Service (systems architecture)

In the context of enterprise architecture, service-orientation and service-oriented architecture, the term service refers to a set of related software functionalities that can be reused for different purposes, together with the policies that should control its usage.

OASIS defines service as "a mechanism to enable access to one or more capabilities, where the access is provided using a prescribed interface and is exercised consistent with constraints and policies as specified by the service description."

Service engineering

An enterprise architecture team will develop the organization's service model first by defining the top level business functions. Once the business functions are defined, they are further sectioned into services that represent the processes and activities needed to manage the assets of the organization in their various states. One example is the separation of the business function "Manage Orders" into services such as "Create Order," "Fulfill Order," "Ship Order," "Invoice Order" and "Cancel/Update Order."