The degree of change over time is really the number of times over a particular period that the business reinvents itself to adapt to a market. Thus, why a paper production company may only have a degree of change of 5 percent over a 5 year period, a high technology company may have an 80 percent change over the same period.

The ability to adapt to change is a number that states the company’s ability to react to the need for change over time. The notion being that the use of an SOA provides a better ability to change IT to adjust to needed changes in the business.

Finally, the relative value of change is the amount of money made as a direct result of changing the business. For instance, a retail organization’s ability to establish a frequent buyer program to react to changing market expectations, and the resulting increases in revenue from making that change.