Governance

Commentary about things to do and not do — the “rules” — and the policies and procedures around how we adhere to governance — and what happens when we don’t.

Taming Big Data Denial

Vince Kellen, Ph.D. | Jun 4, 2013 No Responses

Jun 042013

In a mutual boot-strapping beginning with the dawn of Homo sapiens, mankind and information have both exploded in variety, velocity, and volume. Our fates have been intertwined. We advance by harvesting, using, and sharing information. Along the way, information persists, mutates, and diffuses further. Turning the crank, we find — no, we create — even more information. In a race to compete with each other, we endlessly seek more information to help us do better. The mass of information grows larger still, revealing more secrets. From the primordial single bit of information at the dawn of the universe has sprung a thing that now feeds itself in a never-ending cycle of perpetual novelty. And the …

Chief Data Officer? So is Data Not Information?

Claude Baudoin | Mar 11, 2013 4 Responses

Mar 112013

I saw the announcement of the Cutter Report on the proposed “Chief Data Officer” role, by Larissa Moss and Sid Adelman, and I have a problem with its message. Thank goodness that differences of opinion are accepted and even encouraged among Cutter consultants! I have absolutely no problem with stressing the importance of data in the enterprise, and the need to govern that data. On the contrary, I love information architecture, master data management, and other related concepts. I’ve quoted Larissa Moss before, because she said some really important things a number of years ago, before anyone else did. There. But if we need Chief Data Officers, it means that we have failed miserably at …

Agility, the Personal Cloud, and Complex Analytics on the Horizon

Brian Dooley | Dec 15, 2012 No Responses

Dec 152012

Agility, the Personal Cloud, and Complex Analytics on the Horizon

Predictions are always difficult in interesting times, because tomorrow’s concepts depend upon activity which has not yet occurred. We expected flying cars; we are getting autonomous cars. In the 1950s, the computer revolution, robotics, GPS, and today’s traffic patterns would have been difficult to envision. Today, we are seeing rapid evolution across Information and Communications Technology, affecting every component and every meme. But we can see the direction that some areas of recent concentration are likely to take. Concepts of Agility will continue to evolve, moving beyond specific processes such as Scrum toward more comprehensive programs capable of incorporating a wider variety of projects, under more conditions and supporting greater integration with governance. This can …

Taking an Adaptive Approach to Improving Business Performance

Andrew Spanyi and Mike Rosen | Nov 5, 2012 1 Response

Nov 052012

Global competition, increasing customer power, and quantum advances in technology have combined to demand a new and more adaptive approach to managing the business. In spite of significant advances in methods to improve business performance, such as TQM, Six Sigma, Lean, BPR, ERP, CRM, SaaS, and the cloud, many organizations continue to struggle in executing improvements to business performance. In many cases, the culprit is a traditional functional view of the business, where organizations develop plans, budgets, and even reward systems mainly in a functional or departmental context, paying little attention to the “critical few” measures of performance that matter to customers and failing to gain clarity on the type of cross-departmental collaboration needed to …

Finding Peace via IT Governance

Ron Blitstein | Sep 7, 2012 1 Response

Sep 072012

Good IT governance promotes balance across time-to-delivery, portfolio effectiveness, overall IT responsiveness and affordability. Without good governance, the IT playing field quickly becomes fragmented and fraught with frustration for all players — IT professionals on one side and countless business professionals on the other. And while it’s true that both sides have a role in the process, it’s unlikely that any of the stakeholders fully understands the others’ focus. In this table, I’ve charted a way for both the demand- and supply-sides to understand governance processes and tools. Demand Side Governance Process Supply Side User requirements and expectations Service-level definition and monitoring, funding mechanisms IT service delivery performance Applications required and used by organization …

