Application assembly using Web services

The momentum created by Web services has opened a number of topics that relate to the ability of non-technical people to construct and deploy complex business management software. History has shown that every time a promise of this nature is made that disillusionment sets is before realistic expectations are set. How realistic is the vision of having non-technical people constructing systems, and still having data integrity, performance and usability attributes attended to? Rules of how a business system can be abstracted must be defined in order for development, and delivery organizations to operate together in providing software solutions. This paper presents an approach to doing application assembly and deployment, by understanding the separate elements from abstract requirements to software implementation. Some of the challenges that exist when trying to implement a systems assembly paradigm are discussed. The separation continuum is presented as a solution to understanding the various elements that make tip a business system. It is also used to determine what needs to be included when product lines are assembled using assembly tools that are software assets.