There are seven words every IT professional dreads hearing during the summer: "Sorry to bother you on vacation but …"

The idea of creating a pre-vacation checklist to help IT professionals make sure the service-oriented architecture (SOA) system they are responsible for is in good shape, is the brain child of Craig Marble, systems engineer at Micro Focus Ltd. He sees a parallel between the kind of checklist vacationers have traditionally made to be sure their car is ready for the road and the home they are leaving behind will be looked after.

"I'm thinking if you go on vacation, for instance if you're driving somewhere, you have a little checklist of things to do," he said. "Is your car tuned up? Is the oil okay? Who is going to take care of the house if something goes wrong? Maybe you have a relative or neighbor who is the go-to person in case of an emergency."