This Executive Update, the last in a three-part series, continues the discussion regarding approaches to implementing service-oriented architecture (SOA) standards and specifications used for enforcing WS-Security.

In January 2008, Cutter Consortium conducted a survey that asked 101 end-user organizations about 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.

In January 2008, Cutter Consortium conducted a survey that asked 101 end-user organizations about 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.

In January 2008, Cutter Consortium conducted a survey that asked 101 end-user organizations about 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.

Who was it who said "Always multiply your estimates by a factor of four so that you will be known as a miracle worker"? It wasn't Jack Welch, it wasn't Andy Grove, and it wasn't even Tom Peters. This gem actually comes from an exchange between Captain Kirk and his crew in the movie Star Trek III.

The Internet is both a library and a laboratory. It is a place where existing knowledge is documented and new knowledge discovered. If there is one concept central to the idea of Web 2.0, it is the idea of "the wisdom of crowds," a phrase coined by James Surowiecki that serves as the title of his best-selling book in which he discusses the value of collective intelligence.

The Internet is both a library and a laboratory. It is a place where existing knowledge is documented and new knowledge discovered. If there is one concept central to the idea of Web 2.0, it is the idea of "the wisdom of crowds," a phrase coined by James Surowiecki that serves as the title of his best-selling book in which he discusses the value of collective intelligence.

When I complete a new business plan or project plan, the only thing that I can guarantee anyone is that the plan is wrong. How can that be? Well, from the start of a business initiative until the end, business conditions change.

The question of where logic belongs in an application has been a topic of debate for years and has changed as technology, requirements, and our understanding has evolved over time. The change from client-server computing (two-tier) to the three-tier model represented a movement of logic out of the presentation and into a separate, middle tier.

When most people think of applications involving business rules management systems (BRMS), they tend to think of rules used as a means to represent and simplify complex business logic, with rules expressed as IF-THEN statements using English-like syntax (e.g., IF CUSTOMER_INCOME = $75,000 - $100,000 AND CUSTOMER_HOMEOWNER_CODE = 3 THEN CUSTOMER_LIFETIMEVALUE = 9).

The things you have to be careful about in architecture are those everybody knows but are not true. I was working recently with a friend trying to sketch out a migration plan for an organization whose IT systems were not too great.

Agile development has always included the practice of timeboxing -- setting a fixed time limit to overall development efforts and letting other characteristics, such as scope, vary. However, timeboxing can also be used in another interesting way: timeboxing capabilities and stories rather than projects or iterations.

American businessman Warren Buffet once said that, "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently."

American businessman Warren Buffet once said that, "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently."

Thirty years ago, businesses were organized functionally. The organization chart became the way to describe how the business works. In the mid-1980s, scholars like Michael Porter and consultants like Deming and Hammer led the way to refocus work on process and quality control. Making sure you had a robust process was the key to efficiency, productivity, and quality.

Thirty years ago, businesses were organized functionally. The organization chart became the way to describe how the business works. In the mid-1980s, scholars like Michael Porter and consultants like Deming and Hammer led the way to refocus work on process and quality control. Making sure you had a robust process was the key to efficiency, productivity, and quality.

It is critical to have an individual accountable for the success of each contract. This person often carries the title of contract manager, but other terms such as contract officer, contract superintendent, and contract supervisor are also common. The contract manager (or equivalent) is the hub of the contract management network for the contracts under his or her control.

It is critical to have an individual accountable for the success of each contract. This person often carries the title of contract manager, but other terms such as contract officer, contract superintendent, and contract supervisor are also common. The contract manager (or equivalent) is the hub of the contract management network for the contracts under his or her control.

In my last Advisor (see "EAD: The Architecture of the Customer Experience, Part 4," 2 April 2008), I discussed the interviewing approach we use to break down and cluster into a set of experiences the many interactions customers have with companies.

Recently, cloud computing and the rush to solve the problem of writing programs to exploit parallel computers have begun to push software-oriented architecture (SOA) out of the technical headlines.

Discover why design-driven companies, such as Apple, Nintendo, and Kartell, will lead the innovation game, build strong brands, and have products with longer life cycles than their competitors'.

More than half of end-user organizations undertaking business performance management initiatives are required to make changes to existing business processes in order to support implementing their performance management solutions. This finding comes from a Cutter Consortium survey conducted in January 2008 of 101 end-user organizations (based worldwide).

More than half of end-user organizations undertaking business performance management initiatives are required to make changes to existing business processes in order to support implementing their performance management solutions. This finding comes from a Cutter Consortium survey conducted in January 2008 of 101 end-user organizations (based worldwide).

My objective in this article is to look at the discussion of BI with or without DW from a business rather than a technical or operational perspective.

Imagine, for a moment, that you have an integrated team that is to build some software product. This team includes all the necessary stakeholders to define, assess, and refine the product; it contains the people who understand the need and have all the required skill sets and tools to accomplish the task. Call this the A Team. The A Team might be creative and highly innovative. Or not. What makes the difference? Whether the team uses an agile or a waterfall process? Whether the team uses Java or C#? No.