Web Services Technology and Information Systems - Essay Example

?Running Head: Web Services Technology and Information Systems Web Services Technology and Information Systems [Institute’s TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS 2 INTRODUCTION 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 5 THEORETICAL ANALYSIS 7 CONCLUSION 10 REFERENCES 13 The present study is in following four sections: (1) introduction, (2) research methodology, (3) theoretical analysis of the case under consideration, and (4) conclusion. INTRODUCTION ‘Web services’ is a quickly emerging typical design for circulated factorized software applications over the Web. The employing of the Web services principles makes it feasible to pull together a software application with a number of self-regulating components (software elements), all available over the Web. By means of Web services, programmers can create a “virtual software application like a puzzle” (Tang et al, 2010, p. 83), by using the various bits - web services - on the Web, separately from their actual physical position. The objective of this study is to probe whether the implementation of Web services technology could create a distinction within system development: how and why web services reveal innovative techniques of creating software. This issue is essential, as Web services is now one of the IT advancements creating a center of attention for the maximum level of funds, with small or no pragmatic studies on its influence on system development approaches. On the other hand, this essential issue is still unanswered. To explain this issue, the paper offer comprehensive analyses of a profit-making web services software development scheme within the services sector. By means of premise study, an explanatory hypothetical outline of the structure development procedure, facilitated by web services is originated. Its major discovery is the recognition of the primary enabling function of the “Web services technology on system development” (Zhuge, 2010, p. 72). Actually, Web services technology, being supported by XML, is confirmed to be differentiated by extensible series, which is consecutively proven the basic facilitator of innovative practices within systems study. In addition, results have shown it to be facilitator within systems realization as well about the part of related components, for instance, the target business along with its atmosphere, the project group as well as application software customs. The web services system development practices examined here appear within the possible capacity to assemble intricate systems during a smaller, economical as well as additionally flexible method as compared to conventional system development ways (Cordiero and Filpe, 2010, p. 55). Apart from organizational development along with infrastructural development, a ‘third-order’ of motives could chip in to modify traditional practices for information systems development: the accessibility of innovative software technologies as well as structural designs, and mainly the rising Web services principles and implements. This study explains how the accessibility of Web services principles and tools is revealing fresh techniques of creating information systems. This sort of argument may appear relatively old-fashioned and somehow immature. Specially, it may seem to look a lot like the ‘technically vital’ view of the primary pragmatic efforts within the field. However, the explanatory hypothetical agenda formed here, supports the basic facilitating part of technology itself within software improvement practices. In fact, the underlying link is neither simple nor exclusive: Web services technology is an essential, although not adequate fundamental aspect of alteration in practices for information services development (Alkhatib and Rine, 2008, p. 87). This study explains how, apart from technology, additional elementary aspects are engaged, together with software venture market’s atmosphere, civilizing aspects, and achievement pace, software value as well as associated risk factors. ‘Web services’ is a component-supported software structural design - such as DCOM or CORBA - where the basic elements are known as basic facilities. Contrasting DCOM or CORBA, Web services is XML-supported, consequently software systems functioning on Web services can take advantage of the Web infrastructure. Web services technology has three basic characteristics that make it particularly suitable to this study. These three characteristics are (1) innovative, (2) appropriate and (3) precise (Gschwind and Pautasso, 2008, p. 23). RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Keeping in view the investigative nature of the research, a comprehensive case study is included. The research is investigative as it tries to acquire a substantial account of the Web services information systems’ development process, with no precise premise-informed hypotheses to asses. As a result, during the information gathering stage, a specific concentration had to be devoted towards choosing as well as probing the potentially pertinent data sources, with no initial hint for contributory associations, functional variables choice and model generating. An assessment of immaterial as well as appropriate aspects such as literary features, organizational approaches as well as value of links within the software development groups were thought to be significant, signifying the application of a particular comprehensive case study for hypothetical explanation. Because of inadequate reach of Web services technology within the services industry on the time the research, getting access to a fully-fledged Web services development project seemed rather tricky. At the time, a leading Bank in UK was engage in a key initiative to reform a component of its “front-office application portfolio” (Birman, 2010, p. 102) by means of Web services technology. The innovative software application - Cashier Management Systems - was developed to substitute an already present, partly computerized system facilitating the bank’s tellers in counter operations such as “cash withdrawals, deposit of valuable items and similar”. The Bank considers teller facilities as a non-significant balance to its key business, private banking. Actually, services are actually issued fundamental component banking within the field of investment handling as well as portfolio management. As a result, the fresh “Cashier Management Systems was selected as a superlative low-risk, test-bed” (Pautasso and Bussler, 2007, p. 82) to check the web services tools: even at the time of collapse, the bank’s central business actions would not be influenced. On the other hand, dependability, safety as well as value of service were still most important essentials of the innovative software solution. The IT Division controls the Bank’s information system internally. The development of