This is the first in a five-part Update series that describes the five most useful architecture frameworks. In this first Update, we cover the Architecture Content Framework.

There are few things in the software development world that are as complex or difficult as understanding, documenting, and testing the business rules that go into modern decision models.

There are few things in the software development world that are as complex or difficult as understanding, documenting, and testing the business rules that go into modern decision models.

The information revolution of the past decade or two will do little to improve anemic global economic growth. Several factors are converging that will frustrate the technocentric optimists, including automation improvements that enable companies to do more with less people, massive global demographic shifts as the world ages and as population rates begin to slow, and, perhaps most important, IT innovations that might be benefiting the most highly capable among us and leaving behind those less so.

The information revolution of the past decade or two will do little to improve anemic global economic growth. Several factors are converging that will frustrate the technocentric optimists, including automation improvements that enable companies to do more with less people, massive global demographic shifts as the world ages and as population rates begin to slow, and, perhaps most important, IT innovations that might be benefiting the most highly capable among us and leaving behind those less so.

Does a comprehensive proposal replete with data points, success stories, and implementation details galore win the client over? The purpose of this article is to understand challenges in the vendor-client relationship zone and what a vendor can do to get the client to act favorably on a proposal.

While Agile development continues to flourish both on its own and in coexistence with waterfall development, it is becoming increasingly apparent that we need to pay greater attention to metrics. For smaller organizations, departments, and specialist shops, conventional metrics may not be so important.

One of the problems that business architecture attempts to solve is the lack of coalignment between strategy and changes in the enterprise. The business analyst community, through the efforts of the IIBA, wants to incorporate more business architecture thinking in its BABOK Guide. BABOK V3 puts business architecture front and center though the use of the business capability architecture (BCA). Figure 1 shows the concept map for the Situation Analysis knowledge area currently under review.

In this on-demand, recoded webinar, Cutter Fellow Bob Benson describes a methodology that gives a clear perspective on IT costs and IT values.

Corporate and government security officers will want to take the next few weeks to assess and reassess their organizations' security and encryption capabilities after the most recent revelations about the US National Security Agency (NSA). Specifically, they should ask: Whose products are we using?

Corporate and government security officers will want to take the next few weeks to assess and reassess their organizations' security and encryption capabilities after the most recent revelations about the US National Security Agency (NSA). Specifically, they should ask: Whose products are we using?

Business and government executives often struggle to measure and understand the value of their IT investments, especially the ongoing costs of infrastructure and existing applications. In this recorded webinar, Cutter Fellow Bob Benson describes a methodology that gives a clear perspective.

I said that more people in more places can now compete, connect, and collaborate with equal power and equal tools than ever before.

-- Thomas L. Friedman

As I have said before, it is hard for me to put a finger on exactly what's wrong with computer and Internet security today.

For established firms, the large-scale market trends of the past 20 years have brought myriad challenges due to the still-increasing rate of change.

Business strategy is all about devising how we will compete. In a fast-paced, ever-changing world with limited resources and shifting opportunities and threats, strategy is, in essence, a matter of determining how we will create and sustain competitive distinction through compelling value propositions, taking advantage of changes in the environment and emerging opportunities and responding to threats.

What is the most important resource in the world today? Hint: it's not oil or gas or precious metals -- although they're certainly valuable. It's data.

What is the most important resource in the world today? Hint: it's not oil or gas or precious metals -- although they're certainly valuable. It's data.

Do you know your coworkers' hometowns? Their favorite colors? Their current level in Farmville? If you answered "yes" to all three questions, there may be a very serious management concern here.

The beauty of Agile software methods is that they enable us to focus with a singularity of purpose on the iteration management and project management aspects of the software delivery process. Numerous other aspects of software delivery, such as those illustrated in Figure 1, are, of course, of critical importance.

In a recent Advisor (see "Techniques for Requirements Management and Managing Stakeholders"), I discussed changes in requirements as they become more fluid and difficult to define and described some techniques

In May of this year, IBM's Watson computer system, famous for winning the TV game of Jeopardy, entered into the realm of customer engagement.

In May of this year, IBM's Watson computer system, famous for winning the TV game of Jeopardy, entered into the realm of customer engagement.

IBM's Watson, the famous cybernetic winner of the TV game show Jeopardy, is only the tip of the iceberg with respect to upcoming developments in analytics. We are on the verge of creating a whole new range of computing mechanisms based on analytics and real-time processing, which will put current devices to shame.

I have read a number of books recently as preparation for one that Piet Ribbers, Ron Blitstein, and I are completing. Here are three that have really gotten my attention: