Architecting and designing : SOA : Services : Service hierarchy
  
Service hierarchy
The service model defines the architectures for the use of information and services in support of the business and the plan for implementing those architectures.
These services are made available as independent services that can be accessed without knowledge of their underlying platform implementation. The concept of a service is applicable to business, software and other types of producer/consumer models.
In the Service model, the Service Hierarchy diagram provides a pictorial view of the services architecture represented as a hierarchy of symbols.
Example service hierarchy diagram
To create a service hierarchy diagram
1 On the File menu, click New Diagram, or click the New Diagram icon.
2 Select the Service Hierarchy diagram from the All Methods dialog.
3 Type the name of the diagram in the Name text box.
4 Click OK.
Result
The Service Hierarchy diagram uses the following symbols, note that all relationships are constructed as tree and branch structures.
Service: The observable and usable set of behaviors that perform a prescribed task and is accessible via a prescribed interface. Services must be discrete and distinct.
Service Component: A logical grouping of services, organized, for example, by technology, platform, data used, and so on.
Component Category: A high level categorisation of Service Components.
Business Domain: A partition view point of the enterprise and the services that it requires.
The Component Category and Service Component classifications serve to provide abstraction of services. These abstractions should represent relatively static architectures in any enterprise unless there is major change in enterprise functionality.
See also
Services