The Architecture Journal

Microsoft Architecture Journal Issue 18 - Call For Papers

editors@architecturejournal.net — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:00:00 GMT

The 18th issue of The Architecture Journal will be focused on Green Computing. The ubiquity of technology services is leading to significant energy waste, in a world where increasing energy costs and the need to reduce carbon footprints are becoming an imperative.

We are looking for practitioner experiences and ideas on sustainable IT environments and solutions, addressing issues such as the following:

What are, beyond theory, the actual green technology big bets?
What considerations must be taken when building a physical data-center?
How do environmental regulations impact architectural decisions?
What could you say about Green Business Intelligence? Do you have some pattern for collecting, managing, and enacting environmental data? What are the best BI and data practices for analyzing environmental metrics?
From a solution architecture perspective, what are the best practices for reducing environmental impact on business, employees, partners, and customers?
Last but not least, are we ready to talk about green application development best practices? Do you know real strategies, patterns to use fewer resources and improve efficiency?

If you have opinions that you would like to share with the architect community on sustainable architectures, here is your chance! Follow the instructions below to send an abstract before the cut-off date and you could see your thoughts and ideas shared with over 62,000 readers, translated in 5 languages, and distributed at multiple conferences around the world!

The cut-off date for abstracts for the next issue is September 10th 2008. If you are interested in making a submission, here are the details:

How do I make a submission?

To submit an idea for a paper, please send the following:

A 2 – 4 paragraph abstract explaining how your paper fits the "Green Computing" theme of the magazine
A 1 – 2 paragraph bio
A list of previously published articles

Submissions should be made via Email to editors@architecturejournal.net

We receive many submissions for each issue, so we encourage you to put time and thought into the submission.

When will I know whether my submission is accepted?

After the call for papers has ended, you will be notified via Email as to whether your submission was successful or not.

What happens if my submission is accepted?

If accepted, you’ll have between 6 weeks to submit two drafts and a final version of your paper. These dates will be clearly communicated. Your first draft will be reviewed by an editorial board to ensure it is on message for the magazine. Your second draft and final version will be subject to both technical and copy editing.

The magazine is generally available in print and online 4 weeks after final drafts are submitted.

What are the guidelines for papers printed in the Architecture Journal?

We recommend that papers are between 3,500 and 4,500 words in length – although we have accepted shorter and longer papers in the past. The article should be submitted using Microsoft Word. Diagrams should be submitted in either Microsoft Visio or Microsoft PowerPoint, and will be reformatted for the magazine.

Do I still own the work?

Yes. We ask you to sign a release form that gives Microsoft permission to reprint the article, but ownership of the paper remains with you, the author.

Will I get paid for writing?

We do not currently reimburse authors for contributing to the Architecture Journal.

Will I get copies of the magazine as an author?

After printing you’ll be sent 10 copies of the Journal for your own use. Additional copies can be requested.

Where can I get more information?

Check out this link

Microsoft Architecture Journal Issue 17 - Call For Papers

editors@architecturejournal.net — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 12:00:00 GMT

The next issue of the Architecture Journal will focus on Distributed Computing. We are approaching an inflection point with today’s hardware and technologies where a vision from only a few years ago is becoming reality –from deploying applications on microscopic devices in our environment through to football-sized datacenters offering applications in the cloud. Whether small or large, distribution and concurrency of multiple services can introduce a number of challenges – the focus of this issue is to understand what these challenges are, and how they can be overcome.

If you have opinions that you would like to share with the architect community on distributed computing, here is your chance! Follow the instructions below to send an abstract before the cut-off date and you could see your thoughts and ideas shared with over 60,000 readers, translated in 5 languages, and distributed at multiple conferences around the world!

The cut-off date for abstracts for the next issue is July 28th 2008. If you are interested in making a submission, here are the details:

How do I make a submission?

To submit an idea for a paper, please send the following:

A 2 – 4 paragraph abstract explaining how your paper fits the "Distributed Computing" theme of the magazine
A 1 – 2 paragraph bio
A list of previously published articles

Submissions should be made via Email to editors@architecturejournal.net

We receive many submissions for each issue, so we encourage you to put time and thought into the submission.

When will I know whether my submission is accepted?

After the call for papers has ended, you will be notified via Email as to whether your submission was successful or not.

What happens if my submission is accepted?

The magazine is generally available in print and online 4 weeks after final drafts are submitted.

What are the guidelines for papers printed in the Architecture Journal?

Do I still own the work?

