[Excerpted from an article titled "Understanding the Roots of Process Performance Failure," originally published in CrossTalk and authored by Robert Charette, Laura Dwinnell and John McGarry.]

The time has come for IT leaders to plan for their next generation of supported remote Internet access, particularly as more mainstream end users are increasingly likely to attempt to use one or more of the various connection options, raising the probability of security lapses, creating new support issues, and increasing the cost of inaction.

In June 2003, I commented on the attempt by Oracle Corporation to buy PeopleSoft, which, at the time, was in the midst of buying J.D. Edwards (yes, this soap opera has been going on that long!) (see " An Enterprise Soap Opera," 17 June 2003).

What can an organization expect by taking development offshore? The simple answer is not only cost savings, but possibly riskier projects. A rather straightforward project executed offshore is simply more complicated than the same project executed locally.

[Excerpted from an article in the Cutter IT Journal (formerly American Programmer).]

The ability to manage risk directly relates to the ability to minimize uncertainty while maximizing stability and predictability. The two are inseparably linked.

I am constantly surprised by the value of the right model. The "right" model can not only convey enormous information quickly, it can provide a framework for future thinking and discovery. I have been reflecting on perhaps the most important model of the 20th century -- the discovery of the structure of DNA by Francis Crick and James Watson in 1953.

As an analyst, I'm frequently frustrated with large IT companies that seem to have lots of interesting initiatives underway, but somehow never manage to coordinate them. At various times, as I've considered different markets, from artificial intelligence to components, I've railed at IBM, HP, SAP, Microsoft, DEC, and SUN.

If your software organization has succeeded in a major change, then one key to sustaining this change often involves implementing an ongoing structured knowledge transfer (KT) and mentoring program. This program ensures that your staff continues to be skilled at doing their job effectively and efficiently, regardless of personnel turnover and changes in technology.