This issue’s contributors have addressed the question of trustworthiness from a variety of angles. Each article offers a significant contribution to the challenge of restoring and maintaining trust.

Although organizations at the forefront of digital transformation have successfully deployed the combi­nation of design thinking, Lean Startup, and Agile methods and immensely benefitted from them, most technology organizations and their leaders still do not appreciate how the three complement each other.

Looking at the current news, we can see VUCA — volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity — unfolding in real time. Amid this chaos and uncertainty, people are suffering from ambiguity and are having a hard time making judgments about the truthfulness of information, especially whom to believe. This Advisor provides some insight into our VUCA world and some of the skills and abilities people have at their disposal.

Unleashing the numerous benefits of customer excellence and achieving tangible improvements require an end-to-end, eight-step approach that addresses multiple dimensions across the customer journey.

Defining, designing, implementing, and managing cross-organization collaborations and ecosystems requires a new mindset, solid architecture, and effective end-to-end execution of business direction. Business architecture and business architects are perfectly suited to help with all three.

In this edition of The Cutter Edge, you'll explore three practices to improve employee engagement, strategies for post-pandemic auto industry recovery, and more.

When the world changes overnight, the problem of focusing on short-term struggles at the expense of long-term strategy becomes even more profound. Cutter Consortium can help you reset your strategic and planning process for a post-COVID world.

Here in Part XII, the final installment of this Update series, we describe three perspectives on project management to discuss its future directions and especially the future for SPM.

In this Advisor, I provide an update on the various types of IT solutions that are currently available for monitoring and enforcing social distancing practices in the workplace, and for helping companies conduct automated contact tracing of employees. These tools provide social distancing and contact tracing for companies seeking to reopen for business post quarantine for COVID-19.

In this Advisor, I provide an update on the various types of IT solutions that are currently available for monitoring and enforcing social distancing practices in the workplace, and for helping companies conduct automated contact tracing of employees. These tools provide social distancing and contact tracing for companies seeking to reopen for business post quarantine for COVID-19.

There are two data challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic: (1) collecting the data and (2) building models using the data. In this Executive Update, we discuss the existing approaches and techniques employed to address these challenges.

There are two data challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic: (1) collecting the data and (2) building models using the data. In this Executive Update, we discuss the existing approaches and techniques employed to address these challenges.

To remain successful and to disrupt instead of being disrupted, best-in-class B2B organizations are recognizing the increasing importance of “the customer experience” to maximize value. Consequently, they have initiated profound transformations to develop customer preference and maximize margins.

A critical factor for the past failure of many Agile initiatives is that leaders are disengaged from their strategies. They’re not taking responsibility for the deep learning, mindset shift, personal role shift, and cultural shifts required of them in a transformation of this magnitude. The failure is not specifically about Agile. Indeed, any signi­ficant change initiative needs this sort of leadership engagement, where the leaders must go first in leading, or showing the way.

In this webinar, Rodolfo Guzman and Daniel Monzon offer tips into digital strategies and technologies that support oil & gas industry transformations, identify possible scenarios for the industry in the post-COVID-19 world, and offer insight into two key areas companies need to focus on for the best chance to weather the COVID-19 storm.

Business architecture is a critical — and typically missing — bridge between strategy and execution. Organizations should leverage it to translate strategies and other business direction and collectively architect, prioritize, and plan actions to be taken from a business-driven, enterprise-wide perspective. Indeed, business architecture and business architects contribute unique value across the strategy execution lifecycle, as well as connect other teams and help them be more effective.

Business architecture is a critical — and typically missing — bridge between strategy and execution. Organizations should leverage it to translate strategies and other business direction and collectively architect, prioritize, and plan actions to be taken from a business-driven, enterprise-wide perspective. Indeed, business architecture and business architects contribute unique value across the strategy execution lifecycle, as well as connect other teams and help them be more effective.

Data architects need to strike the right balance between addressing data stakeholder pain points and gathering information to build and enhance the data architecture. The triad of people, process, and systems (technology) transforming cohesively are the ingredients for the secret sauce that can provide a practical way of managing the enterprise data architecture. In this Advisor, we examine these influences on data architecture.

In this Advisor, Adrian Jones stresses the importance of context-setting infor­mation by pointing out the increased vulnerability to which we are exposing ourselves. We produce and use more and more data. In the backs of our minds, we know that data governance is of growing importance, but we don’t act in the right way on this knowledge.

Now is the time for risk managers to focus on real-time analytics and proactive loss prevention, rather than administering risk systems related to operational processes. Here, Craig Wylie looks at how to use the AI/ML technology in practice; the capabilities that need to be in place; best practices for communicating risk and risk mitigation strategies; how to avoid “crying wolf”; rebalancing globalism and outsourcing.

The most critical element of a digital shift is the identification of a clear need or opportunity that digital technology can address. Successful enterprises continually examine their marketplaces along with how those marketplaces are changing. They also look at both their processes — and how to carry them out better, faster, and cheaper — and new technologies that could open up hitherto infeasible opportunities. 

The most critical element of a digital shift is the identification of a clear need or opportunity that digital technology can address. Successful enterprises continually examine their marketplaces along with how those marketplaces are changing. They also look at both their processes — and how to carry them out better, faster, and cheaper — and new technologies that could open up hitherto infeasible opportunities. 

Collaboration is a key factor in solving many complex problems, including the one we currently face. In fact, collaboration is a new paradigm that is increasingly finding its way into many traditional practices, including the modern corporation, where it has been introduced via horizontal organizations. Horizontal organizations are based on collaboration and trust as their default strategy. This kind of organization increases employee satisfaction and builds higher profits. In this Advisor, we examine how practices such as an open-book management policy (OBM), consent decision making, and a bold profit-sharing policy lead to greater profit and, ultimately, real customer satisfaction.

The time-honored approach to quantifying markets is to work outward from a specific technology or tool to a targeted customer who will potentially use the technology in myriad ways. These potential markets with applicable benefit from the technology are then tabulated into initial total addressable markets (TAMs). In turn, the TAMs help justify strategic investment in an organization or the investment round in a startup.

The time-honored approach to quantifying markets is to work outward from a specific technology or tool to a targeted customer who will potentially use the technology in myriad ways. These potential markets with applicable benefit from the technology are then tabulated into initial total addressable markets (TAMs). In turn, the TAMs help justify strategic investment in an organization or the investment round in a startup.