Service-Oriented Architecture

Service-oriented architecture organizes distributed capabilities that may belong to different ownership domains. A service exposes access to a capability through a prescribed interface and service description. The design value comes from explicit contracts, policy, governance, and interoperability rather than from a particular protocol or product. Define the capability, service contract, policy, owner, and quality expectations. Treat message exchange, security, reliability, versioning, and operational management as architecture concerns. A service boundary adds coordination costs, so use it when independent ownership or reuse earns those costs.