(Note: I'll repeat this intro where it applies to the issues I bring
up.) I have not had time to address these specs as I would have
preferred, but as I am working through the process of diagramming the
SOA Reference Architecture Foundation due to be released for Public
Review in July (hopefully), I do have time to bring up a few
crossover issues that will help align and coordinate the use of the
RAF to develop specific, concrete solution architectures.

This Issue applies to the Rating Specification for the Performance category.

This element is the mechanism for Service Rating Entities to provide
their evaluation for how well Service Providers fulfill the
QualityAssertion(s) of their service(s). As with my suggestion for
BQoS:Performance:QualityAssertion, this Evaluation element is
something that I expect will evolve over time, and I don't have
suggestions at this time for specific subcategories of
QualityAssestionEvaluation. I think it would be wise to include this
as a free text element at first. Later we may have subcategories that
arise, but I wouldn't want to wait until we define those in order to
get feedback from our audience on what they want to assert and how
they want assertions evaluated.

For instance, when a conference management service asserts: "We
deliver a high percentage of decision makers and decision
influencers," this assertion can be evaluated by a rating service to
say something like, "Acme Conference Management's delivery of
decision makers and decison influencers at 35% for Conference X
prompts our rating of poor for this assertion."

Because many Quality Assertions and Evaluations may be subjective
(e..g. "a good time will be had by all"), the compilation of attendee
surveys using equally subjective assessments provides a somewhat more
objective basis for ratings services to evaluate quality assertions.
Without the mechanisms for assertion and evaluation, these ratings
would be more purely subjective and less valuable for potential
service consumers.

By providing Service Providers with a BQoS:
Performance:QualityAssertion, and Service Ratings Firms with a
QualiftyAssertionEvaluation, I think we can begin to make better
assessments of services.

Cheers,
Rex

Raised against / Related drafts
EERP-Rating revision: WD05
Justification
N/A
Related Issues
Origin
Rex Brooks
Owner
Szu Chang