SOA, BPM, and Microsoft:A Pragmatic View

David Chappell

Chappell & Associates

www.davidchappell.com

Copyright © 2006 David Chappell

Vision and Pragmatism

Vision is essential– But rubber must eventually meet road

Three pragmatic goals:

#1: Standardize on service-oriented communication

#2: Create the necessary service-oriented infrastructure

#3: Use business process management (BPM) technologies effectively

Goal #1: Standardize on Service-Oriented Communication

Service-oriented architecture (SOA) is a loosely defined vision– One with many diverse aspects

Two fundamental aspects of a service-oriented (SO) world are:– A common protocol for communication

between SO applications– A common foundation for creating SO

applications

A Common Protocol: SOAP

Business Service

Business Service

Business Service

Business Service

Business Service

Business Service

Business Service

Business Service

Packaged Application

Z

ERP Application

Packaged Application

Y

J2EE Application

.NET Application

Packaged Application

X

CICS Application

AS/400 Application

SOAP

A Common Foundation: Windows Communication Foundation (WCF)

.NET Framework 2.0

ADO.NET

ASP.NET

. . .

Applications

Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP

Windows Communication

Foundation

Windows Workflow

Foundation

Windows Presentation Foundation

Windows CardSpace

.NET Framework 3.0

Windows Communication FoundationAPI

ASMX & WSE .NET Remoting Enterprise ServicesSystem.MessagingAPI

WCF: Unifying Communication

Applications

.NET Framework 2.0

MSMQSOAP & WS-* Remoting binary protocol

DCOMProtocol

Applications

.NET Framework 3.0

OthersSOAP & WS-* WCF binary protocol

MSMQProtocol

Providing business value- Increased agility: Through easier application interconnection- Extensive reuse of business services: Maybe

Getting widespread adoption- New applications: SOAP- Existing applications: Diverse protocols

Standardize on Service-Oriented Communication: Summary

SolutionProblem

Defining data- Syntax: XML and WSDL- Document definitions: Various formats in use

- Windows-based applications: WCF- Other applications: Most likely Service Component Architecture (SCA)

Defining a common foundation

Defining a common protocol- RPC: SOAP/HTTP with WS-*- Message queuing: None

Goal #2: Create the Necessary Service-Oriented Infrastructure

SOAP is not enough:– No agreement on a queued messaging

protocol– Need to translate among different data

formats– Must connect with existing applications that

don’t speak SOAP

The dominant term for technology that addresses problems like these is Enterprise Service Bus (ESB)– But what’s an ESB?

Defining an ESB:Gartner (1)

A Web-services-capable middleware infrastructure that supports communication and mediates application interactions

To be an ESB, a middleware subsystem must: – Implement program-to-program communication

• Always supporting SOAP/HTTP• Almost always supporting other protocols, such as

SOAP/MOM, XML/HTTP and plain MOM

– Support other core Web services standards• Always including XML and WSDL; usually including

others such as WS-Addressing and WS-Security

Defining an ESB:Gartner (2)

To be an ESB, a middleware subsystem must also:– Be capable of:

• Service discovery, binding and virtualization (transparently switching to alternative service components)

• Intelligent (header-based) routing

– Have an extensible, intermediary-based architecture so that additional features can be plugged in

– Be aware of message schemas• Through the use of metadata

Defining an ESB:Forrester (1)

Infrastructure software that makes reusable business services widely available to users, applications, business processes, and other services

Common ESB components include:– Multi-protocol communication infrastructure– Routing– Transformation and mapping– Service orchestration, aggregation, and process

management– Transaction management

Defining an ESB:Forrester (2)

More common ESB components:– Security– Quality of service– Service registry and metadata management– Extensibility for message enrichment– Monitoring and management– Support for the service lifecycle

