Poor scientific method

One of the nice things about being on holiday is that the mind can wander down paths that might otherwise not be trodden, particularly because to do so typically needs more available time. This holiday I spent some of that time pondering microservices, amongst other things. As I've mentioned and been quoted elsewhere, I'm not against the fundamental concepts behind microservices architectures (MSA) - I see them as embodying an evolution of services-based architectures which we've seen happening over several decades. And yet I have a few concerns or niggles about the way in which some groups are positioning it as so significantly different that it represents a fundamental new approach or wave.

It wasn't until I read the recent NIST document that I managed to put my finger on at least one of these concerns: they're making data fit their own definitions of SOA and MSA, whilst conveniently ignoring those facts which don't fit. Any good scientist knows that goes against scientific method, whereby we come up with a theory based upon all of the available data and that theory lasts until some new data appears which blows a hole in it (yes, I'm paraphrasing). The NIST document is particularly guilty of this by choosing a definition of SOA which is conveniently at odds with their definition of MSA - it's not even the one that the standards, such as the OASIS SOA Reference Model, define! The table they have to compare and contrast is so badly flawed - go read the SOA-RM and look at the NIST MSA definition to see how close SOA and MSA are!

Look, I'm not suggesting there's nothing different in MSA than what we've been doing in the past with service oriented architectures. But let's please be objective, stick to the facts and define theories or models based upon all of the available data. Then also be prepared to change if new data appears. But please don't select data to match your own preconceived notions. In our more fully connected world there's really no excuse for being selective of the available data or ignorant of what is available!