Yes. We ask you to sign a release form that gives Microsoft permission to reprint the article, but ownership of the paper remains with you, the author.

Will I get paid for writing?

We do not currently reimburse authors for contributing to the Architecture Journal.

Will I get copies of the magazine as an author?

After printing you’ll be sent 10 copies of the Journal for your own use. Additional copies can be requested.

Where can I get more information?

Check out this link

Microsoft Architecture Journal Issue 16 - Call For Papers

editors@architecturejournal.net — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:00:00 GMT

The next issue of the Architecture Journal will be focused on identity architecture. If you have opinions that you would like to share with the architect community on identity management, here is your chance! Follow these instructions to send an abstract before April 21st 2008 and you could see your thoughts and ideas shared with over 60,000 readers, translated in 5 languages, and distributed at multiple conferences around the world!

Test-Driven Development and Continuous Integration for Mobile Applications

Munjal Budhabhatti — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 12:00:00 GMT

A few mobile testing tools allow recording user interactions via a graphical representation of the client device but do not provide granular control over the tests. Other tools either demand scripting on a mobile device or expect tests to be executed, manually, on the device. As a result, mobile application testing is inefficient and complex, hindering productivity.

Mobile Data Architecture

Rodney Guzman — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 12:00:00 GMT

This article will discuss how to build your data model to support an occasionally connected application. The data model supports the introduction of a complex conflict resolution process built in .NET. A point-of-service sample application is introduced with steep requirements, including: Web and smart client entry points; smart clients will be occasionally connected; and data entities that span multiple tables; among others.

Architecture Journal Profile: Faisal Waris

Simon Guest,Faisal Waris — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 12:00:00 GMT

In this issue, we catch up with Faisal Waris, an architectural consultant at Ford. The Architecture Journal asks him about the role, what some of his challenges are, and his views on architecture.

Case Study: Support Technicians on the Road

Andras Velvart,Peter Smulovics — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Monicomp is the largest maintainer of banking equipment in Hungary. The organization installs, maintains, and repairs Point of Service (POS) terminals, Automatic Teller Machines (ATM) machines, and other similar banking equipment using hundreds of technicians scattered all around the country. In the article, we will show how the architecture of MUVESZ (a solution to cover from inventory to billing) is designed and describe the challenges and solutions of creating mobile subsystems.

Best Practices: Extending Enterprise Applications to Mobile Devices

Kulathumani Hariharan — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Extending enterprise applications to mobile devices is increasingly becoming a priority for organizations optimizing their workforce. To achieve the desired result of a robust, scalable, secure, and responsive mobile solution with multiple device platform support, many components need to work together. This article outlines the components required to extend a generic enterprise application on to mobile devices and covers some best practices and recommendations.

Connected Consumer Experience in Automobiles

Christoph Schittko,Jon Box,Darryl Hogan — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 12:00:00 GMT

What sets a vehicle apart from a hunk of metal and four wheels? It’s all about features. Manufacturers are constantly adding newer media devices, more powerful motors, and softer seats, all in the name of improving the driver’s experience. Yet with all these improvements, auto manufacturers have barely scratched the surface with respect to the capabilities of the myriad of software and services advances available in recent years.

Architectural Considerations for a World of Devices

Atanu Banerjee — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 12:00:00 GMT

The number of mobile device users is rapidly increasing, but the promise of solutions that leverage networks of connected devices has remained largely unrealized. Some of the pieces needed to build rich, connected experiences were not available until recently. This article explores some of the economic, social, and technology trends that are driving the adoption of mobile devices.

Enterprise Mashups

Larry Clarkin,Josh Holmes — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 12:00:00 GMT

A mashup is a technique for building applications that combine data from multiple sources to create an integrated experience. This article describes the history and architecture of mashups, and explores how you can create mashups for use in your enterprise.

A Planet Ruled by Software Architectures

Gianpaolo Carraro — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 12:00:00 GMT

How can you effectively communicate Software plus Services (S+S) within my organization?

Project Astoria

Pablo Castro — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 12:00:00 GMT

Project Astoria delivers a set of patterns as well as a concrete infrastructure for creating and consuming data services using Web technologies. This article explores how modern data-centric Web applications and services are changing and the role Astoria can play in their new architectures.

Implications of Software + Services Consumption for Enterprise IT

Kevin Sangwell — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 12:00:00 GMT

Many articles in this issue use the term Software + Services (S+S) when referring to client (desktop, browser and device) and server based applications which consume one or more Internet (cloud) services. While this model shares some characteristics with Software as a Service (SaaS) the differences are significant for Enterprise IT.

