Over the past few years, enterprise and operational risk management activities in many sectors have evolved from information gathering to a functional discipline with dedicated staff using established formal policies and both quantitative and qualitative procedures.

While the world has been in the economic doldrums and most IT companies have been reporting lousy earnings, IBM Software Division has been buying and innovating. It has been interesting to watch IBM execute this strategy, drawing on its deep cash reserves, while others simply hunker down and wait for the wind to fill their sails again.

My background is as a developer. I see things from an engineering point of view. These days I am a consultant specializing in processes for software quality. I come into contact with managers whose concerns have to do with financing, staffing, reporting, and so on. Sometimes this leads to clashes of perspectives; most often it's an opportunity for learning.

In every company I've worked in, there exists at least one "expert user" who often yields more potential harm than benefit when it comes to systems and process improvement. This may sound strange; wouldn't you think the expert user would be your biggest ally -- your strongest resource for systems and process improvement? Not always, and here's why.