How to maintain the correctness of SOA policy management

Depending on the SOA service, the definition of an SOA strategy varies from business operations, service level management, control deployment, to security, and so on. In general, SOA policy Management can add value from two perspectives: does it allow SOA based services to be made faster according to business changes?

SOA Policy Management is an advanced way to inject flexibility and business value into a service-oriented architecture strategy, and IT managers must understand the key features of the SOA policy lifecycle to help you better control it.

Depending on the SOA service, the definition of an SOA strategy varies from business operations, service level management, control deployment, to security, and so on. In general, SOA policy Management can add value from two perspectives:

1). It allows SOA based services to be more quickly switched to business changes;

2. It extends and strengthens the SOA governance process in the deployment and production process, bringing about a more reliable and efficient SOA operation.

From the CIO or IT Manager's point of view, you first need to understand the key features of the policy lifecycle to achieve better monitoring. The main elements that keep the SOA policy lifecycle correct include:

Establish a clear interface with the source of the policy. Each strategy has its initiators. In the enterprise, there is always a member or a team to be responsible for it. Therefore, your policy management process must have appropriate integration points and authorized checkpoints.

A strategic elaboration from framework to detail. In the early stages of the SOA service lifecycle, policies may be more extensive in definition, but if you want to implement this strategy, your strategy should be as detailed as possible. The policy lifecycle includes policy validation and management tools, fine-grained policy control, and ensuring traceability from plan to implementation.

Manage the related policy groups. Managing each group of policies as a whole is a very practical trick. For example, to simplify service level agreements for your SOA services, service users may choose an appropriate entry point in a policy group. A policy group simplifies execution, and you can refer directly to a policy group without having to spend time detailing the content of each strategy.

Ensure appropriate policy change control. Running policy changes can change the operation of the production system, affecting it and business operations. SOA governance has to be properly controlled in terms of policy changes, but the level and mechanism of control will vary according to the policy domain and type. Your policy management process must support a variety of flexible control mechanisms to activate different areas and kinds of policy changes.

To build and develop policy management in your SOA governance and lifecycle processes, you need to:

1. Identify the first policy domain you want to use. Policy domains drive the highest level of prioritization for your policy management process, so identifying these domains can help you better prioritize the order in which policy management enforces tasks. This provides you with an entry point from which your architect can learn how to add additional policy domains in the future.

2. Identify and implement policy approval points. As you expand your strategy management to each new policy domain, you will have a problem identifying where and how to approve policy changes. Start with the policy licensing tool and design the manual or automated approval process based on your infrastructure and tooling capabilities. An effective approval process is a solid foundation for efficient and controllable policy management.

3. Plan and implement a strategic assessment. Don't think that after strengthening the strategy, all the work is done. Don't forget to keep auditing and compliance with policies, and sometimes this is even a mandatory part of the process. Your strategy management can be most effective only when the entire link is continually evaluated and improved into a circular point.