The concept of software components -- units for the construction of applications -- is well-established in languages and development tools. Indeed, the basic capability for components is present even in conventional applications. The problem is that, in most software applications, elements are put together in a way that prohibits change.

Although the concept of components is not new, technology has finally enabled the pragmatic use of components for enterprise systems. Components, which represent a fundamental change in how development teams build software, allow developers to build software from robust, well-defined elements.

This Executive Update provides an outline of the information presented by Brad Kain, Senior Consultant with Cutter Consortium's Distributed Computing Architecture/e-Business Advisory Service, at a recent symposium on e-commerce project management.

This Executive Update provides a summary of the information presented by Hoa Nguyen at Cutter Consortium's recent symposium on e-business strategy. Nguyen presented a case study on Case Shiller Weiss (CSW), an organization that specializes in the research and analysis of the residential real estate market.

It seems as though everywhere I turn, there's another vendor offering an "enterprise information portal" product. Or someone has added a portal capability to their software, promising that their product will save us from information glut.

Every once in a while, I encounter a new product that makes me really appreciate my job. AppsCo Software's AppsMart is such a product. AppsMart is a rapid application development (RAD) environment for building Microsoft SQL Server 7 data mart applications.

Knowledge management (KM), like any other complex organizational activity, cannot deliver business results without a concrete plan. Unfortunately, a disproportionately large number of companies that have been attempting to implement knowledge management have found the experience much like trying to nail jelly.

Knowledge management (KM), like any other complex organizational activity, cannot deliver business results without a concrete plan. Unfortunately, a disproportionately large number of companies that have been attempting to implement knowledge management have found the experience much like trying to nail jelly.

Knowledge management (KM), like any other complex organizational activity, cannot deliver business results without a concrete plan. Unfortunately, a disproportionately large number of companies that have been attempting to implement knowledge management have found the experience much like trying to nail jelly.

Dizzying changes in how companies are doing business and developing software are driving them to become learning, adaptive organizations. The notion of repeatability, while often misconstrued to mean "doing the same thing over and over again," really implies using previous experience in similar situations to make the best decisions for each project.

Dizzying changes in how companies are doing business and developing software are driving them to become learning, adaptive organizations. The notion of repeatability, while often misconstrued to mean "doing the same thing over and over again," really implies using previous experience in similar situations to make the best decisions for each project.

Dizzying changes in how companies are doing business and developing software are driving them to become learning, adaptive organizations. The notion of repeatability, while often misconstrued to mean "doing the same thing over and over again," really implies using previous experience in similar situations to make the best decisions for each project.

I find that concepts like knowledge mining of legacy business rules can seem abstract or threatening to people, but the concept is important nonetheless. Any organization with a large installed base of legacy systems should consider using business rule extraction, and the reuse of those rules, as a key component of future IT initiatives.

Enterprise modeling is being pulled into a new role in today's business. The application of modeling systems is being broadened: from the earlier focus on workflows and IT architecture, we are seeing a groundswell of interest in strategic goals, metrics, feedback cycles, and the other elements of what many call "strategic alignment."

Enterprise modeling is being pulled into a new role in today's business. The application of modeling systems is being broadened: from the earlier focus on workflows and IT architecture, we are seeing a groundswell of interest in strategic goals, metrics, feedback cycles, and the other elements of what many call "strategic alignment."

The phrase "knowledge management" was at first seized upon by software vendors and consulting firms because it was immensely promising and completely vapid, a combination marketeers can never resist. But it caught on among businesses because the phrase spoke to a fear they felt deep in their bones. The need is real and it can only be addressed by unmanaging knowledge.

The phrase "knowledge management" was at first seized upon by software vendors and consulting firms because it was immensely promising and completely vapid, a combination marketeers can never resist. But it caught on among businesses because the phrase spoke to a fear they felt deep in their bones. The need is real and it can only be addressed by unmanaging knowledge.

The phrase "knowledge management" was at first seized upon by software vendors and consulting firms because it was immensely promising and completely vapid, a combination marketeers can never resist. But it caught on among businesses because the phrase spoke to a fear they felt deep in their bones. The need is real and it can only be addressed by unmanaging knowledge.

It seems as though everywhere I turn, there's another vendor offering an "enterprise information portal" product.

It seems as though everywhere I turn, there's another vendor offering an "enterprise information portal" product.

Knowledge management (KM), like any other complex organizational activity, cannot deliver business results without a concrete plan.

Knowledge management (KM), like any other complex organizational activity, cannot deliver business results without a concrete plan.