The Internet Service Bus

Dennis Pilarinos,Donald Ferguson,John Shewchuk — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 12:00:00 GMT

Web applications are an extremely common application model, and they will become increasingly dominant. Desktop and client/server applications are increasingly using the browser for the UI engine and making calls to data and services through Web protocols.

Microsoft Office as a Platform for Software + Services

Alan Josephson,Chip Wilson — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 12:00:00 GMT

The vision of Software + Services (S+S) is to create application architectures that maximally leverage edge resources -the resources of client devices- to provide end users with rich, intuitive experiences. Microsoft Office with its well-understood interface, rich service set, and established business user base, is a natural foundation for creating S+S business applications.

Efficient Software Delivery Through Service-Delivery Platforms

Eugenio Pace,Gianpaolo Carraro,Fred Chong — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 12:00:00 GMT

Delivering software as a service (SaaS) has gained a lot of momentum. One reason this one-to-many delivery model is attractive is that it enables new economies of scale. This paper explores the goals, capabilities, and motivations for adoption of SDP, and describes the technology and processes related to efficient software delivery through Service-Delivery Platform (SDP).

Data Confidence over the Web

Peter Hammond — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 12:00:00 GMT

The successful exchange of data is the most integral function of applications today, and yesterday, for that matter. This article highlights some experiences from the viewpoints of an end user, novice developer, professional consultant, and the development team lead over the course of the past 10 years. The author details how the architecture of the past combined with the technology of today has led to successful exchange of data over the Web.

Secure Cross-Domain Communication in the Browser

Danny Thorpe — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 12:00:00 GMT

A shopper can walk into virtually any store and make a purchase with nothing more than a plastic card and photo ID. The shopper and the shopkeeper need not share the same currency, nationality, or language. What if the Internet could provide similar services and protections for Web surfers and site keepers to share information?

Managing Add-Ins: Advanced Versioning and Reliable Hosting

Jesse Kaplan — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 12:00:00 GMT

A new architecture and features for a new managed add-in model will be introduced in the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5. In this article, we detail how the new managed add-in model and assemblies address each problem set. We'll then describe some advanced hosting techniques that can be used to ensure resiliency and reliability in the face of misbehaving add-ins.

An Application-Oriented Model for Relational Data

Michael Pizzo — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 12:00:00 GMT

Most applications deal with data of some type or another, where the source of the data often resides in a database. Yet for a variety of reasons the shape of the data in the database is often different from the model that the application interacts with. This article describes working with data in a database through a virtual "Conceptual Model" more appropriate for the application.

Web 2.0 in the Enterprise

Michael Platt — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 12:00:00 GMT

This article will examine how technology, data and people come together to make up Web 2.0; how Web 2.0 is being used in the consumer space today; and how these techniques and concepts can be used both inside and outside the enterprise to provide new productivity and business opportunities.

Mass-Hosting High-Availability Architectures

Shaun Hirschman,Mathew Baldwin,Michael Johnson,Tito Leverette — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 12:00:00 GMT

Scalability and high availability are essential but competing properties for hosting infrastructures. Whether you are an open-source engineer, commercial-solution consumer, or Microsoft IT engineer, no "silver-bullet" solution appears to exist. This article will concentrate on the required components needed to build an ultimate environment that is scalable, reliable, secure, and easy to maintain�all while providing high availability (HA).

Ontology and Taxonomy of Services in a Service-Oriented Architecture

Shy Cohen — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 12:00:00 GMT

This paper discusses the nature of and interrelationships among different service types, describes a generic blueprint for SOA-based systems, and provides some guidance on the construction and management of services. The ontology and taxonomy described here provide a common language for architects, engineers, and business-decision makers, and facilitates better communication within and across different disciplines and organizations.

Delivering End-to-End High-Productivity Computing

Simon Cox,Marc Holmes — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 12:00:00 GMT

Many challenges are associated with delivering a general high-performance computing (HPC) solution for engineering and scientific domain problems. In this article, we discuss these challenges based on the typical requirements of such problems, propose various solutions, and demonstrate how they have been deployed to users in a specific end-to-end environmental-science exemplar.