Application Application

The goal is to create the right infrastructure for effective communication

Service-Oriented Infrastructure:A Pragmatic View

Service-Oriented Enterprises: An Idealized, SOAP-Based View

Business Service

Business Service

Business Service

Business Service

Business Service

Business Service

Business Service

Business Service

Packaged Application

Z

ERP Application

Packaged Application

Y

J2EE Application

.NET Application

Packaged Application

X

CICS Application

AS/400 Application

SOAP

Service-Oriented Enterprises: A Realistic View

Business Service

Business Service

Business Service

Business Service

Business Service

Business Service

Business Service

Business Service

Packaged Application

Z

ERP Application

Packaged Application

Y

J2EE Application

.NET Application

Packaged Application

X

CICS Application

AS/400 Application

SOAP

Messages

BizTalk Server 2006

Business Service

Business Service

Business Service

Business Service

Business Service

Business Service

Business Service

Business Service

Packaged Application

Z

ERP Application

Packaged Application

Y

J2EE Application

.NET Application

Packaged Application

X

CICS Application

AS/400 Application

BizTalk Server

Message Box

Illustrating BizTalk Server 2006

Orchestration

Business Rules Engine (BRE)

Business Activity Monitoring (BAM)

Health and Activity Tracking (HAT)

Visual Studio 2005

Orchestration Designer

Data Mapping

AcceleratorsHL7 SWIFT Others...

Other Software

Web Services OthersWebSphere MQ SAPFile ...

Adapters

Others, e.g., services registry, management, etc.

- Various, such as Enterprise UDDI Services and System Center Operations Manager 2007

- Various adapters for BizTalk ServerConnecting to existing applications via diverse protocols

- BizTalk data mapping Data transformation

Create the Necessary Service-Oriented Infrastructure: Summary

Windows-Based SolutionProblem

Providing interoperable queued messaging- BizTalk Server message box- Adapters for MSMQ, WebSphere MQ, and others

- WCFProviding a foundation for service-oriented applications

Goal #3: Use BPM Technologies Effectively

A business view of BPM:– Viewing a business as a set of

processes that can be explicitly defined, optimized, and managed

A technical view of BPM:– Development using software designed

for creating, executing, and monitoring process logic

Core BPM Technologies

Workflow– System and human

Graphical tools– For defining processes

Integration technologies– Such as adapters and message

transformation

Business rules engines (BREs)

Business activity monitoring (BAM)

BPM Technologies and SOA

Business Service

Business Service

Business Service

Business Service

Business Service

Business Service

Business Service

Packaged Application

Y

ERP Application

J2EE Application

.NET Application

Packaged Application

X

CICS Application

AS/400 Application

BAM

Microsoft’s Primary BPM Offerings

BizTalk Server 2006

Windows Workflow Foundation

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0– And Office SharePoint Server 2007

Windows Workflow Foundation (WF)

.NET Framework 2.0

ADO.NET

ASP.NET

. . .

Applications

Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP

Windows Communication

Foundation

Windows Workflow

Foundation

Windows Presentation Foundation

Windows CardSpace

.NET Framework 3.0

Host Process

Illustrating WF

Runtime Engine

Other Activities

Base Activity Library (BAL)

Activities

Workflow

Runtime Services

Visual Studio 2005

WF Workflow Designer

Windows SharePoint Services

Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) is a standard part of Windows Server 2003– WSS 3.0 hosts the WF runtime engine

Office SharePoint Server, part of the 2007 Microsoft Office system, adds more workflow capabilities– All of which are built on WF and WSS 3.0

Windows Server 2003

Windows SharePoint Services

Site 1 Site 2 …

Web Browser

Internet Information Services

Site N

Microsoft Office

Document Library 1

List 1

Item A

Item B

Item C. . .

List N

Item A

Item B

Item C. . .

. . .

Document Library N

. . .

SQL Server

Illustrating Windows SharePoint Services

Windows Server 2003

Windows SharePoint Services

Site 1 Site 2 … Site N

SQL Server

WF Runtime Engine

Internet Information Services

Workflow Instances

List

Item A

Item B

Item C. . .

Associations

Workflow Templates

Document Library

Illustrating WSS 3.0 Workflows

Interacting with WSS 3.0 Workflows

A WSS-hosted workflow places tasks on a user’s task list– A user can access this list via a web

browser or Outlook 2007

WSS defines several WF activities, including:– CreateTask: adds a task to a task list– OnTaskChanged: informs the workflow

that a task has been modified

Windows SharePoint Services

SiteWorkflow Templates

Document Library

Workflow Initiator

Workflow Participants

Task List

Approve

. . .

