Chapter 9 - The Enterprise Taxonomy

Abstract

In order for a service to be discovered, it must be described in a manner that allows other designers and architects to find it. An enterprise taxonomy provides this descriptive set of discovery characteristics. The enterprise taxonomy is a collection of classifications and a set of descriptive word and phrase entries. Classifications can vary and are determined by the enterprise. Some enterprises might define classifications representing service verbs, line of business, application, system, and subject area. Within each of these classifications are further subclassifications and any number of descriptive entries. Synonyms can be used to effectively extend the taxonomy classifications and help to mitigate the complexities of language. For the moderate to large enterprise, what might seem like well-known and common business language actually includes any number of variants. While it would be of value to narrow the number of variations, some variations serve well as synonyms of the taxonomy and provide semantic richness. There is also a perspective that more dynamic sets of choreographed service interactions are a future step for service-oriented architecture (SOA). With this model, services are discovered and collaborate in more of an automated manner. For a service to discover (search for) another service to invoke, even within a well-defined set of parameters will require more explicit discovery and deeper resolution of language. In part, this is an extension of taxonomy, where constructs such as antonyms and polysemes may play a role.