Enabling SOA Through Organizational Change and Governance

SOA governance and organizational change strategyWhite paperNovember 2007
Enabling SOA through organizational
change and governance.
Sandy Poi, Global SOA Offerings Governance lead, associate partner, Financial Services Strategy & Change
Betsy Sleight, senior managing partner, Financial Services Strategy & Change
Jeffrey Viezel, senior managing partner, Financial Services Strategy & Change
David Snavely, senior consultant, Financial Services Strategy & ChangeEnabling SOA through organizational change and governance.Page 2
The role of governance and change in SOA transformationContents Service-oriented architecture (SOA) is an architectural style that offers business agility, speed to market, improved profitability and reduced costs. An SOA is 2 The role of governance and also widely recognized as an enabler of innovation and new business operating change in SOA transformation models. However, in order to realize these benefits, organizations are finding it 3 Why is SOA governance takes more than developing the technology infrastructure, processes and tools. and organizational change SOA enablement is a major transformation for many organizations, requiring necessary? effective governance and organizational change.4 Benefits of SOA governance and organizational change When IBM asks, most business and information technology (IT) executives 6 Challenges of SOA that need acknowledge the critical importance of an effective governance framework and organizational change an organizational change strategy in successfully implementing SOA. However, 7 Triggers to recognize and when the same business and IT executives will also readily admit that only a small per-to seek help centage of their overall SOA initiatives are focused on these two factors.7 Organizational change strategy11 Critical success factors for IBM Global Business Services consultants have helped companies across all organizational change industries implement SOA. They have observed organizational issues that can 14 Integrating organizational be mitigated or avoided altogether with the proper governance and change change strategy into the SOA mechanisms in place. Such issues include:governance framework . Lack of strategic focus on SOA. No clear accountability, especially when SOA-enabled services do not work as expected. Poor alignment, across business and IT, without clearly understood inter-relationships and handoffs. Metrics that do not drive the desired behavior. Knowledge and skills gaps. Ad hoc and inconsistent decisions.Enabling SOA through organizational change and governance.Page 3
Based on experience, IBM espouses two tenets for successful SOA transformation:Highlights . Embed governance and organizational change into your SOA plans from the beginning.. Realize that SOA is not just another IT initiative and collaborate across IT and business with clear involvement and ownership in SOA activities.
Because an SOA usually means A well-formulated, executable organizational change strategy, embedded within changes for both the business a robust SOA governance framework provides a proven, disciplined approach to and IT organizations, it is impor- transformation by encouraging appropriate behaviors and attitudes.tant to embed an organizational change strategy into the SOA This white paper explores the role of organizational change within the larger governance framework. SOA governance framework, outlines the associated benefits and risks, and provides insight into the triggers and warning signs that might indicate when additional help is required.
Why is SOA governance and organizational change necessary?The decision to implement SOA usually represents a major architectural para-digm shift for a company-within both the business and IT organizations. As the amount of change and anxiety increases, significant disruption and uncertainty usually occur. Most people associate change with threats to their well-being. Even change that is viewed positively is likely to affect performance. The inability to address the people issues associated with change is a recipe for project failure and organizational discord.Enabling SOA through organizational change and governance.Page 4
A major manufacturing organization, for example, invested in SOA-enabling Highlights technologies and built a team of experts to support the SOA environment. After spending heavily, the executi... [download for more]