fresh ‘retail banking applications’ was somewhat subcontracted to an outer software developer focusing on monetary as well as retail banking systems. The project group incorporated both the Bank’s as well as the supplier’s consultants did. Researcher gathered the facts by method of interviews along with document assessments. The interviews were in the shape of a sequence of very broad and open-ended questions. A number of adjustments were influenced with a vision of enhanced attention on the specific issue under consideration. The interview was prepared keeping in view five key parts: (1) data on the interviewee as well as the business; (2) software development techniques along with tools; (3) ‘software applications’; (4) groups as well as individuals; and (5) setbacks along with challenges (Zhou et al, 2004, p. 105). Three of the five interviewees were employees of the Bank while two were the workers of Software Company. Bank’s employees are IT Manager, Project Manager, and Information System Architect. Two workers of Software Company were the Team Lead and a member of the project group. THEORETICAL ANALYSIS The result of the theoretical analysis is represented by a list of ideas placed into groups and sub-groups, with various hierarchical points. In “axial coding” (Hammoudi, 2009, p. 41), groups and sub-groups are related by links into numerous networks of perceptions. The most important networks of perceptions created by means of the pragmatic analysis of the Bank were: (1) the framework, which includes banking organization along with its atmosphere, project group and application software irregularities; (2) the web services technology in addition to its properties; and (3) the software development procedure as well as its major stages / activities. The Cashier Management Systems project was in fact a joint venture between the Bank and an outer software company, focussed in system incorporation within the services sector. This software company is lean as well as casual, as contrasting to the Bank that was among a small number of those banks that internally build its information system. On the point of the interview, the Bank’s Information Systems Department had more or less 32 permanent workers expert in different various fields of growth and it was starting to open to the marketplace, initiating businesses with external organizations and as well persistent to consultancies, body leasing as well as project occupations. The Cashier Management System project was classified in three different groups functioning in close partnership. The host / CICS project group, largely included the Bank’s Information Systems individuals, was in charge for telling as well as integrating the legacy host facilities within the Enterprise Architecture Integration system. The MQ / Candle Enterprise Architecture Integration project group, arranged by the Bank’s Enterprise Architecture Integration professionals helped by the project leader from Software Company and by a senior developer, was focused on organizing as well as managing the Enterprise Architecture Integration infrastructure. The WS / XML hub project group, having majority of the software developers from Software Company, was in charge for expanding Web services as well as client interface of the Cashier Management System. The project groups were functioning in close partnership, forming a remarkable blend of two separate advancements to Information Systems growth. The cultural, institutional and even technological variety of the project was in fact revealed by practices for information systems development, as highlighted in this report (Yao, 2010, p. 193). The project under consideration is multi-platform, both within the technological as well as within the managerial sense. The software company’s team leader, with a combination of flexibility as well as strong guidance, carried out the project: There is the group leader finding out who does what - however, in an extremely flexible method and keeping in view the aptitudes as well as vision of all group affiliate - although everyone can notice the whole thing. Every individual writes a separate piece of code and networks with the other developers. The fundamental series from making use an innovative technology to test to ‘pilot project’ proves that applying Web services to expand the Cashier Management System was apparent as a fresh and demanding assignment, even a sort of revolutionary understanding. More exclusively, interviewees believed that the Cashier Management System was the initial task within the bank supported by web services. It is known as an extremely significant project as for IT modernism: functioning in joint venture with software company, the Bank was in fact discovering a fresh method of developing systems, with an immense possibility of modernization. The entire insemination procedure, within which the two businesses were learning from another, was having support of the sturdy trust association; the perception of dependence link / joint venture with exterior software company has the maximum “groundedness, being mentioned in four different passages of text by different subjects. On the other side of the coin, the Cashier Management System project was characterized by more frequent error and changes than previous projects by the bank” (Seth and Lytras, 2006, p. 172). High inaccuracy level is potentially under linkage with high threat for the Bank. As a result, to decrease threat ‘in case of failure’, the project was detained to a secure as well as inadequate application region: cashier management services. Cashier management has merely a little direct influence on core business for Bank. The executive in charge for IT incorporation policies revealed an additional interesting feature of the ‘pilot project’: the likelihood to integrate in the Cashier Management System, a lot more business knowledge than in the past. As noted earlier, in private banks, cashier management services are not supported by plain, consistent, “high-volume, low-amount transactions” (Taniar, 2004, p. 122); Cashier Management System operations are usually modified, shared and personalized in several different as well as difficult methods. With the previously existing semi-computerized Cashier Management System, the usual teller required some specific knowledge and responsiveness to accomplish client requirements, to be obtained with understanding and time. The Cashier Management System pilot project, supported by a lot more refined, but flexible system, could potentially reveal new methods of accumulating as well as circulating business knowledge “IT for corporate knowledge diffusion” (Fensel, 2011, p. 211). “In incremental development, software coding is based on small incremental additions, and it is achieved by working in collaboration with architects and system engineers, paying attention to user needs, cultivating and stimulating