4.3 Object-Oriented Service Delivery Framework

4.3 Object-Oriented Service Delivery Framework

It seems only fair that since everything else in IT these days is object-oriented, services should be as well. The same attributes that exist in object-oriented programming and languages should also be applied to services.

While the traditional approach to directing an enterprise assumed the mission was relatively fixed, in actuality, it was changing. Much like the molecules in an apparently solid object are in constant motion, the mission, strategies, objectives, and plans of the enterprise are also in motion. The mission or purpose of the enterprise is always being impacted, sometimes very slowly and in minute increments , and sometimes very rapidly and in orders of magnitude. In the object-oriented framework the mission is represented as a super class in a strategic enterprise framework that defines the identity of the enterprise as "Big Rules." Subclasses of the "Big Rules," or business rules, inherit the attributes of the mission and form the equivalent to the strategies and objectives in the traditional framework. The strategic enterprise framework provides the foundation for business domains to reside. One of the business domains is the IT domain.

The stimulus for the changes to the mission or strategic enterprise framework can originate externally in the form of technological innovations, economic occurrences, industry shifts, or political affairs. The stimulus can also be from within in the form of reorganizations, new products, or financial constraints. An external environment interface must exist and be plugged into the strategic enterprise framework to ensure that information can flow effectively through all components of the strategic framework, as shown in Figure 4-2.

Figure 4-2. The strategic framework flow.
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The business domains contain business objects that can be independent or joined to form components that must exist in order for the strategies to be satisfied. Business event utilization must be planned, sequenced , and executed to complete the accomplishment of a segment of the enterprise's mission.

Within the business domains or object classes are subclasses that, in the case of the IT domain, represent services. Each of these services are composed of three elements: people, technology, and process (see Figure 4-3).

Figure 4-3. Business domain subclasses.
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The strategic enterprise framework in today's world must communicate with external stimuli, pass its definition to business domains, validate itself periodically, and redefine itself if required. The enterprise must understand the financial, cultural, and organizational impact of reinventing itself. Not having the capabilities or methods to measure the need for change and enable even continuous reinvention can create major problems in today's rapidly changing global environment.

Strategies, objectives, and plans all must have the ability to share or communicate necessary information with each other, restrict or hide inappropriate information, and ensure that the essential common denominators of people, process, and technology are factored into each model component or object.

By constructing services in an object-oriented fashion, they will be able to move within the IT organization. The services will still be able to link to other services while retaining the skill, technology, and process attributes necessary to deliver the appropriate output given their environmental circumstances. This object-oriented framework produces a truly ISD capability.



IT Services Costs, Metrics, Benchmarking and Marketing
IT Services: Costs, Metrics, Benchmarking and Marketing (paperback) (Enterprise Computing Series)
ISBN: 0132621959
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2000
Pages: 93

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