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begin enforcing policies using clear, transparent, and enforceable poli-
cies, it will seem like you are over-governing. You are, and you must,in
order to assert control over key SOA activities. You must remember to
temper this by focusing on critical SOA governance concerns (e.g., SOA
Reference Architecture, services design standards, implementation pat-
terns). Over time, SOA governance policies and expectations will not be
new, and thus you will be able to remove some governance processes as
SOA governance becomes part of the fabric and culture of your enter-
prise. This will take a few years. In the meantime, be prepared to over-
govern.
&
Staff boards with rising stars. One way to gain support for SOA gover-
nance is to send a clear message that it is crucial for the organization.
The importance of SOA governance can be demonstrated by appointing
senior executives to the initial governance boards, and by selecting cor-
porate rising stars to participate as well. The worst thing your organiza-
tion can do is staff governance boards with marginal performers who
do not have anything better to do.
SOA governance is an essential aspect of SOA to get right. Do not cut
corners on establishing clear policies that align with business and IT goals
and your SOA strategy. Think of this as your SOA operating system—you
must get it right.
COMMON SOA GOVERNANCE MISTAKES
SOA governance is immature. This relative immaturity of SOA leads natu-
rally to many mistakes in how organizations implement SOA governance.
These mistakes come in a variety of shapes and sizes, depending on the ap-
proach to SOA governance. As with any new technology trend, software
vendors rush their ‘‘new’’ tools to market to solve the problem, usually
ahead of an organization’s ability to take full advantage of the tool. The
normal progression then is that the tool replaces the more appropriate focus
on processes and outcomes.
Another SOA governance trend is the opportunistic repositioning of
software tools as ‘‘SOA governance’’ solutions. Web services management
(WSM) tools are now ‘‘runtime governance tools.’’ Metadata repositories
are now ‘‘design-time SOA governance platforms.’’ And network routers
and security appliances are now runtime governance policy enforcement
solutions. Regardless, the overarching message here is simple: Do not re-
duce SOA governance to a software tool, and do not confuse opportunistic
product repositioning as a true SOA governance solution.
Common SOA Governance Mistakes 33