4) Add task to task list

1) Select document and association

Workflow Instance

2) Create workflow instance

3) Customize and start workflow instance

5) Check task list

6) Complete task

An Example WSS 3.0 Workflow

Creating WSS 3.0 Workflows

Developers: WF Workflow Designer– With extra WSS 3.0-supplied activities

Information workers: Office SharePoint Designer– Allows defining workflows by specifying

conditions and actions for each step– Users can now add application logic to

WSS 3.0 sites

Illustrating the WF Workflow Designer

Illustrating Office SharePoint Designer

What Office SharePoint Server 2007 Adds

A group of customizable pre-defined workflows– Approval, Collect Feedback, etc.

The ability to interact with workflows directly from Office applications using InfoPath workflow forms– WSS alone mostly supports interacting with

workflows through a browser

A range of content-management capabilities– Such as document templates and broad

search capabilities

- BizTalk Server data mapping, adapters, etc.Integration technologies

- System workflow: BizTalk Server Orchestration Designer- Human workflow: WF Workflow Designer and Office SharePoint Designer 2007

Graphical tools for defining processes

Use BPM Technologies Effectively: Summary

Windows-Based SolutionProblem

- BizTalk Server BAMBusiness activity monitoring

Supporting human workflow- WF-based workflows in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 and Office SharePoint Server 2007

- BizTalk Server orchestrationsSupporting system workflow

- BizTalk Server BRE- WF rules

Business rules engine

Conclusion

Vision is essential, but so is pragmatism– Every organization’s SOA path is unique

Three pragmatic goals:

#1: Standardize on service-oriented communication

#2: Create the necessary service-oriented infrastructure

#3: Use BPM technologies effectively

Working toward these will benefit every organization

For Further Reading

Introducing Windows Communication Foundationhttp://www.davidchappell.com/IntroducingWCFv1.2.1.pdf

Understanding BizTalk Server 2006http://download.microsoft.com/documents/australia

/ windowsserversystem/biztalk2006/ Understanding_BTS06.pdf

Understanding Workflow in Windows SharePoint Services and the 2007 Microsoft Office Systemhttp://download.microsoft.com/download/1/A/B/1AB1AC93-13A4-4001-A757-A340A211A06F/ Understanding%20WF%20in%20WSS%20and%20Office%202007%20v1.doc

About the Speaker

David Chappell is Principal of Chappell & Associates in San Francisco, California. David Chappell is Principal of Chappell & Associates in San Francisco, California. Through his speaking, writing, and consulting, he helps IT professionals around the Through his speaking, writing, and consulting, he helps IT professionals around the world understand, use, and make better decisions about enterprise software.world understand, use, and make better decisions about enterprise software.

David has been the keynote speaker for dozens of conferences and events in the David has been the keynote speaker for dozens of conferences and events in the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Latin America. His popular seminars have been attended by U.S., Europe, Asia, and Latin America. His popular seminars have been attended by tens of thousands of developers, architects, and decision makers in forty countries. tens of thousands of developers, architects, and decision makers in forty countries.

David’s books have been published in ten languages and used in courses at MIT, David’s books have been published in ten languages and used in courses at MIT, ETH Zurich, and other educational institutions. He is Series Editor for Addison-ETH Zurich, and other educational institutions. He is Series Editor for Addison-Wesley’s award-winning Wesley’s award-winning Independent Technology GuidesIndependent Technology Guides, and he has been a regular , and he has been a regular columnist for several publications. In his consulting practice, David has helped columnist for several publications. In his consulting practice, David has helped clients such as Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Microsoft, Stanford University, and Target clients such as Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Microsoft, Stanford University, and Target Corporation adopt new technologies, market new products, train their sales staffs, Corporation adopt new technologies, market new products, train their sales staffs, and create business plans.and create business plans.

David’s comments have appeared in The New York Times, CNN.com, and many David’s comments have appeared in The New York Times, CNN.com, and many other publications. Earlier in his career, he wrote software for supercomputers, other publications. Earlier in his career, he wrote software for supercomputers, chaired a U.S. national standardization working group, and played keyboards with chaired a U.S. national standardization working group, and played keyboards with the Peabody-award-winning Children’s Radio Theater. David holds a B.S. in the Peabody-award-winning Children’s Radio Theater. David holds a B.S. in Economics and an M.S. in Computer Science, both from the University of Economics and an M.S. in Computer Science, both from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.Wisconsin-Madison.