Open source software, or OSS, traces its foundational roots back to pre-Internet academia where expert developers freely contributed their insights, ideas, and creativity to generate very sophisticated software solutions. In fact, it's a fair bet that your organization relies on the results of these open source "projects," as they're called.

Open source software, or OSS, traces its foundational roots back to pre-Internet academia where expert developers freely contributed their insights, ideas, and creativity to generate very sophisticated software solutions. In fact, it's a fair bet that your organization relies on the results of these open source "projects," as they're called.

With this issue of Cutter Benchmark Review, we set out to explore the extent to which, and how, organizations currently use open source software.

With this issue of Cutter Benchmark Review, we set out to explore the extent to which, and how, organizations currently use open source software.

This survey examined the IT strategy around open source software and the use of open source software in 208 organizations. The responding organizations were almost evenly divided between those that have no specific strategy for OSS and those that do have a strategy (including 9% who just created a strategy).

This survey examined the IT strategy around open source software and the use of open source software in 208 organizations. The responding organizations were almost evenly divided between those that have no specific strategy for OSS and those that do have a strategy (including 9% who just created a strategy).

This survey examined the IT strategy around open source software and the use of open source software in 208 organizations. The responding organizations were almost evenly divided between those that have no specific strategy for OSS and those that do have a strategy (including 9% who just created a strategy).

"They signed what?" is a common reaction by attorneys when they first see the software development contract their client has signed. They parse the contract in vain for "essential" terms, often failing to find even a coherent statement that specifically defines the subject of the contract.

"They signed what?" is a common reaction by attorneys when they first see the software development contract their client has signed. They parse the contract in vain for "essential" terms, often failing to find even a coherent statement that specifically defines the subject of the contract.

IT-related litigation requires a clear understanding of the contractual obligations in computer-mediated transactions emanating from collaborative commerce. This article outlines the general principles of a legal framework that can be used to understand contractual obligations that would potentially form part of any litigation relating to computer-based (or electronic) transactions.

Call them what you will: iterative, incremental, or evolutionary delivery; spiral development; rapid application development (RAD); prototyping; or any one of the commercially available methodologies for these practices. Many IT departments, in their never-ending search for faster and more foolproof ways of doing development, have welcomed these new approaches as the answer to their project nightmares.

In my experience as a lawyer representing clients involved in disputes over sophisticated IT products and services, I have come to learn that IT personnel are smart, talented, and self-reliant. But dealing with the legal issues presented by a failing project is generally outside the skill set of even the most gifted IT professional or manager. Usually, the best option for a manager working on a project that has taken a turn for the worse is to call a lawyer and get professional help.

Agile methods (AM) and enterprise architecture (EA) are emerging disciplines for effectively planning and developing computing systems. In practice, they often seem incompatible.