Find analysis of data from Cutter's ongoing industry research efforts, brief treatments of topics that don't require the in-depth research of an Executive Report, updates on previously-covered topics, and more, in 2-4 page Executive Updates.

Why and How Agile Can Harvest Value from Data Overload

Jonas Fagerlund
In today’s digital environment, companies and their customers are generating increasing amounts of data. Correctly interpreted and used, this overload can be a means of competitive differentiation. It can improve understanding of customers and their behaviors, as well as control of internal processes. However, in many cases, the amount of data is so large, and the nature of it so complex, that it is difficult to analyze and act upon. As a result, many companies do not manage to harvest the potential value of existing data, despite significant investments and efforts. This Executive Update provides a brief description of how Agile ways of working can help companies effectively and efficiently leverage data in their day-to-day operations.

A Trifecta for Finding Product-Market Fit

Pavankumar Mulgund, Deepti Tadala
In this Executive Update, we provide a detailed introduction to the design thinking and Lean Startup paradigms. We also explore their interplay with Agile and how this trifecta can enhance product-market fit by focusing on customer delight.

Getting the Customer Journey Right

Kai Karolin Huppe, Nils Niemeier, Michael Kruse
In this Update, we make the case for stronger customer involvement, clearer governance, quantification of value, and a sharper focus, as we find these elements are the four main reasons implemen­tations of customer journeys fail.

Getting the Most Out of Corporate/Startup Collaboration

Richard Eagar, Philip Webster, Gonzalo Libano
We all know that businesses are being disrupted faster than ever before — and innovation launch and adoption cycles are dropping; entrepreneurial startups are one of the main driving forces for this acceleration. Big businesses are hurting — and in the face of a period of economic uncertainty hindering growth — they want in on the act.

Moving Forward in 2020: Technology Investment in ML, AI, and Big Data

William Jolitz, Lynne Greer Jolitz
Instead of moving from technology to key customers with an abstracted total addressable market (TAM), we must instead quantify artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) benefits where they specifically fit within business strategies across segment industries. By using axiomatic impacts, the fuzziness of how to incorporate AI, ML, and big data into an industry can be used as a check on traditional investment assumptions.

Navigating COVID-19 with Proactive Risk Management

Tom Teixeira
In light of the current, unprecedented global crisis, it’s crucial now more than ever to reevaluate your risk management process and ensure you are well prepared for what may lie ahead. Today’s executives must adapt their leadership and face the current crisis head-on with a proactive approach to risk management.

CX Management in the Enterprise, Part IX: Trends in Employee CX Training and CX Cloud

Curt Hall

This Executive Update series examines the extent that organizations are using or planning to use CX practices and technologies, the status of implementing CX management, the establishment of dedicated enterprise CX groups, and the reason such groups oversee CX initiatives. Here in Part IX, we examine findings pertaining to several enterprise CX adoption trends.


From Digital Shift to Digital Champion

Fabian Sempf, Fabian Doemer, Volker Pfirsching

This Executive Update sets out a roadmap to help companies understand what becoming a digital company means for them and how a digital equilibrium can be achieved, based on experience with traditional, non-digital businesses.


Architecting Ecosystems with Business Architecture

Whynde Kuehn

This Executive Update provides an overview of the essential role business architecture plays in defining, designing, implementing, and managing business ecosystems, along with examples of where this concept is emerging in practice.


Effective Transformation: Rethinking Your Strategic Roadmap and Operating Model

Karim Taga, Vikas Kharbanda, Arvind Rajeswaran, Dhruv Soni, Pranav Prince

In this Executive Update, we assess how a gradual transformation from traditional IT/network units to a more functional organization, using the example of telecom operators, will address several legacy constraints in adopting new technologies. Effective implementation of such a project reduces costs and organizational redundancies and provides the further push to digitalization.


CX Management in the Enterprise, Part VIII: Most Viable Cases

Curt Hall

This Executive Update series examines the extent that organizations are using or planning to use CX practices and technologies, the status of implementing CX management, the establishment of dedicated enterprise CX groups, and the reason such groups oversee CX initiatives. Here in Part VIII, we examine survey findings about the use cases and domains organizations see as most viable for applying CX.


Lost in Transformation: Strategic Options in a Changing Transportation & Logistics Market

Ralf Baron, Michael Zintel, Dennis Mikulla

In this Executive Update we summarize our view of the future transportation and logistics market and outline possible paths forward for incumbents. Our analysis is applicable to industries outside the transportation and logistics market as well.


Sizing, Structuring, and Fine-Tuning Your EA Function

Svyatoslav Kotusev

Virtually every organization in a developed part of the world critically depends on IT for running its business processes. Having a dedicated enterprise architecture function responsible for planning all organizational changes involving IT has thus became a necessity for most companies, with the exception of the smallest ones. But how should organizations design their architecture functions? How many architects do organizations need, and what specific positions should they occupy?


Statistical Project Management, Part XI: The Nature of Project Completion

Vince Kellen

Here in Part XI, we discuss how completion time estimates are determined and the biases that affect those estimates.


Digital Transformation & Design Thinking, Part III: Overcoming Transformation Challenges

Gustav Toppenberg, Biren Mehta

In Part III of this Executive Update series on design thinking and digital transformation, we examine the top challenges that arise from pursuing a digital transformation strategy and how design thinking tools and the design thinking process can help address these challenges.


The Global State of Business Architecture: Where We Are and Where We’re Going

Whynde Kuehn

As we near the end of another year, it is a good time to reflect and look forward. Whether you are think­ing over your organization’s business architecture practice or your own business architecture career, an awareness of the bigger picture is important for comparison and inspiration. That is the purpose of this Executive Update.


CX Management in the Enterprise, Part VII: More Leading CX Technologies

Curt Hall

This Executive Update series examines the extent that organizations are using or planning to use CX practices and technologies, the status of implementing CX management, the establishment of dedicated enterprise CX groups, and the reason such groups oversee CX initiatives. Here in Part VII, we examine some of the advanced technologies organi­zations are interested in adopting for CX.


CX Management in the Enterprise, Part VI: AI and Other Advanced Technologies

Curt Hall

In Part VI of this Executive Update series on customer experience (CX) management, we examine findings covering the various advanced technologies on organizations’ radar regarding their CX efforts.


A Strategic Approach to Quality Issues in Big Data–Enabled Business Processes

Bhuvan Unhelkar

This Executive Update describes the unique challenges to quality in the big data domain as well as various approaches to handling and resolving those challenges.


The Team Is Where It’s At!

James Schiel

To succeed in the future, we must make difficult changes to move our organizations into the 21st century — and creating real teams is the answer.


Statistical Project Management, Part X: Categorizing the Metrics

Vince Kellen

In Part X of this Executive Update series on statistical project manangement (SPM), we describe many of the metrics within SPM by category.


Statistical Project Management, Part IX: Assigning Volatility to Different Levels

Vince Kellen

In Part IX of this Executive Update series on statistical project manangement, we return to the eight volatility metrics to see how we can assign them to project managers, object types, objects, phases, and other levels of analysis.


CX Management in the Enterprise, Part V: The Leading Technologies

Curt Hall

In Part V of this Executive Update series, we examine the various leading CX technologies organizations are interested in adopting.


Business Architecture: What’s the ROI?

Whynde Kuehn

This Executive Update offers an approach for calculating ROBAI to help business architecture teams better demonstrate their value and impact.


The Cognitive Enterprise: Integrating Security and Risk Management

William Ulrich

This Executive Update provides insights into how the cognitive enterprise can proactively protect itself from risks and security incursions by building business-driven safeguards into its underlying DNA.