Recently, the Cutter Consortium editor who facilitates this Advisor series sent me a set of questions frequently asked about Agile transitions. Among the ones I found most intriguing wasn’t really a question but merely a statement, claiming: “Misunderstanding on the part of teams that Agile allows for less discipline, leading to less precise delivery schedules.” There are several elements of this statement that I encounter frequently, so I decided to use it as a basis for this article.

In this one-day workshop presented by Cutter Consortium Senior Consultant Whynde Kuehn, you'll learn how to catalyze valuable collaboration between business architects and CX teams. You'll assess current integration efforts between these two distinct disciplines, and identify best practices and opportunities to work together on customer-focused initiatives for increased value.  

Here in Part VI, we survey the ADF assurance view with its intent to apply an Agile, quality-control approach to ADF artifact development. All system and software developments have the potential to fail (i.e., they carry risk); assurance is an attempt to reduce or mitigate such risk.

Big data, the IoT, and the cloud are technological innovations that need to demonstrate corresponding business value. While the aforementioned technologies have distinct identities of their own, they are also interdependent. Innovating with these technologies at a business level demands a multidisciplinary, holistic approach that also incorporates an understanding of how to manage risks. In this Advisor, we discuss challenges that arise in real-life scenarios due to lack of interoperability and some practical standards in the IoT and cloud space.

In this on-demand webinar, Cutter Consortium Fellow and Ivey Business School Professor Robert D. Austin lays out the new digital business strategy map. He talks about new rules and new realities that you need to know to proof your business against disruption in a “hub" or “platform" economy. Rob’s objective is to help you down a path toward equipping all your managers for survival in a digitally transformed world.

Given the heightened cybersecurity environment, what should you provide in response to a board request for assurance that the company is perform­ing its fiduciary duty? What information should you provide to assure the board that it is appropriately protecting the company? This Executive Update proposes a five-section standard presentation template for the board. 

Given the heightened cybersecurity environment, what should you provide in response to a board request for assurance that the company is perform­ing its fiduciary duty? What information should you provide to assure the board that it is appropriately protecting the company? This Executive Update proposes a five-section standard presentation template for the board. 

With the deployment of next-generation mobile networks, IoT and edge, and fog and cloud computing, the tech world is undergoing the largest-ever overhaul of its information service infrastructure. In this connected-everything/data-everywhere model, the benefits are numerous, but so are the challenges to system security. The OpenFog Reference Architecture for fog computing has emerged as a highly credible paradigm for architecting compute-intensive solutions for networks and applications that utilize IoT, 5G technologies, and AI. This Advisor describes three distinct aspects of an approach to node-centric security in an open, interoperable fog computing environment that are critical to understanding how fog bridges gaps in the continuum between the cloud and things.

One of the first questions I often hear when explaining Agile methods is, “Who is the product owner?” Answering this question is not so simple. There is a lot of context that you have to set in order to explain the role. When rushed, the short answer is “the person on the Agile team who calls the shots relative to development priorities by acting as the voice of the customer.” This is often followed up with “of course, you know that Agile teams are self-organizing and do not have a project manager?” Then, when greeted with frowns and surprised looks, you add, “instead, the teams elect their own spokesperson.” In this Advisor, we take a look at who the fills the role of product owner as well as their roles and responsibilities.

The grocery retail industry thus far has been resistant to disruption, unlike other retail categories. Not much has changed in the way we interact with grocery purchases over the last few decades: we head to our neighborhood supermarket, pull out a shopping cart, pick out the week’s requirements, pay the cashier, and head home. Of course, we may pick up more organic products, and instead of transacting in cash we may use Apple Pay, but not counting luxury services, the shopping experience hasn’t fundamentally changed for the masses. There hasn’t been much need for retailers to innovate. Everyone needs groceries, and today’s grocers are able to meet those demands, with or without innovation. Developing countries with high-density pockets of human population, however, tell a different story.

This Executive Update provides an overview of capability assessments and examines their use. It also provides some key tips to anchor the assessments in practicality so that you can begin using them within your organization.

Governance is about what decisions need to be made, who gets to make them, how they are made, and the supporting management processes, structures, information, and tools to ensure that decisions are effectively implemented, complied with, and achieving the desired levels of performance. This requires that the accountabilities and responsibilities be well understood and clearly and unambiguously assigned, the reward system be aligned, and relevant performance metrics be in place.

