Track 1 - SOA Architecture & Design

This track is focused on the physical design phase of SOA implementations and services in general. The committee is choosing speaker sessions that explore new design techniques, design practices, and approaches to establishing custom design conventions and standards. Architectural topics related to the service-orientation design paradigm, composition design, enterprise service bus (ESB) design, and orchestration environments are also being included.

A primary topic covered within this track is the exploration of SOA design patterns, pattern languages, and the design pattern catalog that is being launched in conjunction with this event as part of the book 'SOA Design Patterns'. A part of the patterns coverage is the topic of compound patterns that express platforms, such as the ESB and Orchestration, as being comprised of a collection of related design patterns.

Track 2 - Service Modeling & BPM

A fundamental part of any SOA project is the analysis required to ensure that business and technology domains are being aligned as closely as possible throughout the service delivery process. This track contains sessions dedicated to service-oriented analysis and service modeling techniques and will allow speakers to describe different approaches and best practices to defining conceptual services, service portfolios, and service blueprints.

A primary focal point among these sessions is the exploration of SOA and business modeling and analysis approaches, such as BPM, BAM, BI, BPMN, and RUP. Speakers will explain how business analysis methods can be combined with SOA or extended in support of service-orientation considerations. Another related topic that will be covered is the positioning of business rules in relation to SOA and service-orientation.

Track 3 - SOA and Business

Intended more for the IT and business management audience, this track is dedicated to sessions that focus on business strategy in relation to SOA projects. SOA goals and benefits will be discussed from a financial perspective, with an emphasis viewing services as IT assets and approaches to calculating expected return on investment (ROI) and other measurable benefits related to increased organizational agility.

Best practices for planning and managing SOA projects will be provided, along with case studies that help demonstrate proven practices but also highlight potential pitfalls. The ultimate goal of the sessions in this track is to help IT stakeholders create a successful SOA delivery strategy that is in full alignment with the business vision.

Track 4 - SOA and REST

The REST platform is emerging as a viable alternative to traditional Web services for certain types of services and requirements. Sessions in this track will focus on exploring how current REST platforms compare to traditional WS-* technologies and how, beyond this comparison, REST-based services can be modeled and designed in support of SOA and service-orientation.

Part of this exploration will include a set of SOA design patterns dedicated to REST that will help further clarify the parts of the REST platform that are common to and distinct from other service implementation mediums for SOA.

Track 5 - SOA and Web 2.0

A separate track is dedicated to a set of sessions that explore the Web 2.0 platform as it relates to SOA and service-orientation. Topics that the conference committee is choosing include enterprise mash-ups and collaborative service compositions, exploration of how Web 2.0, REST, and SOA relate to each other, AJAX and RIA concepts and related technologies, Web 2.0 considerations for service-oriented analysis and service-oriented design approaches, combining Web 2.0 and SOA methodologies, and governance considerations for services-based Web 2.0 solutions.

Track 6 - SOA Governance

The governance of SOA implementations, service inventories and portfolios, and related parts of SOA ecosystems represents a fundamental success factor in any serious SOA initiative. The experts speaking as part of this track will highlight the most important aspects of SOA governance, covering topics that include both organizational and technology-related governance issues, such as:

Infrastructure planning and design considerations, structuring IT departments to support SOA-specific service governance requirements, organizational roles and responsibilities, service discovery and versioning, choosing vendors based on governance-based criteria, scalability considerations and service activity monitoring, governance lifecycles, and developing governance strategies.

Track 7 - SOA Programming

Geared for both Java and .NET developers, the sessions in this track are dedicated to hands-on programming techniques, technologies, and practices. The constant focus is on how services, service compositions, and service-oriented solutions in general can be best built in support of SOA and service-orientation.

Expert speakers from major vendor organizations and practitioner communities will be providing in-depth sessions that include demonstrations that show how the latest technology advancements can be leveraged together with proven best practices.

Some sessions will provide hand-outs that include electronic code samples and related information pertaining to the sessions and demonstrations.

Track 8 - SOA Innovations

The top thought leaders from the major vendor organizations will come together to deliver a series of session that highlight upcoming technology innovations in relation to SOA and to explain how they are shaping the next generation of SOA development and runtime platforms.

Anyone interested in what's ahead in the world of SOA is encouraged to attend these revealing sessions, some of which will likely include demonstrations and advance information not yet officially released.

Track 9 - SOA Infrastructure & Technology

Fundamental to any successful SOA environment is the successful design and maintenance of its underlying enterprise infrastructure. The diverse sessions in this track will explore a variety of infrastructure-related topics, including centralized and distributed security approaches, database design and data warehousing, master data management, scalability and monitoring considerations, fail-over and clustering, and other areas related to infrastructure planning and implementation.

Some sessions may include demonstrations, but note that none are allowed to be promotional in any way. A separate vendor exhibit is provided as part of this event, where further product demonstrations and marketing information will be made available.

Track 10 - SOA Project Delivery & Methodology

The project management and methodology aspects of SOA initiatives are explored in this track, which will include separate sessions dedicated to different stages that are part of a typical SOA project delivery lifecycle, such as testing and quality assurance.

Different methodology approaches will be covered, along with best practices and techniques for customizing methodologies or merging SOA-specific methodologies with traditional ones. SOA adoption strategies in general will be highlighted as part the coverage of different analysis, design, and post-implementation processes.

Track 11 - SOA Industry

The SOA industry and marketplace are constantly evolving and affecting the shape and complexion of commercial SOA platforms. This track is dedicated to exploring issues that pertain to the SOA industry and its influences over technology and trends. Expert speakers will share their insights into new developments and techniques and will further highlight recent product releases and related announcements.