IT shops generally have treated software development as an art rather than a science. After a brief interest in the Software Engineering Institute's Capability Maturity Model (CMM), most IT shops have reverted back to application development as usual. Unfortunately, if a firm's e-business applications fail, it can have disastrous consequences.

E-project management (EPM) has been defined as the management of projects that are large and mission-critical but involve the use of novel tools and processes required to address turbulent business and technology environments (see Cutter Consortium's e-Project Management -- now known as Agile Project Management -- Executive Report, Vol. 1, No. 1). In this Update, we'll be examining EPM primarily as it applies to managing large-scale, advanced software projects.

Editor's note: Attacks on information infrastructures are increasing, and consumers and companies are especially watchful for the best protective measures to strengthen cyber-security. Discussions on cyber-threats often give rise to the following questions: What are the symptoms of criminal activity? What routines are advised for early detection of attacks?

Editor's note: Attacks on information infrastructures are increasing, and consumers and companies are especially watchful for the best protective measures to strengthen cyber-security. Discussions on cyber-threats often give rise to the following questions: What are the symptoms of criminal activity? What routines are advised for early detection of attacks?

Cutter Consortium recently conducted a survey regarding litigation experiences in IT. In this Executive Update, I will present these survey results as they confirm anecdotal accounts and general impressions. Of the respondents, 78% had been involved in a dispute that had ended in litigation (see Figure 1).

Cutter Consortium recently conducted a survey regarding litigation experiences in IT. In this Executive Update, I will present these survey results as they confirm anecdotal accounts and general impressions. Of the respondents, 78% had been involved in a dispute that had ended in litigation (see Figure 1).

"Out of intense complexities immense simplicities emerge," or so wrote Winston Churchill. In this Executive Update, we continue our look at the issues involving project management husbandry, drawing on data from Cutter Consortium's surveys.

"The more efficient you are, the harder it is to change." In this Executive Update, Tom DeMarco's adage will be our guidepost as we examine issues concerning IT and business, drawn from Cutter Consortium's surveys.

"The more efficient you are, the harder it is to change." In this Executive Update, Tom DeMarco's adage will be our guidepost as we examine issues concerning IT and business, drawn from Cutter Consortium's surveys.

"Slack represents operational capability sacrificed in the interests of long-term (organizational) health." So writes Cutter Consortium Senior Consultant and Cutter Business Technology Council Fellow Tom DeMarco in his most recent book, Slack: Getting Past Burnout, Busy Work, and the Myth of Total Efficiency (Broadway Books, 2001).

"Slack represents operational capability sacrificed in the interests of long-term (organizational) health." So writes Cutter Consortium Senior Consultant and Cutter Business Technology Council Fellow Tom DeMarco in his most recent book, Slack: Getting Past Burnout, Busy Work, and the Myth of Total Efficiency (Broadway Books, 2001).

Risk management is getting to be too complex to use on anything less than a major, multimillion-dollar project. The use of risk management on IT programs is overly complicated. This Executive Update shows one way of cutting through the clutter of risk management tools, status reports, and metrics by adopting a simple, stratified approach.

Risk management is getting to be too complex to use on anything less than a major, multimillion-dollar project. The use of risk management on IT programs is overly complicated. This Executive Update shows one way of cutting through the clutter of risk management tools, status reports, and metrics by adopting a simple, stratified approach.

Business-IT Strategies Executive Update Vol. 4, No. 20 was the first of a three-part series analyzing the state of e-business. That Update reviewed where e-business stands today. This Update looks at the benefits enjoyed by current e-business users and the obstacles to the continued growth of e-business. The third Update will address how to use this information in your business-IT strategy planning.

"So little information controls so much behavior," or so wrote theoretical biologist C. H. Waddington. In this Executive Update, we begin a multipart look at the issues involved in project management husbandry, drawing on data from Cutter Consortium's ongoing surveys.

Business-IT alignment has received a lot of ink through the years. The latest research from Cutter Consortium shows that most companies regard their business-IT alignment as good. But this research also shows that business-IT alignment is a problem for these same companies. This Executive Update presents these findings and highlights some ways that companies can alter traditional IT practices to improve business-IT alignment.

The bloom is gone from the e-business rose. No longer is e-business the darling of the business press. No longer is e-business new, novel, and exciting. Today, e-business is commonplace. E-business is expected. E-business is simply the way certain things are done.

For e-business, this is a good thing. It means that e-business is maturing. It means that e-business doesn't have to live up to a bunch of unrealistic hype. It means that e-business has won its spurs. Most important, it means that e-business is here to stay.

It's been about three decades since the first promises about voice recognition were made by researchers at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA -- the same Defense Department agency that created the underlying technology for the Internet).

It's been about three decades since the first promises about voice recognition were made by researchers at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA -- the same Defense Department agency that created the underlying technology for the Internet).

Money is the key to e-commerce. Selling products over the Web -- exchanging products for money -- defines e-commerce. On the Web, money comes in various forms, some as conventional as credit cards and some as unconventional as eBay's Billpoint online payment service. "Web money," if you will, has been the source of much hand-wringing and the focus of much creative thinking.

The following article by Tom DeMarco was orginally published in Cutter Information Corp.'s American Programmer (now Cutter IT Journal) and later included in Mr. DeMarco's book, Why Does Software Cost So Much (and Other Puzzles of the Information Age) (Dorset House, 1995).

Since companies today are faced with intense global competition for price, quality, and service, CIOs and other IT managers are confronted with unprecedented pressures. IT managers are expected to deliver quality IT services and systems in an environment of rapid business and technology change, short delivery cycles, and ever-changing business requirements.

Since companies today are faced with intense global competition for price, quality, and service, CIOs and other IT managers are confronted with unprecedented pressures. IT managers are expected to deliver quality IT services and systems in an environment of rapid business and technology change, short delivery cycles, and ever-changing business requirements.

Advances in wireless networks and positioning technology have given us the ability to determine the exact location of a mobile device. The possibilities and implications of this fact are enormous. Think about it: a person, piece of equipment, or valuable shipment can always be found and tracked. We can know where they are, how best to direct them to where they should be, and can determine when they will arrive.

Advances in wireless networks and positioning technology have given us the ability to determine the exact location of a mobile device. The possibilities and implications of this fact are enormous. Think about it: a person, piece of equipment, or valuable shipment can always be found and tracked. We can know where they are, how best to direct them to where they should be, and can determine when they will arrive.