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How the Offshoring Debate Affects US Employment
There is growing apprehension among business leaders, economists, and ordinary Americans that we are witnessing what may well be the largest outmigration of nonmanufacturing jobs in the history of the US economy.
-- Askok Bardhan and Cynthia Kroll
Enterprise Agility: Finding Ways to Respond Efficiently
An Enthusiastic Update on Kanban Adoption
The subject of the September 2010 issue of the Cutter Benchmark Review (CBR) was Kanban adoption (see "Kanban for Project Management: Should We Buy In?" Vol. 10, No. 9).
Developing IT Strategy in the Context of Business Needs
Giving Power to the Unempowered? First, Do No Harm
Five Expectations the Project Manager Should Have of the Customer
No one will argue the fact that the overall responsibility for managing a project falls to the project manager. By definition, that is true. By job description, that is true. All project managers understand, or should understand, that the target is on them when they accepted the role, and it simply can't be passed along to someone else.
Predictive Analytics with in2clouds Rides a Wave
Last month, I discussed some of the factors influencing the growing adoption of data mining and predictive analytics (see "The Slow, Steady Climb for Data Mining, Predictive Analytics," 1 February 2011).
Man Vans, Speed, Technical Debt, and You
Peering into the Future of IT and Education
The Total Solution for Integrating Architecture and Agile Teams
Agile software development and agile project management have shown considerable success in helping organizations develop better software and better manage development projects in the face of changing requirements and evolving technologies. In one sense, agile is about managing rapidly changing project factors and requirements.
The Total Solution for Integrating Architecture and Agile Teams
Agile software development and agile project management have shown considerable success in helping organizations develop better software and better manage development projects in the face of changing requirements and evolving technologies. In one sense, agile is about managing rapidly changing project factors and requirements.
Business Technology Management: The Evolution of IT Governance
Over the past few decades, the perception of IT has evolved dramatically from an internal unit that provides back-office support to a meaningful group that supports the organization's business processes and, finally, to a revenue-generating division. This "new era" IT is more involved in the business elements that allow the organization to grow, profit, and prosper. In many ways, IT is now responsible for providing the technical leverage that ultimately leads to gaining advantage over competitors.
Middle Management Must Form the Fabric of Supplier Service Competencies
When evaluating suppliers, clients tend to focus on suppliers' resources because these are highly visible onsite tours, balance sheets, and résumés. But they should be more interested in suppliers' ability to turn these resources -- their physical and human assets such as physical facilities, technologies, tools, and workforce -- into capabilities that, in turn, can be combined to create high-level customer-facing competencies.
Reporting from Japan, Libya Show Limits of Real-Time Information
Real-time coverage of the recent disasters in Japan, the social unrest in the Middle East and Africa, and the Allied bombing campaign underway in Libya all expose the limitations of such information; specifically, the clear need to put real-time information into some kind of context with the use of additional, supplemental information.
Getting on that Innovation Train
As we begin to emerge out of the recession, there will be a tendency to take care of the technology pieces that have been neglected for years, such as server and software upgrades. While some of those things absolutely must be addressed, managers are encouraged to look at this as an opportunity to innovate around what needs to be done.
How Does Visualization Work? Ask Those Who Use It
Last we heard from this thread, we ended with an example of visualization's time-saving benefits (see "'Click Here to Learn This One Crazy Secret...'" 27 January 2011, and "V Is for Victory --
"Out of Sight, Out of Mind"? Not a Solution for Aging IT Infrastructure
In the US and in industrial countries around the world, the recent economic crisis has triggered the first serious consideration of national spending priorities for more than a decade. Supposedly, every option is being explored and unfortunately, in many cases deficits are being balanced out by reduction in long-term investments in existing infrastructure.
For the CIO: One "Size" Does *Not* Fit All
Short-Term Tactical Approaches to Application Modernization and Rationalization, Part II: Solutions
In last week's Advisor (see "Short-Term Tactical Approaches to Application Modernization and Rationalization, Part I," 9 March 2011), I provided some background about the problems associated with many legacy modernization
Invest in Social Media Intelligence
There's no question that social media intelligence is a priority. Without social media intelligence, how can anyone know what their customers think, who they like, and who they hate? But there's more to social media than meets the eye. Understanding the nature and trajectory of the cloud is a significant factor. It also enables additional primary and secondary business analyses. For example, the entertainment industry's social media intelligence might well focus on what people are saying about specific movies, television programs, and radio spots.