There are many reasons that a company decides to outsource -- from the need to increase productivity and improve service quality to provide a faster response and focus on its core business -- making the transformation from a tech-focused IT organization to an area deeply involved in the business decision-making process and contributing to meeting the business objectives at the same time. Other reasons include labor tactics that consider the staff size, training, and the cost of human resources for organizations.

There are many reasons that a company decides to outsource -- from the need to increase productivity and improve service quality to provide a faster response and focus on its core business -- making the transformation from a tech-focused IT organization to an area deeply involved in the business decision-making process and contributing to meeting the business objectives at the same time. Other reasons include labor tactics that consider the staff size, training, and the cost of human resources for organizations.

According to a recent Cutter Consortium survey (see Cutter Benchmark Review, Vol. 8, No. 2), executive management teams are not all that happy with what they are getting from their IT investments. This dissatisfaction appears to be a result of several things:

In the first article in this series (see "How to Talk to Architects, Part I: The Enterprise," 28 May 2008), we discussed the issues involved in communicating with architects. Although it doesn't always seem so, architects are not that different from anyone else.

Last week (see "And the Best Data Integration Technique Is ..." 10 June 2008), I said that the debate about which data integration technique is best for BI is irrelevant, because most midsize and larger organizations are going to require a variety of data integration methods to support their BI and other decision support needs.

"Many project managers (PMs) still find the complexity of planning and delivering projects in a constantly changing environment often requires competencies that their formal training has not equipped them with," notes guest editor Rob Thomsett, in the May 2008 issue of Cutter IT Journal's call for papers.

This Executive Update analyzes the results of a recent Cutter Consortium survey of 103 IT organizations worldwide that focused on the effectiveness of IT governance practices.1 Our aim is to better understand how governance practices, linked to financial management practices, influence the value that IT brings to the business or organization.

"User interface architecture," a colleague scoffed recently, "is nothing but an invention for letting Web designers charge architects' consulting rates." I couldn't disagree more.

In January 2008, Cutter Consortium conducted a survey that asked 101 end-user organizations regarding their use of business performance management practices. The goal was to determine the degree to which companies are implementing business performance management techniques and technologies.

I'm in the process of fulfilling my lifelong dream of being a pilot, as I'm close to finishing the training for my private pilot's license. During this venture, I've been struck numerous times by the parallels between the principles and practices of aviation and those of agile software development. Many principles are based on common sense and clear communication.

Today, companies find themselves in the third and fourth generation of offshoring, perhaps managing a handful of discrete sourcing efforts across many operational domains. As the number of sourcing initiatives proliferate, the need for a systematic and holistic approach to their daily management comes into stark relief. Could a portfolio management approach offer a solution?

Today, companies find themselves in the third and fourth generation of offshoring, perhaps managing a handful of discrete sourcing efforts across many operational domains. As the number of sourcing initiatives proliferate, the need for a systematic and holistic approach to their daily management comes into stark relief. Could a portfolio management approach offer a solution?

In a recent Dilbert comic strip, you see our hero-turned-user-interface developer ask nonchalantly, "I designed the user interface myself. How do you like the colors?" Just behind him is someone more like your typical user representative looking on -- in horror. Funny or familiar, there's actually more going on here than you may at first think.

Last year, I started introducing agile development to a highly innovative company. They are world-market leaders in their domain, and it's basically their technical expertise they hold responsible for their position.

Almost every organization has data problems. These problems can be grouped into two categories. One type of problem is having redundant, inconsistent, and often plain-wrong data. The other type is not having easy access to the data. From the inception of the data warehouse (DW), the objective of building a DW has been to solve both types of problems.

Almost every organization has data problems. These problems can be grouped into two categories. One type of problem is having redundant, inconsistent, and often plain-wrong data. The other type is not having easy access to the data. From the inception of the data warehouse (DW), the objective of building a DW has been to solve both types of problems.

A recent Cutter Consortium survey focused on a very important and timely topic: enterprise agility. Enterprise agility calls for structuring the unstructured, for institutionalizing improvisation. It requires that the organization become adept at reacting with speed and precision to changes in the competitive environment, customer needs, and any other change of significant magnitude.

A recent Cutter Consortium survey focused on a very important and timely topic: enterprise agility. Enterprise agility calls for structuring the unstructured, for institutionalizing improvisation. It requires that the organization become adept at reacting with speed and precision to changes in the competitive environment, customer needs, and any other change of significant magnitude.

There is an evolving field of consulting expertise built around guiding other consultants in how much they should charge for their services. At once known as "value-based billing," "value-based fees," or some other meme that will likely include the word "value," the thinking around this consulting domain has grown sophisticated enough that some of its principles are highly applicable to IT organizations and the posture they present to their organizations.

Many others and I have written about the necessity for enterprise architecture (EA) to be business-driven. When EA is not firmly grounded in the nature and shape of the business that it is to serve, it is common for a lot of time and resources to be spent on efforts that don't ultimately advance the goals of the business.

There seems to be an ongoing debate as to which data integration technique is best for BI: traditional data warehouse, "dynamic" (i.e., real-time) data warehouse, customer data store, enterprise information integration (EII), or real-time data broker. And the answer is: all of the above. In other words, this debate is pretty much irrelevant.

The most popular Web 2.0 technologies used by organizations to support their business performance management initiatives are wikis and social networks. This finding comes from a January 2008 Cutter Consortium survey of 101 end-user organizations worldwide, which was designed to measure the extent that organizations are implementing business performance management technologies and techniques.

One big difference between traditional and agile project management is the one between a focus on value and a focus on scope. Value is an outcome. Scope is a characteristic that may help produce value, or may not. Neither a requirement nor a story is valuable unless put to use.

There was a report in the Wall Street Journal a few weeks back (see "Analysts Again Are Too Optimistic") about the Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500-stock quarterly earnings index, which missed analysts' expectations for the third quarter in a row.

There was a report in the Wall Street Journal a few weeks back (see "Analysts Again Are Too Optimistic") about the Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500-stock quarterly earnings index, which missed analysts' expectations for the third quarter in a row.