Architecture Journal Profile: Don Ferguson

Don Ferguson — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 12:00:00 GMT

Dr. Donald Ferguson is a Microsoft Technical Fellow in Platforms and Strategy in the Office of the CTO. Don focuses on both the evolutionary and revolutionary role of information technology in business. Prior to joining Microsoft, Don was an IBM Fellow and Chief Architect for IBM's Software Group (SWG).

Versioning in SOA

Boris Lublinsky — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 12:00:00 GMT

Service-oriented architecture (SOA) enables parallel development by multiple disparate teams, each with its own delivery and maintenance schedule. The basic idea of service versioning is fairly simple, but its implementation requires strict governance. I will discuss units of versioning; service changes, constituting a new version; service version life-cycle considerations; and version deployment/access approaches.

Test-Driven Infrastructures

Mario Cardinal — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 12:00:00 GMT

At the architecture level, on one side, there are the application architects involved in software development (build), and, on the other side, the infrastructure architects involved in software operation (run). Being an application architect, I believe that both teams should learn from each other's best practices. One best practice that the infrastructure team should learn from the software-development team is to express architecture decisions using test scripts.

Conquering the Integration Dilemma

Jim Wilt — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 12:00:00 GMT

I can think of many successful applications I've built based on the frameworks these products provide. They boost productivity, enhance quality, increase feature richness, and reduce the time to market greatly. So, why don't integration solutions experience the same improvements? Regardless of how I plug at an integration solution with a given tool or framework, I don't seem to progress at the same pace. This is what I define as the Integration Dilemma.

Building Office Business Applications

Atanu Banerjee — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

The 2007 Office system provides a set of servers, clients, and tools to make it easier for enterprises and software vendors to build and deploy composite applications in the enterprise. These solutions, called Office Business Applications (OBAs), are quick to build and deploy; empower end users through extensive personalization capabilities; and are easy to change when business needs require. This paper shows how to architect 2007 Microsoft Office composite applications.

Architecting Composite Smart Clients Using CAB and SCSF

Mario Szpuszta — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Microsoft's offerings for building composite smart clients include Composite UI Application Block (CAB) and the Smart Client Software Factory (SCSF) from the Patterns & Practices Group. This article unveils the architectural details of CAB and SCSF, and shows you how to design composite smart clients using CAB and SCSF. The examples are from an integrated bank desktop smart-client project undertaken at RACON Software GmbH, a software house of the Raiffeisen Banking Group in Upper Austria.

Quality Data Through Enterprise Information Architecture

Semyon Axelrod — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Data quality is a well-known problem and a very expensive one to fix. While it has been plaguing major U.S. corporations for quite some time, lately it is becoming increasingly painful. For a significant class of data issues (semantics), it is not possible to solve the "data-quality problem" by just working with data. This discussion proposes how to deal with this problem through correct information architecture.

Context-Driven Access via Microsoft Office

Thomas Demmler — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Aggregating document-centric content from heterogeneous systems is an ongoing challenge for system architects—as it is for the information workers who require that content. It is a major challenge to help customers improve the efficiency of their sales and customer service operations. Open Text solved this problem using Microsoft Office and the Information Bridge Framework.

Business Improvement Through Better Software Architecture

Per Sundblad,Sten Sundblad — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

This article suggests that software architects must improve their business understanding to allow the business to change as fast as necessary, while business people must also learn how to better communicate to software development teams what they expect from them.

Architecture Journal Profile: Scott Guthrie

Scott Guthrie,Ron Jacobs — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Scott Guthrie is a general manager in Microsoft's Developer Division. He runs the development teams that build CLR (Common Language Runtime), ASP.NET, WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation), "WPF/E," Windows Forms, IIS (Internet Information Services) 7.0, Commerce Server, .NET Compact Framework, and the Visual Studio Web and Client Development Tools.

Composite Applications: The New Paradigm

Chris Keyser — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

In many ways, composite applications are the business users' equivalent of Web 2.0 and "mash-ups". While there has been a lot of hype around composites, many vendors have been slow to deliver real value in this area. In this article, we'll discuss some of the fundamentals and advantages of using composite applications for today's business challenges.

Bare Naked Languages or What Not to Model

Jack Greenfield — Sun, 15 Oct 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Domain-specific languages (DSLs) are useful as stand-alone languages, but not everyone knows when or when not to use them. Find out how you can fit DSLs into the software factories methodology to build useful assets and avoid common pitfalls.

The Perspective-Based Architecture Method

George Cerbone,Lewis Curtis — Sun, 15 Oct 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Innovation requires making quick, cost-effective decisions for organizations, and aligning new business solutions with IT environments increases complexity. Organize your strategic thinking by using the PBA method, which supports high-quality decision making through well-focused questions.

