Managing Web Service Quality: Measuring Outcomes and Effectiveness

Citation

Schutte, M. (2009), "Managing Web Service Quality: Measuring Outcomes and Effectiveness", Online Information Review, Vol. 33 No. 5, pp. 1011-1012. https://doi.org/10.1108/14684520911002007

Users of commercial websites such as Amazon.com and eBay.com are often oblivious to the complex systems that are employed in making a seamless user experience possible. Many of these websites function in a highly dynamic business environment and are largely dependent on the quality of the underlying web service applications that enable the complex integration and interaction of a variety of diverse systems.

As stressed in the preface, “Web services technology allows easy integration between two applications, but it does not mean that a flawless service is guaranteed”. A major theme of this book is that web services quality determines the ultimate success of web services. The book aspires to propose solutions to the challenge that is posed by the integration of seemingly incompatible quality requirements.

Early on in the book it is determined that, among others, the following quality properties influence the web services products: testability, dependability, maintainability, usability, security and composibility. It is also emphasised that the integral quality attributes and properties of web services must be considered throughout the lifecycle of the system. The 17 chapters to a large extent are organised into the main aspects of the lifecycle:

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  Section 1 – development and application.

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  Section 2 – description and composition.

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  Section 3 – testability and security.

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  Section 4 – maintainability and management.

Although the chapters can be read as self‐contained units, it is notable that they cover a broad range of applications, perspectives and concerns that are all interrelated.

Many chapters contain one or more case studies, which support the authors' position in a meaningful manner. Some of the authors also set out to develop theoretical, conceptual and practical frameworks that can be applied and utilised in different scenarios. One example is the framework developed to provide management features to service providers and clients. The clients can use the framework to determine whether web services are meeting quality requirements. Different techniques and methodologies, such as end‐to‐end delivery of multimedia content, as well as virtualisation techniques are proposed.

An important focus of the book is to foster an appreciation of enhancing the testability of web services; accordingly, special measures and approaches are proposed to enhance the testability of web services. The authors ask for testability to be “designed into” services from the early phases of development in order to facilitate meaningful testing and adoption of systems. Related to this is the chapter on the key decision factors that correlate with technology adoption.

All in all, the book succeeds in raising awareness of the importance of quality in a web services context. While many chapters contain considerable technical detail, managerial aspects of the issue always remain at the heart of the discussion. Therefore, information systems and web services researchers, developers and users will benefit from reading this book.