One of the most frequently asked questions I received over the course of 2008 has been the question for the ‘right' service. This question could have been triggered via "what services are there?" or "SAP is offering this huge amount of services, but which one is good for me?" or even "why should I use SAP Enterprise Services?" The answer is very easy in the first place, yet becomes very complex as soon as one captures the underlying fundament.

The presentation "Finding the right Enterprise Services - Overview on Enterprise Services and the Enterprise Services Workplace" addresses these questions and also forms the storyboard of this blog.

So here we go, the easy part:

All these and correlated questions can be answered with a very simple equation. In order to find and retrieve the information you need to you are familiar with SAPs modeling and definition Methodology, SAPs enterprise service documentation and the different possibilities to search.

Find = Methodology + Documentation + Search

• Methodology: Is all about how services are modeled and defined, as well as certain implementation references. The What!
• Documentation: Is all about the context and what the service is doing, which in itself refers to the persons requirements and if they do fit the given offerings. The Where!
• Search: Is all about applying the methodology knowhow, on the documentation by means of dedicated ways to search information. The How!

The complex part

The initial step: Methodology

SAP's Modeling and Definition Methodology introduces common guidelines, conventions, models, patterns and rules for building Enterprise Services. Every single Enterprise Services is based on this Methodology, ultimately ensuring ‘design' consistency. The Methodology is based on the correlated Enterprise Service Metamodel (Link on page 43), allowing a coherent, consistent and repeatable approach for the design of services. The premise is that if two or more person in an organization would individually build the same service that the result would (implying the existance of quality gates here) exactly be the same service design.

As example, one aspect incorporated within the methodology is the usage of patterns. These patterns define the service cut, while grouping a predefined set of operations within service interfaces. The ‘Create <BO>' operation is, for example, situated within the ‘Manage <BO> In' service interface pattern. Knowing this enables us to look for the respective manage interface and therein for the create operation. In case the create operation does not exist within the manage pattern we can be sure that the service has not yet been built - because, if it would have been, it would be positioned therein.

Important to note here is that this methodology is SAP agnostic but - of course -easier to realize within our tools. Partner-delivered Enterprise Services is a good example of this openness. This initiative actively teaches partners to build services according our methodology: Services that are partner-delivered methodology-compliant service interfaces.

Understanding this methodology is an essential prerequisite in understanding Enterprise Services and here is how you can learn about SAP's Modeling and Definition Methodology:

• Visit our SOA 300 classroom training or
• visit our publicly Enterprise Services Repository Documentation on help.sap.com

The understanding of the context: Documentation.

SAP provides three central entry points as documentation for all delivered Enterprise Services:

• ES Workplace "is the central place to view consolidated information about all available Enterprise Services delivered by SAP. It provides various entry points for different roles, from Architects to Process Experts. The ES Workplace is the starting point for SOA adoption, from discovery of services to evaluation of services and development of exemplary proof-of-concept composite applications on a freely accessible hosted SAP Business Suite system landscape for business and technology justification."
• ES Wiki "provides a comprehensive portfolio of business scenarios that are SOA-enabled by solutions and enterprise services shipped by SAP today. This way, it is complementing other SAP offerings, such as the Solution Maps or the ES Workplace, with a business-oriented view on how SOA adds value to business processes which you will be able to understand even without profound knowledge about SAP solutions. "
• ES Registry is the registry behind the ES Workplace. The guide Services Registry for ES Workplace guides users step-by-step through the usage of the registry and related components. Within the registry services can even be tested. This allows potential consumers to upfront know if the data coming in and out of the service is the one really required.

Documentation forms the core of understanding what the service at hand is and how it works. Undertanding the different interlinked information provided within each of these pages gives users a broad perspective on the services, its context and especially also hints on their implementation. An example is that the ES workplace documents for each service the respecitive BADI structure with which the service can be enhanced. All necessary information is available, one just needs to know where is located. 

The fundament has been built, so how can it be leveraged: Search.

We now understand basics on how services are built and how they are documented. We could already combine both aspects and retrieve a broad variety of information but is it the right information or even is it the complete information? This leads us to the ways of searching, the final skill until becoming an Enterprise Service ‘master info retriever'. In the following the three most common search options:

• The standard way is to use the integrated search capabilities within the ES Workplace. Simply add your <SEARCH TERM> in the search box (located on the upper right side of the page) and click on the button next to it. You will receive a comprehensive overview about all areas where your <SEARCH TERM> is present, such as Process Components, Processes, Business Scenario Maps, Service Interfaces, etc..
• The efficient way is to use a Google focused ES Workplace search. Google has the capability to focus its search results on specified pages and can thus be used as a custom search tool for the ES Workplace. Further information can be found in the blog post on "Enterprise Services: The Fastest Possible Search".
• The smart way is to use tools for the search, such as a very powerful ubiquity. Ubiquity is a plug-in for your Firefox that can easily access information via dedicated scripts and guess what... there is a script for Enterprise Services. Further information can be found in the blog post on "Searching the Enterprise Services Workplace the smart way using Ubiquity".

Methodology knowhow along with the services' documentation helps us understand how services are built and where we can find further information. Yet, we can't clearly say how we can find the information relevant for our specific use case until we learn the unique ways of leveraging latter aspects by means of distinct search possibilities. Having the knowledge of all three areas it is easily possible to learn, understand and find every services that has been delivered and also knowing which ones for example do not yet exist.

so here it is.. your formula to finding the right services & and your way to explain it to everybody

Find = Methodology + Documentation + Search