Model Driven Architecture (MDA) and its first cousin Model Driven Development continue to make news in the industry. People now use MDA in a variety of ways. At one end of the real-world usage spectrum, we see instances of the complete generation of application code from UML models for embedded systems; at the other, companies are creating enterprise computation-independent models (CIMs) to provide visibility into business processes.

Leadership is a necessary -- and critical -- quality in the IT domain as well as in other business arenas. IT people, however, tend to enter the field primarily as technologists and often attain leadership positions without recognizing the qualities that are essential to be a successful leader. In this issue of CBR , Cutter Consortium Senior Consultants David Caruso and Kerry Gentry address the meaning of leadership and how to identify and cultivate those IT professionals who possess leadership qualities.

The ability to use and have command of metrics are essential skills for the agile IT executive. In this issue of CBR , Cutter Consortium Senior Consultant Michael Mah provides a look at the emerging discipline of metrics and benchmarking and then frames the discussion in terms of using reliable information to make high-stakes decisions.