'm recommending it here. If you have questions about SOA then this book probably has the answers you're looking for. I say that because by the time I finished reading it I ran out of questions myself.
Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA): Concepts, Technology, and Design OverviewThis is a comprehensive tutorial that teaches fundamental and advanced SOAdesign principles, supplemented with detailed case studies and technologiesused to implement SOAs in the real world.***We'll have cover endorsements from Tom Glover, who leads IBM's WebServices Standards initiatives; Dave Keogh, Program Manager for Visual StudioEnterprise Tools at Microsoft, and Sameer Tyagi, Senior Staff Engineer, SunMicrosystems. All major software manufacturers and vendors are promotingsupport for SOA. As a result, every major development platform now officiallysupports the creation of service-oriented solutions.Parts I, II, and III cover basic and advanced SOA concepts and theory thatprepare you for Parts IV and V, which provide a series of step-by-step "howto" instructions for building an SOA. Part V further contains coverage of WS-*technologies and SOA platform support provided by J2EE and .NET.

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Analysis Without Paralysis: 10 Tools to Make Better Strategic Decisions Review

Analysis Without Paralysis: 10 Tools to Make Better Strategic Decisions
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Analysis Without Paralysis: 10 Tools to Make Better Strategic Decisions Review'Analysis without Paralysis: 10 Tools to Make Better Strategic Decisions', by Babette Bensoussan & Craig Fleisher;
I reckon, to complete the strategy repertoire of a 21st century manager in today's competitive marketspace, & to serve as quick handy references to a broad spectrum of tools, strategies & tips, there are only two books that really stand out in the field of business (BI)/competitive (CI)/strategic intelligence (SI).
They are actually compendiums, as follows:

1) 'Strategic and Competitive Analysis: Methods & Techniques for Analyzing Business Competition' (published in 2002), by Craig Fleisher & Babette Bensoussan;
I recap its content tapestry as follows:
PART 1. ANALYSIS AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE AND STRATEGY:
1. The Strategy & CI Process.
2. Analysis & Its Pitfalls.
3. The FAROUT System.
PART 2. THE TECHNIQUES OF STRATEGY & COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS:
Section 1. Strategic Analytical Techniques:
4. BCG Growth/Share Portfolio Matrix.
5. GE Business Screen Matrix.
6. Industry Analysis.
7. Strategic Group Analysis.
8. SWOT Analysis.
9. Value Chain Analysis.
Section 2. Competitive and Customer Analysis Techniques:
10. Blindspot Analysis.
11. Competitor Analysis.
12. Customer Segmentation Analysis.
13. Customer Value Analysis.
14. Functional Capability & Resource Analysis.
15. Management Profiling.
Section 3. Environmental Analysis Techniques:
16. Issue Analysis.
17. Macro-environmental (STEEP) Analysis.
18. Scenario Analysis.
19. Stakeholder Analysis.
Section 4. Evolutionary Analysis Techniques:
20. Experience Curve Analysis.
21. Growth Vector Analysis.
22. Patent Analysis.
23. Product Life Cycle Analysis.
24. S-Curve (Technology Life Cycle) Analysis.
Section 5. Financial Analysis Techniques:
25. Financial Ratio & Statement Analysis.
26. Strategic Funds Programming.
27. Sustainable Growth Rate Analysis.Index.

