When we set out to implement Agile, or Lean, or any of the other flavors of management, we must first and constantly ask, "Am I building a practical system that will let professionals produce the most value for the customer and the company and not cause unexpected internal strife? In their own ways, the authors of the five articles in this issue of Cutter IT Journal ask this question and show either theoretically or directly how real systems engage real people.

In this issue of Cutter IT Journal, we address the timely topic of managing enterprise IT infrastructure. We examine key issues and challenges in managing the ever growing and changing IT landscape, and outline promising new takes on infrastructure management.

In this issue, we investigate how production management can benefit from embracing recent developments in ICT by providing insights into the practical use of these technologies from industry experts and researchers.

There can be no illusions that the transition to Agile won't impact the organization. There will be effects on the organizational structure, hiring practices, funding/budgeting approaches, HR reviews, and more, if the transition is to be successful. Fortunately, our authors in this issue have encountered both the problems I've listed and the solutions to them. They provide practical advice from real-world situations to manage the difficulties you will encounter.

As with the evolution of architecture in enterprises, accidental emergence was the invisible hand behind the architecture of this issue of Cutter IT Journal. You will see that each of the five articles deals with a very different facet of architecture. While these do not represent the totality of everything needed to make architecture successful, I hope you will see, as I do, that these five are some of the most significant aspects that we need to wrap our minds around.