Fast-changing times demand adaptability. With ever-tighter deadlines and the constant newness of technical challenges, it's often difficult to size projects. Even as times change, this fundamental problem remains. Many want to know whether sizing metrics that we learned in the past, such as function points, are adaptable to new and different environments.

Executive Summary

Partnerships. Alliances. Outsourcing. Joint ventures. Today's economic climate requires companies to speed their time to market while lowering costs and increasing the amount of functionality they can deliver. Many seek to achieve this through partnerships, establishing metrics and benchmark frameworks to ensure that performance goals are being met.

In this issue of ITMS, I'm pleased to share the results of the latest Cutter Consortium research on computing platform trends, e-business, and outsourcing.