Many of us struggle with getting real business value out of new techniques and practices. Agile software development is no different than any other development method in that regard. If you practice it "by the book," you may or may not get the business values you need.1 I hope you have clarity about the business values that are most important to your teams and your organizations.

As the US economy continues to be affected by domestic and world events, IT managers are raising the topic of moving some or all IT activities to parts of the world where labor is less expensive. Companies are looking for ways to stretch their budgets. With remote communication modes more easily accessible and stable, and in view of the increased levels of global management experience, the conversation about offshore development teams is one worth having.

As the US economy continues to be affected by domestic and world events, IT managers are raising the topic of moving some or all IT activities to parts of the world where labor is less expensive. Companies are looking for ways to stretch their budgets. With remote communication modes more easily accessible and stable, and in view of the increased levels of global management experience, the conversation about offshore development teams is one worth having.

Security

The forces that oppose crime and fraud on the Internet are almost completely overwhelmed by numerous and ingenious would-be exploiters.

Security

The forces that oppose crime and fraud on the Internet are almost completely overwhelmed by numerous and ingenious would-be exploiters.

Security

The forces that oppose crime and fraud on the Internet are almost completely overwhelmed by numerous and ingenious would-be exploiters.

Not too many years ago when we invested in startup technology companies, we'd set aside about 10%-15% of the funds we raised for the technology infrastructure. This was a high percentage of funds going to PCs, servers, and software -- especially when every dollar was precious and necessary for marketing, product development, and, of course, sales.

Not too many years ago when we invested in startup technology companies, we'd set aside about 10%-15% of the funds we raised for the technology infrastructure. This was a high percentage of funds going to PCs, servers, and software -- especially when every dollar was precious and necessary for marketing, product development, and, of course, sales.

Not too many years ago when we invested in startup technology companies, we'd set aside about 10%-15% of the funds we raised for the technology infrastructure. This was a high percentage of funds going to PCs, servers, and software -- especially when every dollar was precious and necessary for marketing, product development, and, of course, sales.

Project management is one thing most businesses have in common. The need to design, develop, manufacture, and market a product is a central thread across the vast expanse of industries. All companies need project management to achieve the goal of producing their next widget. Academic and professional institutions provide an almost immeasurable amount of useful tools and skill-building material on this subject. A careful observer might presume that with all the available knowledge on project management, the majority of projects would be managed effectively.

Physicists speak of dark energy, the label applied to the expansive oomph permeating the universe. The Internet has its own dark energy: the legions of nerds who code for fun, challenge, and uncertain profit. They do not make a business plan or solicit lawyers and VCs before jumping in, and they have no particular political or economic power. Yet they are the ones who developed the Internet in a backwater and declined to patent its protocols.

Physicists speak of dark energy, the label applied to the expansive oomph permeating the universe. The Internet has its own dark energy: the legions of nerds who code for fun, challenge, and uncertain profit. They do not make a business plan or solicit lawyers and VCs before jumping in, and they have no particular political or economic power. Yet they are the ones who developed the Internet in a backwater and declined to patent its protocols.

If you are a frequent traveler or, even more, a road warrior, you will get your full value out of this Advisor in this line: check out a company called TripIt (full disclosure: I have no stock and I do not advise TripIt, but I am writing a very interesting Harvard Business School case on the company).

If you are a frequent traveler or, even more, a road warrior, you will get your full value out of this Advisor in this line: check out a company called TripIt (full disclosure: I have no stock and I do not advise TripIt, but I am writing a very interesting Harvard Business School case on the company).

On the face of it, we all can agree that how a company does its work matters a great deal. The continual interest in reorganizations, the business process reengineering explosion of the 1980s, and the now nearly universal acceptance of the business process and organizational structure as fundamental to good performance give proof to this truth.

On the face of it, we all can agree that how a company does its work matters a great deal. The continual interest in reorganizations, the business process reengineering explosion of the 1980s, and the now nearly universal acceptance of the business process and organizational structure as fundamental to good performance give proof to this truth.

If there was ever any doubt as to what Microsoft's strategy regarding Enterprise 2.0 might be, it was shattered with several announcements at the Enterprise 2.0 Conference in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, earlier this month. In a nutshell, Microsoft is moving to become an Enterprise 2.0 leader by taking advantage of its wildly popular SharePoint Server.

Waiting for a train recently, I had a chance to browse through a copy of American Photo magazine. I subscribe to its sister publication, Popular Photography, so I decided to sign up for American Photo as well.

Waiting for a train recently, I had a chance to browse through a copy of American Photo magazine. I subscribe to its sister publication, Popular Photography, so I decided to sign up for American Photo as well.

I frequently read articles about outsourcing, benefits, risks, business value, challenges, best practices, concerns, and so on. I wonder whether this information, most of it around success stories, refers to a reality exclusive to American companies, or whether we have the same environment in Latin America.

How many of you come to work each Monday morning determined to perform poor-quality work?

In my last Advisor (see "It's Threat 'AND' Opportunity ... Not 'OR'," 22 May 2008), I discussed the concepts that risk as threat is a natural complement to opportunity, rather than the flip side of it. But I made the point that opportunities exist only if we have an accepting attitude toward them.

In my last Advisor (see "It's Threat 'AND' Opportunity ... Not 'OR'," 22 May 2008), I discussed the concepts that risk as threat is a natural complement to opportunity, rather than the flip side of it. But I made the point that opportunities exist only if we have an accepting attitude toward them.

Users are not interested in programs. If they are, it is our fault. What users want is systems that produce needed outputs with the minimum of additional input and with the maximum of integration (or the ability to integrate) with other systems with which they share data.

Users are not interested in programs. If they are, it is our fault. What users want is systems that produce needed outputs with the minimum of additional input and with the maximum of integration (or the ability to integrate) with other systems with which they share data.