Chapter 6: Where to Begin?

OVERVIEW

“Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell ’em, ‘Certainly I can!’ Then get busy and find out how to do it.”
Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919)

“Good plans shape good decisions. That’s why good planning helps to make elusive dreams come true.”
Lester R. Bittel, The Nine Master Keys of Management

We are all familiar with the story of the young shepherd who cried “wolf!” just one too many times. Perhaps the vendors in the software and services industries could learn a lesson or two from this old story. With the still-too-present memory of the dot-com boom and bust, the huge investments that many organizations have made implementing e-Commerce storefronts, combined with the tremendous media hype surrounding Web services, it is not surprising that many CIOs are trying to separate Web services hype from reality.

In Chapter 3, “Web Service Adoption,” we took a pragmatic look at the potential that Web services undoubtedly bring—examining both the tactical and strategic implications of Web services and discussing the implications of Web services adoption over time. In this chapter, we differentiate between reality and hype, outlining a comprehensive framework to help determine where to begin implementing Web services in an organization. We will offer a step-by-step approach for building an initial Web services plan, to obtain the real benefits that Web services can deliver today.