user initiatives all within a culture of innovation and open mindedness” (Fensel, 2011, p. 231). Host development is considerably distinct from - as well as additionally intricate in comparison with - client-side development. The second one is distinguished by simpler development of the “single software components” Fensel, 2011, p. 234), which are self-governing and can be developed as well as tested independently. “On the down side, the overall management of distributed components, including their orchestration and tracing, poses new problems, including the need to handle a higher-level of infrastructural complexity” Fensel, 2011, p. 238). In accordance with a functional analyst, incremental growth was not as feasible in the earlier period as it is in the present day. To put it briefly, the theoretical analysis of the Cashier Management System development project at the Bank reveals that Web services technology is a major technical facilitator for more agile types of information systems development, even in the Bank’s rigorous quality values. The study recommends that Web services-based system development may present considerable prospects with respect to incremental study, conditions modification, prerequisites materializing in application and incremental operation (Kankellali, 2003, pp. 1-5). For the resettlement from conventional to further responsive, hybrid types of information system development, apart from the technological description of Web services, in addition to the relative issues - mainly vigour, traditions, human resources, project volume and project criticality - have revealed to have a pertinent part. The Cashier Management System project partnership between the Bank and the software company, in addition to the decision of decreasing the size as well as impact of the ‘pilot project’, was mainly successful to set free the prospective facilitating outcomes of the Web services technology towards more agile forms of development. CONCLUSION This research characterizes one of the initial extensive pragmatic scrutinies of a system development project supported by Web services within the services sector. The theoretical analysis presents at least two separate results, mainly original as well as pertinent for information systems research. The initial result is the pragmatic proof of a considerable facilitator role of the Web services technology for information systems development practices. This study recommends that Web services-based system development may present considerable prospects with respect to “incremental analysis, requirements revision, requirements emerging in use and incremental implementation. The system development practices observed here are somehow characterized by some degree of disciplined agility” (Footen and Faust, 2008, p. 103). In addition, observation has indicated that such agility will lie within the centre ground between conventional practices for information systems development (systematic, well organized) and interim development practices (amethodical, responsive). The second result is that, “in full concordance with some of the latest studies on the subject, the descriptive theoretical framework generated by our empirical analysis confirms that contextual factors - particularly dynamism, culture, personnel, project size and project criticality - play a central role for the migration towards disciplined agility” (Footen and Faust, 2008, p. 114). The Cashier Management System project partnership between the Bank and the software company, apart from the decision to decrease the volume as well as impact of the ‘pilot project’, was mainly successful to unleash the possible facilitator outcomes of the Web services technology. The inferences for study are relatively straightforward: the research is showing that technology is of significant importance, have an elementary facilitating part towards the implementation of additionally responsive information systems development practices. This study enhances the previous research efforts on responsiveness and opens a completely fresh ‘path research’: there is a requirement of additional research efforts as well as analyses to better appreciate the facilitating / enabling part of Web services technology, in various projects, perspectives and with reference to substitution technologies. “On the other side, there may be further soft factors that could matter. Particularly interesting and worth of further research is in this regards the role of uncertainty, power and trust in the numerous processes of negotiation that took place at various levels during system design and development” (Footen and Faust, 2008, p. 187). In this effort, the implementation of additionally responsive types of development is proved reliant both from technology as well as from business and framework. The message of this study that ‘technology is of significant importance’, if verified in the future may have important inferences for practice, adjusting in conventionality IT ventures as well as information systems strategies when the implementation of more responsive information systems development practices is concerned. Recent paths of research, with respect to this research as well as mainly pertinent for practice are quickly rising, together with service focused architectural plan and administration concerns, as well as the problem of granularity, that is to say, how to select the suitable point of componentization. REFERENCES Alkhatib, G., and Rine, D. 2008. Agent Technologies and Web Engineering: Applications and Systems. Information Science Publishing. Birman, K. P. 2010. Reliable Distributed Systems: Technologies, Web Services, and Applications. Springer. Cordiero, J., and Filpe, J. 2010. Web Information Systems and Technologies. Springer. Fensel, D. 2011. Foundations for the Web of Information and Services: A Review of 20 Years of Semantic Web Research. Springer. Footen, J. and Faust, J. 2008. The Service-Oriented Media Enterprise: SOA, BPM, and Web Services in Professional Media Systems. Focal Press. Gschwind, T. and Pautasso, C. 2008. Emerging Web Services Technology. Birkhauser Basel. Hammoudi, S. 2009. Web Information Systems. Springer. Kankellali, A., Teo, H. Tan, B., & Wei-K. 2003. “An Integrative Study of Information Systems Security Effectiveness.” International Journal of Information Management. Volume 23, No. 2. Pautasso, C. and Bussler, C. 2007. Emerging Web Services Technology. Birkhauser Basel. Seth, A. and Lytras, M. 2006. Semantic Web-Based Information Systems: State-of-the-Art Applications. IGI Global. Tang, X. Xu, J., and Chanson, S. T. 2010. Web Content Delivery. Springer. Taniar, D. 2004. Web Information Systems. Idea Group Publishing. Yao, J. 2010.Web-based Support Systems. Springer. Zhou, X. Su, S. Papazoglou, M. and Orlowska, M. 2004. Web Information Systems. Springer. Zhuge, H. 2010. The Web Resource Space Model. Springer. Read More