Governance of Service-Oriented Architecture in a Healthcare Organization: A Case Study

Abstract

The article introduces a service-oriented architecture (SOA) governance framework for successful implementation in a healthcare organization. The proposed framework, based on a rigorous literature review, proposes nine governance elements that should be considered during the SOA implementation process. This proposal aims to pinpoint attributes and guidelines for each element required to successfully govern SOA and tackle longstanding healthcare information systems (HIS) implementation challenges. The framework was tested in a healthcare organization and valuable insights are presented herein. The intended use of this framework is as a decision-supporting tool for SOA governance in a healthcare setting.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am grateful to Dr. Marinos Themistocleous who provided insight and expertise during this research. I also owe much gratitude to the Editor in Chief Dr. Shailendra Palvia for his substantial editing and comments that have greatly improved the manuscript.

Notes

¹ SOA is an architectural paradigm that supports reusability, interoperability, IT/Business alignment by breaking business processes into smaller blocks of functionality (e.g., services). These small blocks are well-defined, self-contained modules that provide standard business functionality and are linked together to build an integrated business process (Papazoglou, 2003).

² ISO/IEC 20000 is the first international standard for IT service management. The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) defines the organizational structure and skill requirements of an IT organization and a set of standard operational management procedures, and Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology (COBIT) is a framework created for IT management and IT governance.

³ Identified SOA CSF in healthcare: (a) alignment of SOA, organizational, human, and legal aspects; (b) clear goals set from the beginning of the endeavor; (c) complexity introduced to the system; (d) cost, funding and sponsoring the SOA project; (e) SOA culture that can create support and communication between the stakeholders; (f) experience, skills, and training of the employees; (g) governance plan to provide compliance and check services concerning capability, security and strategic business alignment; (h) long-term planning to include reusable services that fit future business; (i) adequate measurement of the compliance and performance; (j) maturity identification and progress of the organization in aspects such as IT and organizational structure; (k) identification of the right candidate projects/pilots; (l) security risks (e.g., data confidentiality, access control); (m) detailed roadmap; (n) adequate standards (e.g., XML, WSDl, REST, HL7); (o) a team with understanding and experience in change management and clear vision of SOA; and (p) testing of the services and impact.

⁴ Due to confidentiality restrictions the name and country of the organization is not revealed.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Konstantinos Koumaditis

Konstantinos Koumaditis is an assistant professor at the Department of Business Development and Technology of Aarhus University. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical/Electronic Engineering from the Portsmouth University UK, a Master’s degree in Electronics from the University of Hertfordshire UK, a Master’s degree in Engineering Management with honors from Brunel University, UK, and a doctorate degree from University of Piraeus, Greece. In the past, he was a Research Associate at University of Piraeus, Department of Digital Systems with research focus on SOA Governance in Healthcare Information Systems (HIS). In the past he has worked as an ICT educator and seminar trainer in various management/IS/HIS subjects. He participated in European research projects and published scientific articles in international conferences/journals as well as chapters in books with focus on: IS, SOA, SOA governance, HIS. His research interests include, amongst others, digital health services, HIS, EHR, SOA and cloud computing governance, IS, and project management.