Project Manager Profiling: Behavioural Competency and Potential (Part 2)

The last couple of decades have witnessed organizations beginning to heavily rely on Information Technology in the aiding the running of their businesses. Initially, mission-critical applications were starting to fall in place. Now, an integration of these systems has become the focus. Such integration allows efficient operations, better customer service as well as new revenue-generation activities. Gartner indicates that systems integration better positions Information Technology in the use of application portfolios in order to deliver enhanced business value. The paper discusses this integration in detail, suggesting the differences in how this term is interpreted in general and by businesses. It defines that for businesses, integration has to do with codifying manually performed routines and developing automated business processes. The paper progresses to discussing Service-Oriented Architecture or SOA, a novel integration standard which has recently evolved. The paper discusses SOA as facilitating the interaction of various programs, tools and applications via self-contained services. The paper goes on to offer a detailed discussion on why SOA has gained momentum. It then identifies the four worst SOA integration practices. These are listed as overemphasizing low-level code, ripping to replace legacy software, buying support-less software, and, centralizing design as well as development. The paper concludes by offering guidance for avoiding as well as overcoming worst practices to avoid SOA integration failure.