This is CBR's ninth annual IT trends issue. For nearly a decade we've gathered and analyzed data across a broad range of IT topics: analytics, IT spending, hiring and outsourcing, IT's role in innovation and value creation, social media, mobile computing, the cloud, security, and so on. Like all issues of CBR, each IT trends issue gives you an up-to-the-moment look at the "vital signs" of the industry. But more importantly, because we are able to look at how signs change over time, every year each IT trends issue just keeps getting smarter and smarter.

This is CBR's ninth annual IT trends issue. For nearly a decade we've gathered and analyzed data across a broad range of IT topics: analytics, IT spending, hiring and outsourcing, IT's role in innovation and value creation, social media, mobile computing, the cloud, security, and so on. Like all issues of CBR, each IT trends issue gives you an up-to-the-moment look at the "vital signs" of the industry. But more importantly, because we are able to look at how signs change over time, every year each IT trends issue just keeps getting smarter and smarter.

This is CBR's ninth annual IT trends issue. For nearly a decade we've gathered and analyzed data across a broad range of IT topics: analytics, IT spending, hiring and outsourcing, IT's role in innovation and value creation, social media, mobile computing, the cloud, security, and so on. Like all issues of CBR, each IT trends issue gives you an up-to-the-moment look at the "vital signs" of the industry. But more importantly, because we are able to look at how signs change over time, every year each IT trends issue just keeps getting smarter and smarter.

This is CBR's ninth annual IT trends issue. For nearly a decade we've gathered and analyzed data across a broad range of IT topics: analytics, IT spending, hiring and outsourcing, IT's role in innovation and value creation, social media, mobile computing, the cloud, security, and so on. Like all issues of CBR, each IT trends issue gives you an up-to-the-moment look at the "vital signs" of the industry. But more importantly, because we are able to look at how signs change over time, every year each IT trends issue just keeps getting smarter and smarter.

This is CBR's ninth annual IT trends issue. For nearly a decade we've gathered and analyzed data across a broad range of IT topics: analytics, IT spending, hiring and outsourcing, IT's role in innovation and value creation, social media, mobile computing, the cloud, security, and so on. Like all issues of CBR, each IT trends issue gives you an up-to-the-moment look at the "vital signs" of the industry. But more importantly, because we are able to look at how signs change over time, every year each IT trends issue just keeps getting smarter and smarter.

This Executive Update looks at Agile in the context of infrastructure and maintenance activities in an organization. Since contemporary Agile emerged from and is focused on developing a solution, we must ask questions about its relevance in the postdevelopment phases of that solution. However, Agile is not limited to development.

The list of mobile devices for enterprise use has expanded to include not just smartphones and tablets, but also wearable computers like smart watches, smart glasses, badges, and other devices (to this list you can also add drones, which I covered in "D

The list of mobile devices for enterprise use has expanded to include not just smartphones and tablets, but also wearable computers like smart watches, smart glasses, badges, and other devices (to this list you can also add drones, which I covered in "D

Let's start with the context for IT and business. Undoubtedly this year has seen continued turbulence in both IT and business. At the same time, the undercurrents of business concern for IT continue -- in terms of cost (too high), value (too low), and relationship ("those guys are different").

This Executive Update examines key trends and developments impacting the adoption of mobile collaboration tools and platforms in the enterprise. Specifically, we consider technology trends and market developments as well as corporate implementation trends.

This Executive Update examines key trends and developments impacting the adoption of mobile collaboration tools and platforms in the enterprise. Specifically, we consider technology trends and market developments as well as corporate implementation trends.

An ongoing challenge in development projects that you are "making up" as you go along -- that is, incrementally adding and adjusting features through sprints -- is that it can be difficult to know how much more you have to do to be "done." A great deal of thought and effort tends to go into the definition of done at a story and epic level in Agile,

The CIO has big problems to worry about. Intractable legacy challenges. Mobile devices in everyone's pocket. Then there's the cloud. On the one hand, new applications, increasingly powerful tools, and rising stakeholder expectations -- all within the context of constrained budgets -- lead the IT executive to focus on doing more with less. On the other hand, the complex, brittle mess of legacy continues to loom like some giant spider in a Middle Earth lair.

Cutter: In your new book, Analytics in a Big Data World: The Essential Guide to Data Science and its Applications, you discuss how to target and leverage business opportunities using big data and analytics. Could you expand on what these business opportunities might be?

Cutter: In your new book, Analytics in a Big Data World: The Essential Guide to Data Science and its Applications, you discuss how to target and leverage business opportunities using big data and analytics. Could you expand on what these business opportunities might be?

In this Advisor, Ken Orr asserts that even though nonlinear thinking is not intuitive for everybody, it will help you understand how to get out of significant traps.

In this Advisor, Ken Orr asserts that even though nonlinear thinking is not intuitive for everybody, it will help you understand how to get out of significant traps.

We can have a good deal, a fair contract ... and yet conflict will still arise. This conflict can become quite personal at times. It can even eat into value for money. To explain why some conflict exists and how senior managers might resolve it, this Executive Update discusses the research into the different values and behaviors (called "styles") held and exhibited by the people that develop and manage contracts.

In this Executive Update, we will explore SoC in complex software systems. Some examples (but by no means a complete list) of change vectors include: change in the required business functionality; change of technical platform, such as adopting or replacing an enterprise service bus (ESB); change in end-user device; and change in data management technology.

Dependably and accurately estimating the effort required to deliver against business requirements is a very important part of the Agile value proposition. Often, the early stages of Agile adoption are spent in large part coming to grips with the subtleties of estimation.

The phrase "Agile architecture" evokes two concepts:

Numerous reports show that a lack of client involvement is the second most critical factor for project failure. ThisExecutive Report introduces a complex project team structure and four co-manager models for use in complex project management (along with briefly describing a fifth variation). One co-manager is from the development side. The other is from the product side. The report describes all the models, along with when and how to use them.

Complex projects have either a goal or a solution or both that cannot be clearly defined at the start of the project. There are nine dimensions present to varying degrees in every project. The level of complexity is measured along each dimension. 

Most news coverage of drones focuses on their use by the military -- especially US forces in the Middle East, where they are used in combat and anti-terrorist operations. Amazon also managed to get a lot of free publicity around the 2013 holiday season when company reps suggested the company might use drones to deliver packages to consumers in the future.

Most news coverage of drones focuses on their use by the military -- especially US forces in the Middle East, where they are used in combat and anti-terrorist operations. Amazon also managed to get a lot of free publicity around the 2013 holiday season when company reps suggested the company might use drones to deliver packages to consumers in the future.