Identification and Modelling of Web Services for Inter-enterprise Collaboration Exemplified for the Domain of Strategic Supply Chain Development

摘要

Web applications are often developed ad hoc with limited systematic approach, inhering the potential risk of applications of poor quality and causing considerable costs for maintenance and evolution. This applies also for Web services, since a lack of common integrative specification standards and methodologies for the design of domain specific Web services diminishes reusability and marketability. In this paper, we propose a methodology for the identification of Web services suitable for business applications. The methodology is based on a process for the design of domain specific business component applications and has been extended to be applicable to the identification and modelling of Web services. The usability of the proposed methodology is exemplified within the business domain of strategic supply chain development. This domain constitutes an inter-enterprise collaboration problem, which is generally suited for Web services. Core of the concept is the extension of the traditional frame of reference in strategic sourcing from a supplier-centric to a supply-chain-scope including the dynamic modelling of supply-chains. Based on a comprehensive functional decomposition of strategic supply chain development, the proposed methodology is used to identify reusable and marketable Web services.