A Foundation for the Pillars of Software Factories

Tom Fuller — Sun, 15 Oct 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Process strategies can help your organization overcome the problems that software developers face today. Look at how to adopt production line methodologies to promote reusability and use strategic processes like architecture-driven development.

A GSI’s Perspective of Software Factories

Steve Eadie — Sun, 15 Oct 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Increasing productivity while maintaining user satisfaction is a concern for companies of all sizes. See how to make a Global Systems Integrator (GSI) take advantage of a software factory approach to be more cost effective, even if the developer team is spread worldwide.

Domain-Specific Modeling

Steve Cook — Sun, 15 Oct 2006 00:00:00 GMT

The essence of DSLs is to simplify larger problems into smaller problems. Discover how special-purpose DSLs can be applied within a software factory platform and authoring environment.

Measuring Success with Software Factories

Marcel de Vries — Sun, 15 Oct 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Building today’s software can be an inefficient one-off or project-at-a-time development process. Learn how to gather the metrics necessary to “industrialize” software development for predictability in addition to better productivity and quality.

Autonomous Services and Enterprise Entity Aggregation

Udi Dahan — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Service-oriented architectures (SOAs) have been hailed as the glue that would bring IT closer to business, yet the hype is already fading. We'll take a look at concrete ways that autonomous services can be used to transform the way we develop systems to more closely match business processes and solve immediate entity aggregation needs.

Data Replication as an Enterprise SOA Antipattern

Shawn Morgan,Tom Fuller — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 00:00:00 GMT

To successfully deliver to a service-oriented strategy, enterprise architects need to draw from the successes and failures of other architectures. Architecture patterns, when discovered and documented, can provide the best technique for managing the onerous job of influencing change in your enterprise. Weíll use both an antipattern and a pattern to describe how data replication can impact your enterprise architecture.

Reliability in Connected Systems

Roger Wolter — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 00:00:00 GMT

This article discusses the reliability issues that must be considered in architecting a connected services application and shows how some of the new features in SQL Server 2005 and Microsoft messaging products address these issues.

The Nordic Object/Relational Database Design

Paul Nielsen — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 00:00:00 GMT

The New Object/Relational Database Design (Nordic), like many tools, is not the most fitting solution for every kind of database problem. However, the object/relational hybrid model can provide more power and greater flexibility and performance than traditional relational models, particularly for databases that benefit from certain constraints. Discover some of the innovations that are possible when object-oriented technology is modeled using today's mature relational databases.

A Flexible Model for Data Integration

Kimberly Wolk,Tim Ewald — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 00:00:00 GMT

In our work on the architecture of the MSDN TechNet Publishing System (MTPS) we addressed three pitfalls. We'll look at what those pitfalls are and our solutions to them in the context of a more general problem, that of integrating customer information.

Service-Oriented Modeling for Connected Systems – Part 2

Arvindra Sehmi,Beat Schwegler — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 00:00:00 GMT

As architects, we can adopt a new kind of thinking to essentially force explicit consideration of service model artifacts into our design processes, which helps us identify the artifacts correctly and at the right level of abstraction to satisfy and align with the business needs of our organizations. In this second of two parts we’ll show you how to implement mapped services.

Adopt and Benefit from Agile Processes in Offshore Software Development

Andrew Filev — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 00:00:00 GMT

In modern software development there are two trends that allow people to get more for less: agile development and offshore outsourcing. Let’s look at how and when to successfully combine both to raise the competitiveness of your business.

Patterns for High-Integrity Data Consumption and Composition

Dion Hinchcliffe — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 00:00:00 GMT

The challenge is to consume and manage data from multiple underlying sources in different formats while participating in a federated information ecosystem and while maintaining integrity and loose coupling with good performance. Here are some emerging patterns for the growing world of mashups and composition applications.

The Amazing Race Metaphor

Vignesh Swaminathan — Sat, 15 Apr 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Business Process Management (BPM) provides support for better management of high-level business processes that are composed from simple, reusable business processes. The answer, interestingly, is not entirely through graphical modeling but is the management of high-level business processes through externalized, process-definition rules. We'll look at the definition, benefits, and implementation of process definition rules.

