This is a satisfying and stimulating study of building business software with components. Veryard points out that for all the benefits of service-providing components you cannot create mature systems by simply wiring together various components/objects/services. The author points out that system complexity here tends to move to the engineering of effective interfaces between a ragbag of components. To me this is an argument for efficiently engineered component sets such as Delphi's VCL.
So the book focuses more on the interfaces between components than the components themselves, stressing the concept of articulation. It defines articulation as loose coupling (i.e. both separation and connection of parts - decoupling and recoupling). Another aspect of articulation is that it implies clear communication between components and hence clarity of structure at all system levels. Again we see that disparate components will not simply assemble into a meaningful whole - software design remains problematic.
As for the technology so for the business. Between business components (such as departments and teams) interfaces and articulation are also key. Deal-making negotiation skills are essential in the compenentized organisation (e.g. to manage business partnerships, external service providers, contractors, etc).
These are a few thoughts from notes I took. But the book is richer than my review suggests. You may even come away thinking that business software engineering holds the key to
Life, the Universe and Everything .
