And that’s where SOA governance comes in. Whether there’s an agreement or a policy, somewhere along the way the terms of that agreement or policy should be written down, and spelled out in a way where both parties’ performance can be measured. That’s the service level agreement. SOA governance tools, explains Miko, then come into play: They measure and enforce the service according to the terms that have been negotiated (in a peer agreement) or dictated (in a policy agreement). Incidentally, in policy-driven SOA, I like to call the transactions “demand-comply” instead of “request-respond.”

So, if you haven’t seen why there’s a need for SOA governance, it’s to keep people out of your homemade brownies.

Miko Matsumura has set up a series of SOA master classes, being offered online by WebMethods and ZapThink. Check them out; they look really good.

Read more at: SD Times