Pat O’Sullivan starts from the premise that the principles of standardization and conformity that were developed for the data warehouse are equally applicable to a digital business to deliver a consistent view of information to many lines of business. He explores the characteristics of a system of common metadata that can define the links between an existing data warehouse and an emerging digital business, describing the components and characteristics of this new metadata layer and how it is essential to fueling the growth of the AI capabilities of a digital business.

Pat O’Sullivan starts from the premise that the principles of standardization and conformity that were developed for the data warehouse are equally applicable to a digital business to deliver a consistent view of information to many lines of business. He explores the characteristics of a system of common metadata that can define the links between an existing data warehouse and an emerging digital business, describing the components and characteristics of this new metadata layer and how it is essential to fueling the growth of the AI capabilities of a digital business.

Michael Müller believes that managing change is essential for a digital business initiative. This position emerges from his experience with BI projects where “Babylonian confusion” reigns, as business and IT lack a common vocabulary and an ability to communicate clearly about data needs and structures. Müller posits that digital business shares these same characteristics, but at a much larger scale because of the nature of big data.

Michael Müller believes that managing change is essential for a digital business initiative. This position emerges from his experience with BI projects where “Babylonian confusion” reigns, as business and IT lack a common vocabulary and an ability to communicate clearly about data needs and structures. Müller posits that digital business shares these same characteristics, but at a much larger scale because of the nature of big data.

Martijn ten Napel explores the challenge that has confronted him throughout his career: why do so many BI projects fail? His conclusion is that the struggle to achieve coherence between people, process, information, and technology has caused the complexity of the data landscape to grow out of control. His answer to the problem is the connected architecture — a framework and thought process for the organization of DW and BI projects. He believes it applies equally to digital business.

Martijn ten Napel explores the challenge that has confronted him throughout his career: why do so many BI projects fail? His conclusion is that the struggle to achieve coherence between people, process, information, and technology has caused the complexity of the data landscape to grow out of control. His answer to the problem is the connected architecture — a framework and thought process for the organization of DW and BI projects. He believes it applies equally to digital business.

Adapting to the changing business environment of a digital business is about much more than implementing new technologies like analytics, the IoT, and so on. Rather, business managers from the boardroom down must drive the adoption and skilled use of data-based decision making. Ultimately, middle managers are critical to digital business — making data-based decisions and selecting tasks that provide the necessary capabilities to deliver on a digital transformation vision and strategy.

Adapting to the changing business environment of a digital business is about much more than implementing new technologies like analytics, the IoT, and so on. Rather, business managers from the boardroom down must drive the adoption and skilled use of data-based decision making. Ultimately, middle managers are critical to digital business — making data-based decisions and selecting tasks that provide the necessary capabilities to deliver on a digital transformation vision and strategy.

Starting from a data warehouse just makes sense. Of course, the architectural thinking and technology offer valuable intellectual capital to IT. But the real value comes from the decades of experience in information/data governance and management, as well as the interpersonal and organizational skills that DW imple­menters have gathered. As you will see from the articles in this issue, the contributors are on the same path.

Starting from a data warehouse just makes sense. Of course, the architectural thinking and technology offer valuable intellectual capital to IT. But the real value comes from the decades of experience in information/data governance and management, as well as the interpersonal and organizational skills that DW imple­menters have gathered. As you will see from the articles in this issue, the contributors are on the same path.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is moving into public sector agencies — at both the state and federal levels — for use in such general applications as compliance, records management, community development, and finance, among others. Governments are also applying, or researching the use of, AI for other applications, including optimizing access to services and analyzing and predicting the likelihood of environmental disasters. This Advisor provides some examples of some of the many government research efforts underway that are intended to advance AI’s capabilities beyond its current limitations.

In this, the final Advisor in a four-part series, we explore the third lens of organizational behavior — capability: We “have the ability” to do it. We also examine the importance of language and its impact on culture in the digital transformation transformation.

Compared to software, industrial delivery takes longer, is more complex, and requires a broader set of skills. This series on industrial Agile opens with an overview of a framework for industrial agility, and considers these questions:

What is new in industry when Agile principles are applied?

How do the different frameworks of Lean, Agile, Scrum, and Six Sigma fit together?