As an invited speaker to last week's International Conference on Software Quality (10ICSQ) hosted by the Software Division of the American Society for Quality in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, I had the good fortune to listen to Dr. Chuck Engle, whose topic is the title of this week's Advisor.

As an invited speaker to last week's International Conference on Software Quality (10ICSQ) hosted by the Software Division of the American Society for Quality in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, I had the good fortune to listen to Dr. Chuck Engle, whose topic is the title of this week's Advisor.

In this era of e-everything, are e-projects merely an extension of the hype? One could ask the same question about e-business or e-commerce. Every disruptive technology or emerging market involves new definitions -- sometimes endless arguments over new terminology and whether or not there are meaningful distinctions.

As Dorothy so aptly pointed out in The Wizard of Oz, "We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto."

Sometimes programmers skimp on testing for fear it will slow them down. All too frequently, this leads to delayed or defective software. Properly done, testing will speed up development. Wise teams use test-first development to ensure steady, rapid progress.

Many of Cutter Consortium's Executive Reports are intended to provide "how to" information -- this is not one of those reports.

Many of Cutter Consortium's Executive Reports are intended to provide "how to" information -- this is not one of those reports.

The accompanying Executive Report invites companies to reexamine how they approach dispute resolution when outsourcing. Because the context in which dispute resolution occurs is often acrimonious, dispute resolution clauses are generally boilerplate provisions, viewed as a necessary evil rather than a potential benefit.

The accompanying Executive Report invites companies to reexamine how they approach dispute resolution when outsourcing. Because the context in which dispute resolution occurs is often acrimonious, dispute resolution clauses are generally boilerplate provisions, viewed as a necessary evil rather than a potential benefit.

Although hardly a panacea for solving IT problems, in today's world, outsourcing is a widely accepted, viable, strategic management tool. However, like most tools, it is only as effective as the operator. Outsourcing relationships need to be built and managed to fit the specific needs and culture of each user to help ensure a successful result. To achieve a custom fit with outsourcing, you must consider the following factors.

Although hardly a panacea for solving IT problems, in today's world, outsourcing is a widely accepted, viable, strategic management tool. However, like most tools, it is only as effective as the operator. Outsourcing relationships need to be built and managed to fit the specific needs and culture of each user to help ensure a successful result. To achieve a custom fit with outsourcing, you must consider the following factors.

For a number of years, IT organizations have been leaning toward using commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) components in their systems, rather than opting to develop functionality from scratch.

For a number of years, IT organizations have been leaning toward using commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) components in their systems, rather than opting to develop functionality from scratch.