Towards a conceptual framework for legacy to SOA migration

Abstract

Migration of legacy assets to SOA embodies a key challenge of service engineering, the rehabilitation of pre-existing enterprise assets into a service based system. As there is still little conceptual characterization of what the legacy to SOA migration process entails it is difficult to understand, compare and assess different approaches. This paper therefore proposes a conceptual framework embracing a holistic illustration of such a migration process. We describe what such migration process entails and what distinct conceptual elements systematically define the process. Based on the constituting conceptual elements, the framework which is considered as a basis for understanding and assessment of different approaches is proposed. Finaly, the role of our migration framework in positioning and assessing the existing methods, is discussed. © 2010 Springer-Verlag.