Advisors provide a continuous flow of information on the topics covered by each practice, including consultant insights and reports from the front lines, analyses of trends, and breaking new ideas. Advisors are delivered directly to your email inbox, and are also available in the resource library.

The Slow, Steady Climb for Data Mining, Predictive Analytics

Curt Hall

Back in December, when I offered predictions concerning important BI trends I saw for the New Year, I said that adoption of data mining and predictive analytics would experience steady growth in 2011, just as it has over the past 10 years or so (see "What Lie


Putting the Customer Front and Center in a Business

Bhuvan Unhelkar, Keith Sherringham, Keith Sherringham

A customer-centric approach to business puts the customer at the center of activities, with business operations orientated around customers rather than operations in support of internal business structures. This approach applies to external customers, particularly the customer-supplier relationship within processes and between areas of a business.

Understanding the Customer

Such a approach starts with an understanding of the customer and a resolution of the following questions:


"Click Here to Learn This One Crazy Secret..."

Hillel Glazer

Anyone who's surfed the Internet in the last few years has likely run across an online ad that started like the headline, above. Generally, the ad is a front to some "silver bullet" so-called "solution" to a nagging problem.


Aliens, Stability, and Enterprise Risk Management

Robert Charette

There was a fascinating article in the Wall Street Journal over the weekend titled "Why We're Not Listening to Alien Chat Shows" (22 January 2011).


Smart Mobile Devices -- Your Next Security Breach?

Shahar Maor

Smart mobile devices (SMDs) have become widespread among employees in organizations in all sectors of the economy. In contrast to the recent past, SMDs are not only for executives anymore. In the last two years, we have witnessed a rise in the demand for SMDs among all levels of employees. Despite resistance on behalf of IT professionals and especially information security professionals, there is a great deal of pressure by senior managers to synchronize their new smartphones to their work e-mail.


Some Steps Toward Designing Architectural Views

Mike Rosen

In my last Advisor (see "Understand the Value Equation," 12 January 2011), I talked about the architecture value equation and the role of architectural views in creating value. To refresh your memory, the equation says that if you make it easier for someone to do their job using architecture, then they’ll use it. To achieve that requires the appropriate view.


The Decision for Goodwill (and its Many Happy Returns)

Carl Pritchard

"And therefore ... though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!" (Charles Dickens)


Some Steps Toward Designing Architectural Views

Mike Rosen

In my last Advisor (see "Understand the Value Equation," 12 January 2011), I talked about the architecture value equation and the role of architectural views in creating value.


The Truth and Nothing But the Truth

Steve Andriole

If you're new to technology management, then much of what appears in this Advisor may strike you as opinionated, cynical, and arrogant. But if you've been at IT for a while now, you'll see the contents as accumulated wisdom.


Backsourcing vs. the Hotel California Syndrome

Jim Love, John Berry, Kevin Berry, Craig Berry

"Backsourcing" is the general term used to describe the "repatriation" of IT or other outsourced services. The term first gained prominence about five years ago with two much-publicized failures. Frequently quoted is the decision by Sears to back out of its megadeal in 2005, a year after it had signed. There is also the JPMorgan Chase backsourcing case, also announced in 2005 [1].


Vendors Address Mobile BI Security

Curt Hall

One of the biggest concerns among organizations when it comes to adopting mobile BI is security [1]. This is hardly surprising, given that security has always been a major concern of any mobile corporate application, particularly the fear of unauthorized access to, or loss of, sensitive corporate data.


An Actor's Distinction About Innovation: Indicating vs. Doing

Lee Devin

Here's a thought about the quality of work essential to innovation and any other kind of creative work. Readers of these Advisors know that I advocate collaboration as the path to making new, unique things.


Theories Help Us Understand How Software Teams Are Complex Adaptive Systems

Jurgen Appelo
Complex Adaptive Systems

A complex system is a system composed of interconnected parts that as a whole exhibit one or more properties (behaviors) not obvious from the properties of the individual parts.


Green Business Process Management

Bhuvan Unhelkar

Business process management (BPM) is a well-established industry practice encompassing process modeling, reengineering, and optimization of processes -- their measurements as well as their mergers and elimination.


Why the CIO Needs to Help Fix the Customer Experience

Vince Kellen

Information technology systems tend to fall into two categories: a) back-office, a-few-people-care-and-most-endure systems or b) front-office, touches-the-customer, core-competency systems that get significant attention. For decades, IT was frequently perceived as the default owner of the back-office systems.


Thinking About Systems, Not Programs; Databases, Not Objects

Ken Orr

Happy New Year. The last decade was certainly an interesting one, but one that I wouldn't want to relive -- too much conflict, too much hype, too little real dialog, too little data .... You get my point. My holidays were unusually busy, including a lot of travel, a lot of family, and a lot of time to think and some time to read and collect my thoughts.


Savvy Steps for Retaining an Organization's Knowledge

Bhuvan Unhelkar

Knowledge provides the basis for strategies and policies in an organization. Examples of knowledge that affect business strategies include new competitors, regulatory changes, innovative processes to create products and services, new ways of putting together business portfolios, and upcoming technologies.


Predictive Analytics: Fresh Sets of Eyes for Police

Curt Hall

One of the hottest areas for applying data mining and predictive analytics is in assisting police with fighting crime. In fact, I've noticed that police departments around the world are increasingly turning to predictive analytics technology.


Include Rotation in PMO Staffing Strategy

Robert Wysocki

Staffing the project management office (PMO) hasn't really had much attention in the literature. Some PMOs do not have a project manager staff, while others have a permanent project manager staff. Between those two extremes, there are a few variations.


If Past Is Prologue, the Urgent Need for 2011 Is "Precrisis" Management

Robert Charette

Mary Kellerman would have been 41 this year. In 1982, she died at the age of 12 from a cyanide-laced Tylenol capsule, as did six others in the area of west Chicago, Illinois, USA.


Is There Something Happening Here? (Yes, and It’s About Control)

Vince Kellen

If there is, it isn’t exactly clear.


Understand the Value Equation

Mike Rosen

Architects face many challenges in their jobs. Among them are creating architecture and applying architecture. I've said many times that creating architecture alone does not create value. Rather, the value from architecture comes when it is applied. In other words, value is delivered when architecture is used to influence the outcome of decision making, analysis, design, or implementation. Yet another challenge is that architects are often not the people who are responsible for doing the applying.


Characteristics of Collaborative-Agile Business

Bhuvan Unhelkar

"Collaboration" and "agility" are two keywords that describe what is required from a business in order for it to flourish in the emerging business environment as a result of the introduction of information and communications technologies (ICT).


Understand the Value Equation

Mike Rosen

Architects face many challenges in their jobs. Among them are creating architecture and applying architecture. I've said many times that creating architecture alone does not create value. Rather, the value from architecture comes when it is applied. In other words, value is delivered when architecture is used to influence the outcome of decision making, analysis, design, or implementation.


Bridging Gaps in Agile Project Management

Kalpana Sampath, Arvind Sampath, Prabhakaran Sampath, J.M. Sampath, Kalpana Sampath

Among the many and varied conflicts that we experience in life, the toughest ones are value conflicts. Conflicts can be either external or internal in nature. External conflicts are those that can emerge due to decisions in everyday life that may not be appropriate to the context. Internal conflicts are those that are epic battles between the two forces that are inside us, the ego and the conscience.