"A fundamental problem in our industry is that software projects are chronically overconstrained and underspecified," said Cutter Senior Consultant Ken Orr. This statement underscored a lively debate during the Modern Project Management panel discussion at the recent Summit 2002 conference.

So, your organization is faced with an upgrade of your enterprise resource planning (ERP) application. Your executives do not view this as a large-scale effort, but you and your staff know far better. Now what?

Most readers are familiar with the Capability Maturity Model (CMM), which was developed by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) at Carnegie Mellon University and first released in 1990. CMM is a major effort to describe best practices in software development.

Everybody and everything is constantly changing, including change itself. In today's business environment, no amount of planning guards against the volatility and constant change that organizations face. The ability to respond to these circumstances is not only a competitive advantage, but also a survival skill.

Security allows you to protect the confidentiality of your information. It also allows you to access this information when you need it and to trust its integrity. It is an ongoing process where reasonable amounts must be spent to reduce avoidable risks.

To be secure, you must require:

My wife and I recently went shopping with my mother to purchase a new kitchen clock. While completing the transaction, the salesperson asked my mother if she'd like to take out their extended warranty service on the clock. Somewhat taken aback, she exclaimed agitatedly, "Extended warranty on a clock!

Everyone talks about architecture these days, and there are many different types or levels of architecture. Since its inception in 1987, the granddaddy of architectures, the Zachman Framework, has doubled, from three levels and three areas to six levels and six areas (see http://www.zifa.com).

The world's most eminent IT gurus are warning of the potential dangers to our information infrastructure caused by natural or malicious acts. In this post-9/11 world they are calling for companies, governments, and economies to take steps to buffer themselves from pandemic effects.