2) 'Business & Competitive Analysis: Effective Application of New & Classic Methods' (published in 2007), by Craig Fleisher & Babette Bensoussan;
I recap its content tapestry as follows:
1. Business and Competitive Analysis: Definition, Context, & Benefits
2. Performing the Analysis Process
3. Avoiding Analysis Pitfalls
4. Communicating Analysis Results
5. Applying the FAROUT method
6. Industry Analysis (The Nine Forces)
7. Competitive Positioning Analysis
8. Business Model Analysis
9. SERVO Analysis
10. Supply Chain Management (SCM) Analysis
11. Benchmarking Analysis
12. McKinsey 7S Analysis
13. Shadowing
14. Product Line Analysis
15. Win/Loss Analysis
16. Strategic Relationship Analysis
17. Corporate Reputation Analysis
18. Critical Success Factors Analysis
19. Country Risk Analysis
20. Driving Forces Analysis
21. Event and Timeline Analysis
22. Technology Forecasting
23. War Gaming
24. Indications & Warning Analysis
25. Historiographical Analysis
26. Interpretation of Statistical Analysis
27. Competitor Cash Flow Analysis
28. Analysis of Competing Hypothesis
29. Linchpin Analysis
Combined, both compendiums discussed, compared, analysed & evaluated, with a seemingly strong bias towards application, almost 50 classic & popular contemporary tools & strategies in the BI/CI/SI field.
The two authors have apparently selected them out of 300 using their own prioritisation scheme to evaluate. [More information about the prioritisation can be found on the authors' weblog on Amazon.]
For each tool, the authors, backed with their own impeccable credentials in the BI/CI/SI arena, have presented clear descriptions, step-by-step instructions, & case study examples. For me, I have been quite impressed by their systematic & rigorous treatment.
Frankly, the first time I had encountered the authors' debut book (1), my managerial mind was blown as I have had real-world experiences with only a limited number of the tools & strategies, namely SWOT, STEEP/PEST Analyses, & GE's Nine Block Matrix (an adaptation of BCG's), plus strategic issues management.

Recently, I have acquired & read the authors' latest book (3), 'Analysis Without Paralysis: 10 Tools to Make Better Strategic Decisions', published in 2008.
I knew prior to my requisition that this book didn't offer new or fresh perspectives, but I had wanted to keep it as a memento, since I had really enjoyed the authors' earlier work.
For reader's benefit, I recap its content tapestry as follows:
Part I Introduction 1:
Chapter 1 Business Management & the Role of Analysis
Chapter 2 The Analysis Process
Part II Analysis Tools:
Chapter 3 BCG Growth/Share Portfolio Matrix
Chapter 4 Competitor Analysis
Chapter 5 Financial Ratio & Statement Analysis
Chapter 6 Five Forces Industry Analysis
Chapter 7 Issue Analysis
Chapter 8 Political Risk Analysis
Chapter 9 Scenario Analysis
Chapter 10 Macro-environmental (STEEP/PEST) Analysis
Chapter 11 SWOT Analysis
Chapter 12 Value Chain Analysis
All I can say about this book (3) is that it's a cannibalised version of the authors' earlier works, with only 10 selected tools & strategies, out of about 50.
If you have acquired the author's earlier masterpieces, then this book (3) is likely to be a redundant copy, unless of course if you are, just like me, want to have it as a memento.
If you want to access the authors' complete thoughtwares in the field of BI/CI/SI, I suggest getting the authors' two earlier books (1 & 2) as mentioned above. They may be pricey, but they are definitely worth the limited shelf space on your managerial bookshelf.
Reviewed by Lee Say Keng, Knowledge Adventurer & Technology Explorer, November 2008Analysis Without Paralysis: 10 Tools to Make Better Strategic Decisions OverviewIf you're a manager or business owner, you need tools to make better decisions--about business strategy, marketing, competition, positioning, product development, and much more. In Analysis Without Paralysis, two renowned experts on business analysis and strategy bring you those tools, in plain English! Babette Bensoussan and Craig Fleisher teach you exactly what you need to know, without dragging you through unnecessarily complex concepts or advanced mathematics. They start with a practical, realistic introduction to the analysis process; then they walk you through ten core sets of analysis techniques that every manager can use effectively. You'll master classic techniques like SWOT analysis and Porter's Five Forces, in addition to the latest approaches to competitor, financial, issue, and value chain analysis. Next, Bensoussan and Fleisher guide you through analyzing the global social, political, and macroenvironmental challenges that will increasingly shape the future of your business. For each tool, the authors present clear descriptions, context, rationales, strengths, weaknesses, step-by-step instructions, and case study examples. The result: a book you can rely on to address your strategic and business challenges--whatever your role, experience, industry, or environment.Don't just collect data--use it for competitive advantageUncover correlations, assess trends, identify performance gaps, and identify your best opportunities

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