Consolidating processes for multiple variations

#The present invention relates to service-oriented architecture, and more particularly to consolidating processes for multiple service variations.

#Service-oriented architecture (SOA) methods, systems and governance models develop and deploy multiple shareable and reusable services across an SOA enterprise for use by multiple users. Key objectives of SOA are flexibility and agility in business processes and the underlying IT capabilities that support these processes. Generally, whenever a new user need of variation in tasks is observed or required, a new process is created and implemented within the SOA model for use by other users, which results in a corresponding expansion of resources required in implementation of the SOA.

#One embodiment of a method for harmonizing business process tasks comprehends comparing descriptors associated with each of a plurality of business process tasks via a programmable device in response to a process variation input and identifying a first and a second of the tasks as a candidate task pair for consolidation. Input and output attributes of the candidate pair tasks are compared and consolidation confirmed if the compared input and output attributes are similar. Consolidating the confirmed candidate pair tasks includes merging the confirmed candidate pair into a new merged task or replacing one with the other, and an output from the consolidated candidate pair is generated as a common harmonized output for the first and second tasks.

#These and other features of this invention will be more readily understood from the following detailed description of the various aspects of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

#FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a method or system for consolidating processes for multiple service variations according to the present invention.

#FIG. 2 provides a diagrammatic illustration of two processes of a service-oriented architecture.

#The drawings are not necessarily to scale. The drawings are merely schematic representations, not intended to portray specific parameters of the invention. The drawings are intended to depict only typical embodiments of the invention, and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scope of the invention. In the drawings, like numbering represents like elements.

#As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the present invention may be embodied as a system, method or computer program product. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer readable medium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

#Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may be utilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readable storage medium would include the following: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.