I've heard it said before that weather forecasters and software developers are kindred spirits. When they are wrong, everyone complains. When they're right, no one notices. So, with that in mind, I'd like to discuss how weather forecasting and the estimation of software development effort in an agile environment are similar.

Google's recent release of its Chrome browser has reintroduced in the media the question, "When will the browser drive the operating system into irrelevancy?" 1 The pundits who have resuscitated the debate obviously aren't friends with many IT managers, who know better. Silly questions are often useful, however, because they provoke sensible questions, such as "What does the Chrome browser release remind us about the potential direction of enterprise computing?"

Google's recent release of its Chrome browser has reintroduced in the media the question, "When will the browser drive the operating system into irrelevancy?" 1 The pundits who have resuscitated the debate obviously aren't friends with many IT managers, who know better. Silly questions are often useful, however, because they provoke sensible questions, such as "What does the Chrome browser release remind us about the potential direction of enterprise computing?"

One of the prime drivers for many organizations moving to agile development is to improve schedule performance. Unfortunately, many facets to schedule performance are often overlooked. Often when I ask, "In what way is your schedule performance lacking today," the answers are very fuzzy. Many managers just have some vague notion that they would like better performance.

How far can you go before you cross the line between ethical behavior and high-risk behavior? It's a question I've been asking quite a few project managers of late, and I find their responses compelling. The question is a seemingly simple one:

How far can you go before you cross the line between ethical behavior and high-risk behavior? It's a question I've been asking quite a few project managers of late, and I find their responses compelling. The question is a seemingly simple one:

If there is to be a true discipline of software engineering, then those of us "doing software engineering" should look closely at how those people in other disciplines who call themselves "engineers" or "architects" actually go about "doing engineering"

Most commentators agree that a service-oriented architecture (SOA) center of excellence (CoE) is a critical component in a successful SOA. But what exactly is an SOA CoE, and how is it structured? When is it relevant, and how does it grow? What roles are involved, and how do they interact with other existing roles? To provide guidance about the SOA CoE, this Executive Update examines these questions and more.

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is more than simply an application-hosting model. It is an integrated service that involves implementation, hosting, and ongoing maintenance services. In addition, the technical architecture of the SaaS model constrains clients' options for customizing the application at the core level of the application (e.g., changes in data schema). Customers also have less control over the changes that are made to the application by the vendor throughout its lifecycle.

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is more than simply an application-hosting model. It is an integrated service that involves implementation, hosting, and ongoing maintenance services. In addition, the technical architecture of the SaaS model constrains clients' options for customizing the application at the core level of the application (e.g., changes in data schema). Customers also have less control over the changes that are made to the application by the vendor throughout its lifecycle.

The IT shop aside, most firms find it difficult to truly become customercentric. Many firms have paid dearly for all kinds of studies on their customers, including research under the banner of voice-of-customer (VOC), customer experience, customer-relationship management (CRM) strategy, customer loyalty and retention, and good old-fashioned market research.

The IT shop aside, most firms find it difficult to truly become customercentric. Many firms have paid dearly for all kinds of studies on their customers, including research under the banner of voice-of-customer (VOC), customer experience, customer-relationship management (CRM) strategy, customer loyalty and retention, and good old-fashioned market research.

The IT shop aside, most firms find it difficult to truly become customercentric. Many firms have paid dearly for all kinds of studies on their customers, including research under the banner of voice-of-customer (VOC), customer experience, customer-relationship management (CRM) strategy, customer loyalty and retention, and good old-fashioned market research.

Many end-user organizations have multiple enterprise content management (ECM) products in use due to specific application requirements and as the result of mergers and acquisitions. To date, however, integrating these different platforms has often required custom coding or use of specific adapters.

Data warehouse vendor Infobright Inc. has introduced an open source version of its Infobright enterprise data warehouse product. Infobright Community Edition (ICE), as the new open source offering is called, is similar to the company's main commercial data warehousing package: Infobright Data Warehouse Enterprise Edition.

With an almost evangelical fervor surrounding it, the steady flow of rhetoric concerning alignment of IT with the business side of the organization assumes that if the IT organization pushes for it, business units will enthusiastically embrace it. Often, this is not true, and IT managers must prepare for those occasions when the technology organization is truly ready to transform how it interacts with business units when everyone else isn't.

Tools are an area for improvement: many of the tools built for use by professional project managers, including Gantt charts, PERT charts and other computer-based tools, were designed for linear project management. But today's enterprise deals with anything but a linear project, and many project managers are not formally trained. So how do we find tools that better reflect the reality of a project and support the new breed of project manager?

In this Advisor, I'll offer a few suggestions to firms contemplating how open inflows and outflows might fit into their own innovation strategies.

In this Advisor, I'll offer a few suggestions to firms contemplating how open inflows and outflows might fit into their own innovation strategies.

Recently, the CIO of a non-IT company approached me to help him transform his organization to agile. "We have this tool that provides a real competitive advantage to our domain experts and our clients, but now success haunts us.

Recently, I had a conversation with a senior VP of software engineering who said that certain "macroeconomic trends" were going to influence the direction of his software development strategy. Reading between the lines: the CFO was going to cut budgets in the face of the current economic downturn.

We have covered a lot of material since the first Advisor in this series was published. Now it's time for a review.

In the first part of this series (see "Collaboration: What Does It Mean? Part I," 3 September 2008), we discussed the opportunities provided by new technologies in creating business value with collaboration.

Last week, I discussed how I saw Web 2.0 and search affecting BI (see "Web 2.0, Search, and the Future of Business Intelligence," 9 September 2008). Basically, I said that one of the most important technologies that will have a major influence on BI is search; specifically, the blending of BI and enterprise search technologies.

It is the norm today for the IT shop to be, or have the potential to be, a boundary-spanning function. Organizational theory has long recognized that within the firm there are areas whose focus is mostly internal (e.g., manufacturing and operations) and others whose role is to connect the organization to its outside environment, exchanging information and resources (e.g., R&D, marketing).