This Advisor points out that decision making, which is a critical aspect of the architect's role, is really a management role in disguise, delegated down by senior management. It explains as well that architecture is really a management discipline, even if it doesn't feel quite like one.

As mobile apps become increasingly sophisticated and important, they are changing the ways in which people interact with the IT environment. Mobile apps are accessed differently than is desktop software in that mobile apps are always available and become an immediate part of personal interactions. As they are used for social purposes -- for scheduling and meetings, to access travel details, and to perform innumerable mundane functions that coincide with the needs of ordinary life -- mobile apps leave a rich trail of data that can be exploited, for better or for worse, by companies wishing to enhance their marketing efforts. But these data streams also provide extraordinarily rich pickings for nefarious purposes. Added to this risk is the growing use of business apps that connect to corporate systems and data, creating an increasing security threat across a wide range of vectors.

As mobile apps become increasingly sophisticated and important, they are changing the ways in which people interact with the IT environment. Mobile apps are accessed differently than is desktop software in that mobile apps are always available and become an immediate part of personal interactions. As they are used for social purposes -- for scheduling and meetings, to access travel details, and to perform innumerable mundane functions that coincide with the needs of ordinary life -- mobile apps leave a rich trail of data that can be exploited, for better or for worse, by companies wishing to enhance their marketing efforts. But these data streams also provide extraordinarily rich pickings for nefarious purposes. Added to this risk is the growing use of business apps that connect to corporate systems and data, creating an increasing security threat across a wide range of vectors.

There is a silent leadership crisis going on right now in many workplaces around the world. The generation shift taking place in the market and the changing needs of the current workplace, including software development teams moving to Agile and its model of "servant leadership," are forcing an older generation of leaders to evolve their leadership styles. This Executive Update explores this leadership crisis from different angles and attempts to point toward areas where leaders can observe their own behaviors and consider new possibilities.

While it might sound like a little bit of voodoo, it's not. Prosperity thinking ties back to organizational and group theory from Tuckman to Ouchi. If we adopt a consistent attitude (Ouchi) and it's one where we see the good in the team, the organization, and the world around us (Tuckman), we will have more positive outcomes

In the previous Advisors in this series, we pointed out that development can be sorted out into three classes (see Figure 1):

Figure 1 -- The three types of development efforts.

Connected devices are set to dramatically change healthcare in general and clinical and pharmaceutical studies and the treatment of chronic diseases, in particular. The key to utilizing sensor data generated by personal health, fitness, and medical devices is to correlate it with other more traditional healthcare and medical data -- such as doctor-created medical records, clinical research, and individual genomes -- data sets that are typically unstructured, fragmented, and not easily integrated or analyzed.

The Apple Watch is significant because it legitimizes the market for wearables (in general) and smart watches (in particular) by dramatically increasing the visibility of smart watches. (Smart watches are wearables designed to run 3rd-party apps; general wearables are fitness bands, activity trackers, and the like, that do not run third-party apps.) It is also leading to a wave of innovative new products -- including apps designed to work with the Apple Watch, as well as new smart watch offerings from other vendors that have been inspired by Apple's innovation. And, perhaps most importantly, the proliferation of smart watch users will offer companies a new and very dynamic touchpoint for engaging with customers.

The Apple Watch is significant because it legitimizes the market for wearables (in general) and smart watches (in particular) by dramatically increasing the visibility of smart watches. (Smart watches are wearables designed to run 3rd-party apps; general wearables are fitness bands, activity trackers, and the like, that do not run third-party apps.) It is also leading to a wave of innovative new products -- including apps designed to work with the Apple Watch, as well as new smart watch offerings from other vendors that have been inspired by Apple's innovation. And, perhaps most importantly, the proliferation of smart watch users will offer companies a new and very dynamic touchpoint for engaging with customers.

The Apple Watch is the biggest announcement in wearable tech this year. And, in just a few days (24 April), it will start to appear on the wrists of large numbers of consumers.

The Apple Watch is the biggest announcement in wearable tech this year. And, in just a few days (24 April), it will start to appear on the wrists of large numbers of consumers.

This Executive Update explores the long-time hiring vs. training debate, which has been energized by an influx of new technologies requiring new skills. 

This Executive Update shines a light on the "darkitecture" that envelops architecture, by first observing what enterprises do and then spotting the obvious blind spots indicated by what many organizations ignore.

This Executive Update shines a light on the "darkitecture" that envelops architecture, by first observing what enterprises do and then spotting the obvious blind spots indicated by what many organizations ignore.

Most people know that innovation requires time to think, reflect, experiment, fail, revise, and explore. But many have likely not contemplated how directly cost pressures can impact innovation efforts. Psychologist Donald T. Campbell developed a model of innovation in 1960 that can help us understand just what's at stake. The Campbell model was inspired by Darwinian evolution. It portrays innovation as a two-step process, as follows:

The Agile principle of delivering working software frequently, in the shortest feasible timeframe, can scare DW/BI teams into avoiding Agile practices if they can't conceive of how they would deliver working software in a matter of weeks. However, teams that think creatively about how to work toward this principle have found effective approaches. In this article, I provide a case study that shows how one team approached this challenge: by identifying the business value in the steps of the DW/BI delivery process.

Externalizing business logic has long been a goal for EA. Business rules and complex event processing (CEP) are two ways to achieve this. So what are the differences between business rules and CEP architectures? And how can we use EA to prepare for using business rules or CEP?

Offering connected products can require a company to reinvent itself; in effect, to transform from a product-oriented business into a service-oriented business. Moreover, it is likely that it will also require the business to transition into a software and services provider -- at least to some extent.

Offering connected products can require a company to reinvent itself; in effect, to transform from a product-oriented business into a service-oriented business. Moreover, it is likely that it will also require the business to transition into a software and services provider -- at least to some extent.

This Executive Update provides a brief history of enterprise architecture to show its evolution and to highlight its key contributions over the past 40 years — from the first discussion of the term around 1975 to its 40th anniversary in 2015.

A large percentage of businesses are looking for ways to stretch their operations budgets while their user bases grow. Containerization helps with this in a number of ways.

I wonder what Marx would have observed regarding the history of IT projects in California. Last month, Elaine Howle, the state's auditor, released yet another report detailing California's continuing IT project management misadventures.

Software professionals have a hate-hate relationship with requirements. They hate that requirements have been an unsatisfactory guide to action, and they hate that they still depend on them. Agile resolved part of this dilemma, replacing the traditional requirements tome with user stories. Over time, the Agile requirements toolkit expanded to include epics, themes, storyboards, wireframes, story maps, and other types of content.