Dynamic Web Service Composition: Challenges and techniques

One of the great challenges to be faced in order to enable the success of future Web-based applications is to find effective ways to handle with the interoperability demands. In this context, Service-Oriented Architectures and Web Services technology are being considered as the most affordable solution to promote interoperability, by applying strategies like Service Composition. Nevertheless, most composition approaches applied nowadays in real world contexts lack dynamism. In fact, there is not yet a consensus regarding what would really be a dynamic composition. In this paper we propose some criteria to identify the levels of dynamism and automatization in service compositions. Furthermore, taking into account a model driven approach, we propose a strategy where different techniques can be used to make compositions more dynamic and automatic. This strategy is then exemplified and discussed considering an e-Government composition scenario.