The importance of data quality for data warehousing and business intelligence (BI) has received considerable attention in the industry. But what are companies actually doing to ensure the quality of their data for data warehousing and BI initiatives?

In the 1950s, as the interstate highway system was being constructed, who could have predicted the rise of suburban shopping malls 20 years later? In the wake of the September 11 attacks, some second- and third-order effects are already coming into focus.

What is the opposite of a Bengal tiger -- a Siberian tiger, an elephant, a gnat, or a puddle of water? None of them, of course. The phrase non-"Bengal tiger" is uninformative, just as is non-elephant, non-gnat, or non-water. Being a non-something doesn't depict anything.

Wars have started as a consequence of misunderstandings or mistranslations during diplomatic negotiations between parties. The use of a word may appear quite innocent to one party, but when translated into the vocabulary of the other, the word may have connotations quite at odds with what was intended. Today, we are told, there is a "war" between the proponents of UML and those of the several agile processes.

Agility has become today's buzzword when describing a modern software process. Everyone is agile. An agile team is a nimble team able to appropriately respond to changes. Change is what software development is very much about [1].

Agile, or lightweight, OO methodologies appear to offer a new approach to building software. They appeared a few years ago as a reaction to the perceived "heaviness" of some of the more "rigorous" OO methodologies existing at that time. While proponents of each extreme are adamant about the rightness of their cause, is it possible that each, in being right, is only right in certain specialized conditions?

If you pay heed to most of the articles and books that have been written on agile development, you probably wouldn't even consider attempting it on a mid- to large-sized project. All the experts seem to qualify their recommendations with something to the effect of, "This will only work for teams of 10-12 developers." Maybe they don't have to.

At the dawn of the 21st century, software development is an international activity. It is not uncommon to find parts of development organizations dispersed in distant locations. The world of software is indeed shrinking, and the global village is becoming more and more a reality.

Software development is an international activity with parts of development organizations dispersed in distant locations. But after the events of September 11, many wonder whether this trend will continue. Will changes in global relationships and travel behavior affect the way software is being developed?

As a project manager, I adhere to J.R.R. Tolkien's advice on risk management: "It doesn't do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations if you live near him." Dragons come in all sizes and attitudes. Some dragons are small and inconsequential to the safety of the village. Others are mean and nasty and leave nothing but fire and destruction in their wake. Project management has a lot to do with dragon management.

"Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes." In this month's Executive Update, Oscar Wilde's adage will be our guide as we continue our look at the issues involving project management husbandry, drawing on data from Cutter Consortium's surveys. (See e-Project Management -- now known as Agile Project Management -- Executive Updates Vol. 2, Nos.

With the recent acceleration of the economic downfall of several industries, the business community is entering an untested playground mined with all sorts of unpredictable threats.

With the recent acceleration of the economic downfall of several industries, the business community is entering an untested playground mined with all sorts of unpredictable threats.

Like IT outsourcing in the past decade, companies today are increasingly outsourcing business processes such as payroll, training, benefits administration, billing, logistics, and human resources. Both IT and business process outsourcing (BPO) are independent of the economic cycle -- companies outsource in bad times to reduce costs, and they outsource in good times to access new markets, compete more successfully, and grow.

Like IT outsourcing in the past decade, companies today are increasingly outsourcing business processes such as payroll, training, benefits administration, billing, logistics, and human resources. Both IT and business process outsourcing (BPO) are independent of the economic cycle -- companies outsource in bad times to reduce costs, and they outsource in good times to access new markets, compete more successfully, and grow.

As we move forward in the 21st century, the landscape for delivering technical solutions to business continues to change, and the concept of outsourcing IT products and services continues to gain momentum. In fact, more companies are using outsourcing than ever before. Traditional IT outsourcing -- such as product development, application support, and staff augmentation -- is now just another way of doing business.

As we move forward in the 21st century, the landscape for delivering technical solutions to business continues to change, and the concept of outsourcing IT products and services continues to gain momentum. In fact, more companies are using outsourcing than ever before. Traditional IT outsourcing -- such as product development, application support, and staff augmentation -- is now just another way of doing business.

Table 1 -- Quality criteria used by survey respondents to evaluate and select service providers. (Respondents able to choose more than one category.)

Table 1 -- Quality criteria used by survey respondents to evaluate and select service providers. (Respondents able to choose more than one category.)