Caught in the Web

Caught in the Web Paul Brizz May 21, 2003

Web Services and Application Development

No matter how much things change, they stay the same. Many in the technology field are counting on the next big wave to be centered around web services.

"I shall be content if those shall pronounce my History useful who desire to give a view of events as they did really happen, and as they are very likely, in accordance with human nature, to repeat themselves at some future time--if not exactly the same, yet very similar." - Thucydides

To understand the future of web services, we need to just look at the past and other industries. A specific defining period of history, which embodies the characteristics of web services, is when interchangeable parts were introduced into the manufacturing process during the late 18^th century.

"In 1798, the federal government granted (Eli Whitney) a contract to produce ten thousand muskets using what he promised would be a new process to make the various parts of the weapons interchangeable. Once again, Whitney's mechanical talents led him to a revolutionary innovation; the manufacture of products with interchangeable parts became a key element in modern industrial production.

Although the concept of interchangeable parts did not originate with Whitney and did not become widespread until the later development of the machine tool industry...Whitney designed and built the necessary machinery and trained workers to use it, tasks that took longer than he originally expected. But, in the end, he produced the weapons with interchangeable parts." - Historychannel.com

A web service is a technology concept and approach based on standard protocols like SOAP, UDDI and XML to create objects or interchangeable technology parts. These parts can be consumed with other technology or assembled together to make an application. The exciting part of that equation is that it does not matter where the parts (the objects that make up the application) reside--some could be within an organization, others a partner could host.

Let us take for example a commerce site: Developers can now create applications leveraging the credit card transaction function of a bank to handle the specific transaction. A more likely example is that a developer would leverage parts already built within an organization to quickly assemble new applications.

Advances in Internet protocols and bandwidth have made web services a viable and innovative platform to develop applications. Web services promise to provide us with a new innovative way of building applications, working with our customers and reducing our time to market. However, innovation is only gained after one truly understands the knowledge gained from the past.

Interchangeable parts are the precursor to the modern day assembly line. While it took another 115 years before Henry Ford introduced the assembly line process using interchangeable parts resulting in major cost savings, major positive improvements were achieved. These improvements are conceptually the same as today's current web services. They include:

• Modularization is the key to success. Innovation is improved through lessons learned. The ability to take existing pieces and create something new allows for faster time to market.
• Standardization. Instead of having individual hand machined parts, one can leverage individual pieces that are consistent in design and function.
• Process improvement. Ones ability to improve a process can significantly lower the total cost of providing services.
• Production. Streamlining process allows organizations to increase production. Ones ability to increase production will create a more agile enterprise by allowing that organization to quickly respond to new requests with new product functionality.

The jury remains out as to whether or not the industry will move toward an IT assembly line approach or if web services are even the long-term answer. It is clear, however, that the current web services concept presents a viable alternative to today's application development methodologies and platforms. Based on historical challenges embracing interchangeable parts or recent lessons learned from building and deploying web services, five key challenges exist.

1) These new standards and development platforms are often a paradigm shift for most organizations. Changing the way one works often requires changes in procedures and policies. "I was often met with questions about how this was going to affect the 10-step process we have already developed" or "Which requirement document is not needed to completes since some of this technology is being repurposed?" This change requires training and a good change management plan.

2) Large organizations inevitably have large political machines. The premise behind web services is that you will use other's intellectual property. This forces a developer out of their DMZ into an area that can be hostile if not correctly managed beforehand.

3) Change management is critical to success. Developers or engineers instinctually create from scratch. This mindset needs to be changed to begin new development by first looking for existing development parts that can be assembled.

4) Estimating the time to complete a web services application is difficult and can often result in overruns and poor estimates. Interchangeable parts in information technology does not necessarily mean interoperable. Often upon analysis, one will find a data schema or limitation to re-using a web service. Today's web services require a little hand machining to get the job done.

5) Knowledge management is critical to the eventual success of web services. Knowing what you know is key to being able to assemble these components. Imagine trying to find a book at the library without the current Dewey decimal system. Often, current information technology departments are without a system to organize and categorize their parts. This can reek havoc when a server goes down and will limit any effort to move toward web services.

In summary, advances in this technology sector will continue to evolve web services to ensure they live up to their premise. Until then, we should continue to evaluate our technology, business processes and technology objects to be ready to ride the wave when it arrives. The fundamental steps toward readiness are: learn the new web services standards, evaluate business processes to streamline efforts and begin the process of categorizing the "parts" that exist within an organization. Taking action in these three steps will ensure success when the web services wave hits shore.

Paul Brizz is an Associate at Acquity Group in Chicago. Paul helps clients maximize their investments in human capital and technology through web service, enterprise portal, intranet and knowledge management strategies. Paul can be reached at paul.brizz@acquitygroup.com.