Lab49's Application-Driven Service Oriented Architecture offering provides financial services institutions with a practical, application-driven approach to developing an enterprise software architecture.
We adopt an iterative approach to designing and refining complex architectures whereby we use critical business functionality to drive the development of specific services and architectural components. While we advocate the adoption of standards and a reference architecture, it is imperative that the service architecture support the delivery of applications and also adapt to changes in business and market requirements.
Lab49 has a vast array of experience helping clients define and refine complex architectures and their constituent components. We can help clients evaluate the pros and cons of service oriented architectures, understand the needs and implications for adopting a tightly coupled versus a loosely coupled architecture, and evaluate a myriad of other factors that will help determine how best to retain control of applications and process workflow.
Ultimately, Lab49 helps clients adopt a pragmatic approach to designing and refining a service-based architecture while providing insight and experience on functional and technical issues that surround such an enterprise asset.
Delivery Process
Our Application-Driven SOA Service Offering is based on an iterative approach to service and component development, driven by application specific needs, and includes four key integrated activities:
Reference Architecture
Lab49 helps clients to create transformative and adaptive business applications by establishing the architectural principles, frameworks, communication protocols, interfaces and standards upfront. Additionally, we work with clients to ensure that services and components are defined in an abstract manner that avoids technology lock-in. The resulting architectural blueprint is then validated through the use of a reference application.
Service Architecture
Once a reference architecture has been designed and validated, Lab49 works with clients to determine the entire set of business processes that need to be supported in the service view of the architecture. This normally includes defining functional workflow, use cases, and other application requirements. The specific services to implemented are then identified together with the processes and specifications of how they will be integrated. Lab49's Large Scale Computing service can play a complementary role in planning and designing for the performance aspects of the service architecture.
Service Component Design
Once the initial service architecture has been designed, Lab49 helps clients detail the interfaces of individual services and components. Care is taken to maintain an appropriate level of service granularity while interface design needs to account for where to keep functionality coarse-grained and possibly stateless. When this process is complete, application development can begin to take advantage of the new architecture.
Iterative Project Delivery
Lab49 helps clients realize architectural goals by using applications to incrementally deliver business value while building the specific services and components that will operate within the architecture. Our approach is to adopt an iterative development process that delivers functionality to the business, while providing feedback to continuously refine the architecture design. Additionally, by setting and continuously tracking various metrics of service performance our approach helps clients focus on delivering business functionality while providing transparency into the financial and technical health of the architectural program.