Enable the Service-Oriented Enterprise

William Oellermann — Sat, 15 Apr 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Building Web services is pretty easy today. Building lots of Web services is a little more difficult, and managing those Web services is really difficult. As the number of services and service consumers grow, the fundamental benefits of service orientation diminish if certain IT capabilities are not provided. Let's look at a model that can facilitate the identification and prioritization of these capabilities for the service-enabled enterprise.

Workflow in Application Integration

Kevin Francis — Sat, 15 Apr 2006 00:00:00 GMT

One of the greatest challenges facing the architect today is the integration of applications. Let's look at a framework for application integration that moves beyond the common, one-off integration approaches and toward a cohesive structure. The requirements for successful integration are outlined along with the presentation of an architectural approach for meeting these requirements by using tools such as workflow technologies.

Enabling Aspects to Enhance Service-Oriented Architecture

Kyle Huntley,David San Filippo — Sat, 15 Apr 2006 00:00:00 GMT

While services should only be concerned with the business functionality that they are exposing, it is not unusual for application specific features to "leak" into the service layer. We can now overcome the difficulties that have prevented widespread adoption of aspects in practical implementations and enable architects to factor out cross-cutting concerns from the services they are designing.

Service-Oriented Modeling for Connected Systems (Part 1)

Arvindra Sehmi — Wed, 15 Mar 2006 00:00:00 GMT

An approach for modeling connected, service-oriented systems in a way that promotes close alignment between the IT solution and the needs of the business. We’ll examine the benefits of inserting a service model in between the conventional business and technology models that are familiar to most architects.

Build Applications on a Workflow Platform

David Green — Wed, 15 Mar 2006 00:00:00 GMT

A workflow can be useful for resolving business issues. Here we’ll get acquainted with and investigate the idea of building applications on a workflow platform.

Explore Human Workflow Architectures

Javier Mariscal,Jesus Rodriguez — Wed, 15 Mar 2006 00:00:00 GMT

A close look at human workflow systems and interaction design patterns among those systems.

Simplify Designing Complex Workflows

Andrew Needleman — Wed, 15 Mar 2006 00:00:00 GMT

In simplifying the workflow design process it’s important to focus on diagramming the necessary steps of a particular key transaction (an e-commerce order, a medical consultation, etc). In this discussion we’ll look at representing workflow in a new type of diagram, ensuring that we don’t miss any of the potential steps or status points.

Apply Topic Maps to Applications

Graham Moore,Kal Ahmed — Sun, 15 Jan 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Topic maps provide a fairly simple but very powerful metamodel for the representation of knowledge models. In this article we'll take a look at some of the current and potential application areas for topic maps. We'll also discuss access to topic map information using a variety of Web services architectures from a traditional RPC-like, client/server interaction to syndication models where either a push model or pull model can be used to interchange updates to a topic map.

Design and Implement a Software Factory

Mauro Regio,Jack Greenfield — Sun, 15 Jan 2006 00:00:00 GMT

In this approach to interoperability we share the experience gathered in designing and implementing a software factory for health care systems based on the Health Level Seven (HL7) standard. We discuss the long-term vision and the scoped-down proof of concept developed so far. We also outline the challenges encountered in our project and the opportunities to widen the scope of the approach to different industries, and, in general, the opportunities to support business-to-business collaboration.

Taking Governance to the Edge

Philip Boxer,Richard Veryard — Sun, 15 Jan 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Discover the challenges faced by asymmetric forms of governance and an approach to working that focuses particularly on the way a business understands the risks that arise from how it relates to exogenous geometries, in addition to the more familiar risks associated with managing its endogenous geometry.

Service-Oriented Business Intelligence

Michael Horne,Simon Thurman,Sean Gordon,Robert Grigg — Sun, 15 Jan 2006 00:00:00 GMT

This discussion looks at the similarities and differences between Business Intelligence (BI) and Service Orientation (SO), two architectural paradigms that have developed independently. Here we define an architectural framework that leverages the strengths of BI and SO while defining guiding principles to ensure that the fundamental tenets of each of the component architectures are not broken.

Behavioral Software Architecture Language

Behzad Karim — Sun, 15 Jan 2006 00:00:00 GMT

The basic idea of architecture definition is to design software structure and object interaction before the detailed design phase. Although serious architecture definition is being suggested for large projects only, arguably any software construction or implementation work must be preceded by an architectural design and approval phase. Get acquainted with BASL, a language that unifies software architecture definition with software implementation (coding).

