Method and system for managing the lifecycle of a service oriented architecture

1. A computer-implemented method for managing the lifecycle of a service oriented architecture (SOA) comprising:

utilizing a computer to perform:

defining, in accordance with requirements of an organization implementing the SOA, at least one of a plurality of lifecycle states;

a. selecting a subset of a plurality of objects of the SOA for lifecycle management in accordance with the requirements of the organization implementing the SOA, wherein the subset is less than the plurality of objects; and

b. assigning a lifecycle property to each member object of the subset of the plurality of objects of the SOA, wherein the lifecycle property reflects the at least one of the plurality of lifecycle states for the member object;

storing the lifecycle property for each member object in a memory; and

using the stored lifecycle property for a first member object to manage the lifecycle of the SOA.

2. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein a. comprises selecting at least one object type of a plurality of object types of the SOA and wherein b. comprises assigning a lifecycle property to each object of the SOA belonging to the selected object type.

3. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein the subset selected in a. includes an object comprising an aggregation of objects of the SOA and wherein each aggregated object of the SOA inherits the lifecycle property.

4. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

defining, in accordance with the requirements of the organization implementing the SOA, at least one of a plurality of lifecycle stages, wherein each lifecycle stage comprises one or more lifecycle states which is reflected by the lifecycle property.

5. The computer-implemented method according to claim 4 , wherein each stage corresponds to a registry comprising objects of the SOA during the respective lifecycle stage.

6. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein one or more of the lifecycle states for a first object of the selected subset are different from one or more of the lifecycle states for a second object of the selected subset.

7. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

defining, in accordance with the requirements of the organization implementing the SOA, at least one of a plurality of transition states reflected by the lifecycle property.

8. The computer-implemented method according to claim 7 , wherein the lifecycle property restricts the transition from one state of the lifecycle to the next depending on approval of one or more authorized users of the implementing organization.

9. The computer-implemented method according to claim 7 , wherein the lifecycle property causes a process in the SOA during a transition from one state of the lifecycle to another.

10. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein a. and b. comprise creating a Java Application Programming Interface (API) for Extensible Markup Language (XML) Registries (JAXR) taxonomy for at least one registry of the SOA.

11. A lifecycle management system for managing the lifecycle of a service oriented architecture (SOA) comprising:

a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the memory comprises program instructions executable by the processor to:

define, in accordance with requirements of an organization implementing the SOA, at least one of a plurality of lifecycle states;

select a subset of a plurality of objects of the SOA for lifecycle management in accordance with the requirements of the organization implementing the SOA, wherein the subset is less than the plurality of objects; and

assign a lifecycle property to each member of the subset of the plurality of objects of the SOA, wherein the lifecycle property reflects the at least one of the plurality of lifecycle states for the member object;

store the lifecycle property for each member object in the memory; and

use the stored lifecycle property for a first member object to manage the lifecycle of the SOA.

12. The Lifecycle management system of claim 11 , wherein the program instructions are further executable to implement an Application Programming Interface (API) for managing the objects in one or more registries of the SOA.

13. The Lifecycle management system of claim 11 wherein the program instructions are further executable to implement a graphical user interface displaying lifecycle properties of the selected subset of the pluralities of objects of the SOA.

14. The Lifecycle management system of claim 11 , wherein the processor and the memory are in a first computer system, the lifecycle management system further comprising:

a server coupled to the first computer system, wherein the server stores each lifecycle property.

15. A non-transitory computer accessible memory medium comprising program instructions for managing lifecycle of a service oriented architecture (SOA), wherein the program instructions are executable by a processor to:

define, in accordance with requirements of an organization implementing the SOA, at least one of a plurality of lifecycle states;

a. select a subset of a plurality of objects of the SOA for lifecycle management in accordance with the requirements of the organization implementing the SOA, wherein the subset is less than the plurality of objects;

b. assign a lifecycle property to each member of the subset of the plurality of objects of the SOA, wherein the lifecycle property reflects the at least one of the plurality of lifecycle states for the member object;

store the lifecycle property for each member object in a memory; and

use the stored lifecycle property for a first member object to manage the lifecycle of the SOA.

16. The non-transitory computer accessible memory medium according to claim 15 , wherein a. comprises selecting at least one object type of a plurality of object types of the SOA and wherein b. comprises assigning a lifecycle property to each object of the SOA belonging to the selected object type.

17. The non-transitory computer accessible memory medium according to claim 15 , wherein the subset selected in a. includes an object comprising an aggregation of objects of the SOA and wherein each aggregated object of the SOA inherits the lifecycle property.

18. The non-transitory computer accessible memory medium according to claim 15 , wherein the program instructions are executable by a processor to:

define, in accordance with the requirements of the organization implementing the SOA, at least one of a plurality of lifecycle stages, wherein each lifecycle stage comprises one or more lifecycle states which is reflected by the lifecycle property.