INTRODUCTION

No groundbreaking work on business services orchestration (BSO) would be complete without establishing a robust underlying methodology. We have developed a specific methodology for orchestrating and improving business services, which, when used with a specific orchestration suite, results in the greatest return on investment (ROI) for clients.

This comprehensive approach is the culmination of many implementations of orchestrations accomplished by developing and using a BSO toolset. It focuses on the fundamentals of services analysis and design and process modeling as a form of orchestration implementation. It includes specific techniques and tools that we have developed by modifying the best approaches to services discovery and design.

Among the initial results of applying this methodology, we can mention the renewed role of the chief information officer (CIO). CIOs who master this approach and make it an integral part of their mode of operation cease to be seen as the nay-sayers in the company. They no longer adopt the role of gatekeepers and fire extinguishers. Instead, they become agents of change. They become the hinge between the company's strategy and the implementation and continuous improvement of the services that execute it. They no longer act as a service center for the company's users; they become the catalysts for improved services to the company's customers. There are companies where the CIO does not have the business wherewithal or interest to take on this catalyst role. In those companies, the LOB managers, the COO, or even the CEO should take ownership of the initiative.