Proposal of a methodology for implementing a service-oriented architecture in distributed manufacturing systems

Abstract

As envisioned by Intelligent Manufacturing Systems (IMS), Next Generation Manufacturing Systems (NGMS) will satisfy the needs of an increasingly fast‐paced and demanding market by dynamically integrating systems from inside and outside the manufacturing firm itself into a so‐called extended enterprise. However, organizing these systems to ensure the maximum flexibility and interoperability with those from other organizations is difficult. Additionally, a defect in the system would have a great impact: it would affect not only its owner, but also its partners. For these reasons, we argue that a service‐oriented architecture (SOA) would be a good candidate. It should be designed following a methodology where services play a central role, instead of being an implementation detail. In order for the architecture to be reliable enough as a whole, the methodology will need to help find errors before they arise in a production environment. In this paper we propose using SOA‐specific testing techniques, compare some of the existing methodologies and outline several extensions upon one of them to integrate testing techniques.