Planning Technical Architecture

Waleed Nema — Sun, 15 Jan 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Business drivers for technical architecture planning include aligning IT with the business and controlling service levels and expenses. This discussion summarizes the first experience of creating an infrastructure Windows Server Architecture (WSA) two-year tactical plan for a computer operations department. Technical architecture is defined in addition to coverage of the deliverables and challenges involved.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Simon Guest — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Is HTTP a great fit for every Web Services issue that exists today? This article reviews scenarios in which alternate transports for Web Services may offer a better solution over HTTP.

Process and Criteria for Evaluating Services-Based Integration Technologies

Ian Gorton,Anna Liu — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 00:00:00 GMT

This article describes a proven approach to assist architects with evaluating enterprise application integration technologies. In particular, we focus our discussion on evaluating integration technologies, for implementing services-based integration.

Service-Oriented, Distributed, High-Performance Computing

Jim Webber,Savas Parastatidis — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 00:00:00 GMT

The focus of High-performance computing (HPC) has shifted towards enabling the transparent and most efficient utilization of a wide range of capabilities made available over networks. In this article we explore one service-oriented approach for enabling Internet-scale, high-performance applications based on work completed as part of the UK e-Science program.

An Introduction to Topic Maps

Graham Moore,Kal Ahmed — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 00:00:00 GMT

This article introduces the ISO international standard Topic Maps. The topic maps paradigm describes a way in which complex relationships between abstract concepts and real-world resources can be described and interchanged using a standard XML syntax.

Metropolis and SOA Governance

Philip Boxer,Richard Veryard — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 00:00:00 GMT

In the service economy, we expect service-oriented systems to emerge that are increasingly large and complex, but that are also capable of behaviors that are increasingly differentiated. As we shall see, this is one of the key challenges of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), and is discussed in this article.

Value-Driven Architecture: Linking Product Strategy with Architecture

Charlie Alfred — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 00:00:00 GMT

This article explains how to use value models to create effective high-level architecture strategies with information provided in this article.

Next Generation Tools for Object-Oriented Development

Oren Novotny — Sat, 15 Jan 2005 00:00:00 GMT

The file has been the central container of work in software development for over thirty years. All of a project's structure and logic is ultimately reduced down to files and directories. The tools that surround software development are built around this concept, too. This article explores the concept of file structure, and contrasts it with an emerging view of Model Driven Architecture.

Benchmarking a Transaction Engine Design

Richard Drayton,Arvindra Sehmi — Sat, 15 Jan 2005 00:00:00 GMT

This paper describes a benchmarking exercise undertaken during October 2002 at Microsoft's ISV Laboratories (ISV Labs) in Redmond, Washington as part of joint project between the Capital Markets Company (Capco) and Microsoft

Choosing the Right Presentation Layer Architecture

David Hill — Sat, 15 Jan 2005 00:00:00 GMT

The presentation layer is a vitally important part of an application. This article discusses the thin and smart client approaches and provides guidance on how to choose between them.

Enterprise Architecture Alignment Heuristics

Jose Marques,Carla Pereira,Pedro Sousa — Sat, 15 Jan 2005 00:00:00 GMT

The alignment between Business Processes (BP) and Information Technologies (IT) is a major issue in most organizations. The concepts upon which alignment is perceived are addressed in what is called today the "Enterprise Architecture", gathering business and IT together. The focus of this paper is to show how alignment between Business and IT can be stated in terms of the components found in most Enterprise Architectures.

Information Bridge Framework: Bringing SOA to the Desktop in Office Applications

Ricard Dalfo — Sat, 15 Jan 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Enterprises today are moving towards SOA as a way to expose their applications and data for consumption. Building solutions on top of these services is fairly easy today using existing development tools. Different vendors provide tools for both exposing and developing on top of those services by using standards like SOAP or WSDL. However, once enterprises start developing a few of these solutions problems start to arise. This article addresses some of the most common problems.

Razorbills: What and How of Service Consumption

Maarten Mullender — Sat, 15 Jan 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Maarten Mullender explains the fundamental idea of creating a description of what Web services expose, and then explores possible use of such descriptions.

A Strategic Approach to Data Transfer Methods

Easwaran Nadhan — Fri, 15 Oct 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Enterprise-wide data transfer strategy, necessary to guide IT practitioners and to enable consistent representation of key business entities across enterprise applications.

Messaging Patterns in Service Oriented Architecture, Part 2

Soumen Chatterjee — Thu, 15 Jul 2004 00:00:00 GMT

This article explores the contract patterns that illustrate the behavioral specifications required to maintain smooth communications between service provider and service consumer; also explores message construction patterns that describe creation of message content that travels across the messaging system.

