Meaningful Cost-Benefit Analysis for Service-Oriented Architecture Projects

Abstract

This paper argues that proper cost-benefit analysis of service-oriented architecture projects is not possible without explicit identification of SOA-specific tasks in the work breakdown structure (WBS), so that those costs are explicitly estimated in the budget, are explicitly in the integrated master schedule, and appear on earned value and other reports. It deconstructs the traditional stories for financially justifying SOA and identifies SOA-specific activities that should be added to WBSs to enable tracking of costs and schedules. It also identifies specific research questions that can only be answered with data gathered through such task-level cost accounting.