Many IT organizations think "maturity" means moving up to a higher level in the Software Engineering Institute's (SEI) Capability Maturity Model (CMM). After all, a CMM assessment provides an objective report of how mature you are, right?

The problem is that the CMM framework wasn't constructed with input from your employees, your customers, or your management. It's a generic framework, not tailored to your specific organization.

Many IT organizations think "maturity" means moving up to a higher level in the Software Engineering Institute's (SEI) Capability Maturity Model (CMM). After all, a CMM assessment provides an objective report of how mature you are, right?

The problem is that the CMM framework wasn't constructed with input from your employees, your customers, or your management. It's a generic framework, not tailored to your specific organization.

"Project management is the furnace in which successful careers are forged," writes Thomas Stewart in Intellectual Capital. "A career is a series of gigs, not a series of steps."

The past year has seen a lot of changes in the data warehouse industry. New companies, products, and technologies have entered the market or appear just over the horizon.

Human Resources, the IT Market Basket, and the Plight of Metrics

Work product (at a Quality level) = Efforta x Timeb x Process Productivity

The area of measurement is a fascinating one because everyone thinks they measure lots of things, yet almost no one does. We think we know what we have, who works for us, their skill sets, the applications they use, how happy our customers are, and the rate at which we're really growing. But, most often, we don't.

The area of measurement is a fascinating one because everyone thinks they measure lots of things, yet almost no one does. We think we know what we have, who works for us, their skill sets, the applications they use, how happy our customers are, and the rate at which we're really growing. But, most often, we don't.

Everyone hates to measure. Of course, that's an oversimplification of the world's feelings about data collection and analysis, but it does represent how many of us feel about the return on measurement investments.

Everyone hates to measure. Of course, that's an oversimplification of the world's feelings about data collection and analysis, but it does represent how many of us feel about the return on measurement investments.

An interview with Maxwell Hughes, Senior Consultant, Business-IT Alignment Advisory Service

The new baseball season is here, and most of us (even those without much knowledge about the sport) could probably select the teams that will finish at the bottom of the standings. You know the ones -- they have few fans, when they do something right their efforts are usually not appreciated, everyone thinks they cost too much, and there are frequent rumors that the franchise may be moved to another city.

"Project management is the furnace in which successful careers are forged," writes Thomas Stewart in Intellectual Capital. "A career is a series of gigs, not a series of steps."

With very few exceptions, CEOs don't care about computing technologies any more than they care about marketing or production technologies.