Business Patterns for Software Engineering Use, Part 2

Philip Teale — Thu, 15 Jul 2004 00:00:00 GMT

In the second of two articles, the authors describe how to develop business patterns based on business functions, data, and business components, and show how these can be used to engineer software systems.

Secrets of Great Architects

Rick McUmber,Don Awalt — Thu, 15 Jul 2004 00:00:00 GMT

All great architects have mastered the ability to conceptualize a solution at distinct levels of abstraction. By organizing the solution into discrete levels, architects are able to focus on a single aspect of the solution while ignoring all remaining complexities. Presents techniques for applying levels of abstraction to IT solutions, and compares this to other engineering disciplines.

The Case for Software Factories

Jack Greenfield — Thu, 15 Jul 2004 00:00:00 GMT

A Software Factory is a development environment configured to support the rapid development of a specific type of application. Software Factories are just a logical next step in the continuing evolution of software development methods and practices. However, they change the character of the software industry by introducing patterns of industrialization.

Identity and Access Management

Frederick Chong — Thu, 15 Jul 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Frederick Chong discusses the principles and benefits of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), specifically as they relate to the technical challenges in identity and access management, and secondarily, to help the reader gain an understanding of the commonly encountered issues in identity management.

Business Patterns for Software Engineering Use, Part 1

Philip Teale — Thu, 15 Apr 2004 00:00:00 GMT

This article defines business patterns in a way that is useful for software developers, and develops a business patterns framework using the Strategic Architecture Model.

Messaging Patterns in Service-Oriented Architecture, Part 1

Soumen Chatterjee — Thu, 15 Apr 2004 00:00:00 GMT

This first of a two-part series discusses how messaging patterns exist at different levels of abstraction in SOA. Rather than explicitly declaring how systems will interact through low-level protocols and object-oriented architectures, SOA provides an abstract interface through which a service can interact with other services or applications through a loosely coupled (often asynchronous), message-based communication model.

Service-Oriented Architecture: Considerations for Agile Systems

Lawrence Wilkes,Richard Veryard — Thu, 15 Apr 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Discusses several principles of good service architecture and design in terms of their impact on agility and adaptability.

Service-Oriented Architecture: Implementation Challenges

Easwaran Nadhan — Thu, 15 Apr 2004 00:00:00 GMT

A discussion on various approaches to solving the eight key challenges companies face when implementing a service-oriented architecture, and gives examples of EDS' own experience with clients.

Metropolis

Pat Helland — Thu, 15 Apr 2004 00:00:00 GMT

A metaphor for the evolution of information technology into the world of service-oriented architectures. What can we learn about the present and future directions of IT by studying the recent history of our urban centers?

Best Practices for Rule-Based Application Development

Dennis Merritt — Thu, 15 Jan 2004 00:00:00 GMT

This article takes a high level view of knowledge and looks at different types of knowledge and their mappings to executable computer code to gain insights into when and why rule engines provide advantages over conventional software development tools.

Business Process Decomposition and Service Identification Using Communication Patterns

Gerke Geurts,Adrie Geelhoed — Thu, 15 Jan 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Communication patterns and their role in defining business processes and services. A decomposition of business processes into business, informational, and infrastructural services with their dependencies is explained, thus providing a solid basis for enterprise information architecture.

Metadata-Driven Application Design and Development

Kevin Perera — Thu, 15 Jan 2004 00:00:00 GMT

This article presents an overview of using a metadata-driven approach to designing applications. If the use of software frameworks can be defined by patterns, then metadata is the language used to describe those patterns.

Understanding Service-Oriented Architecture

David Sprott,Lawrence Wilkes — Thu, 15 Jan 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Gives a concise explanation of service-oriented architecture, what it is, and how it affects what architects, CIOs, project managers, business analysts, and lead developers do.

DasBlog: Notes from Building a Distributed .NET Collaboration System

Clemens Vasters — Thu, 15 Jan 2004 00:00:00 GMT

This article expounds the merits of weblogs as a means of sharing knowledge, and describes the lessons learned from designing and implementing a weblog engine built using Microsoft .NET technologies

Enterprise Architecture Design and the Integrated Architecture Framework

Andrew Macaulay — Thu, 15 Jan 2004 00:00:00 GMT

This article describes Cap Gemini Ernst & Young's Integrated Architecture Framework, and describes a model for enterprise architecture and its importance in helping software architects understand the business as a whole.