In this issue, seven authors from very diverse backgrounds will help you understand and explore -- if not entirely resolve -- some of the challenges and myths affecting the current preoccupation with BPM. Their thoughtful analyses provide guidance to those who wish to raise the awareness of business processes in their organizations and arrive at better control over their design, execution, monitoring, and optimization.

Perhaps BPM evolved relatively slowly for the first 40 years because it was mostly practiced by IT people. Now that the business is beginning to recognize its responsibility to direct the effort, BPM can be reenergized.

-- Claude R. Baudoin

• Read the introduction

A fundamental of configuration management is a baseline: a description of a large group of items. Baselines can be powerful tools to help manage an endeavor.

What are the key elements for leadership success? The March 2010 issue of Cutter IT Journal invites useful and thoughtful analysis and debate on the challenges of leadership within the IT organization and how it can be most effectively achieved at all levels to maximize performance and achieve business goals. We invite anyone who is interested to send us an abstract for consideration.