Enterprise Architecture Governance

Jim Watson | Mar 13, 2012 4 Responses

Mar 132012

Governance is a fundamental (perhaps the fundamental) process within EA to connect the business aspirations with the current and future enterprise reality. Governance is probably also the most contentious EA process: a necessary evil at best or a dysfunctional rubber stamp or change-prevention mechanism at worst. The current focus on enterprise agility provides a context for refining governance. The conclusion is not to throw out governance or to diminish EA to a laissez-faire view of awareness and simplistic control of the enterprise. Rather, the conclusion is that governance can be made effective, compelling, and a value-add to agility. Part of the complexity with governance is that it varies widely and is a tradeoff of constraints …

Systems Improvements for Government

Mark Peterson | Dec 22, 2011 No Responses

Dec 222011

Numerous State, County and Municipal entities are facing difficult times managing finances and workforce cost. With the continued economic slump, government and its departments/business units are experiencing tighter budgets and are insisting upon greater value from investments. At the same time, financial and budgeting systems have aged to the point where it’s time to look at replacing them. While still useful, many existing business systems are lacking integration capabilities, hindering much-needed increases in workforce efficiency and effectiveness. New systems come with high expectations for improvement. Financial ERP systems for State, County and Municipalities will be a major focus area for replacement and upgrades. While IT organizations have been prominent in developing project management offices (PMOs) …

What’s the Role of Agentless within IT Operations?

Bill Keyworth | May 19, 2011 2 Responses

May 192011

We seem to invest heavily in IT service management solutions that are highly dependent upon agent technologies for the visibility needed to “drive” (i.e. access, secure, manage and control) the desktops, laptops and servers within our IT infrastructure. Are these applications so compelling that we trust traditional agent-based management models which are inherently vulnerable to the same risks as the endpoints they manage? Is it wisdom to introduce the resultant IT operational handicaps of being unable to identify over 15-20% of our infrastructure’s endpoints1 due to issues of hidden, missing, outdated, or misconfigured agents required for anti-virus, inventory and patches? Given the significance of the functionality of these mission critical IT management and security applications, …

Technical Debt & SW Governance seminar agenda is set

Israel Gat | Oct 1, 2010 No Responses

Oct 012010

Jim Highsmith and I have finalized the content and the format for our forthcoming Cutter Summit seminar. The seminar is structured around a case study which includes four exercises. We expect the case study/exercises will take close to two-thirds of the allotted time (the morning of October 27). In the other third we will provide the theory and practices to be used in the seminar exercises and (hopefully) in many future technical debt engagements participants in the workshop will oversee. The seminar does not require deep technical knowledge. It targets participants who possess conceptual grasp of software development, software governance and IT operations/ITIL. If you feel like reading a little about technical debt prior to …

Governance Where IT Counts: Try It, You Might Like It

Stephen Andriole | Apr 20, 2010 1 Response

Apr 202010

Technology governance is something every company needs. But it’s also something that most companies would prefer not to discuss — or publish. The fact is that without explicit, consistent, well-communicated and well-supported governance, you will experience some degree of chaos in the technology acquisition, deployment, and support process. I’ve written a lot about governance over the years. I am one of those who believe that governance can make or break a technology organization’s ability to deliver business value to its clients. I also believe that governance is absolutely, positively political and therefore complicated, convoluted, and at times deranged. Because of the politics, personalities, and corporate cultures that influence and manipulate governance, it’s necessary to be …

Page 1 of 212 »

Avatars by Sterling Adventures

About the Blog

The Cutter Blog is an offshoot of Cutter Consortium, a boutique IT and Business Strategy consulting firm located in Boston, MA. Cutter's worldwide network of consultants offers clients analysis of the lastest industry trends, customized consulting and executive education opportunities.

Offering more than just a quick fix -- our size and focus allows us to "get deep" into the challenges faced by our clients so we can provide real and lasting solutions. Want to know more? Visit www.cutter.com.

Category

Governance

Taming Big Data Denial

Chief Data Officer? So is Data Not Information?

Taking an Adaptive Approach to Improving Business Performance

Finding Peace via IT Governance

Enterprise Architecture Governance

Systems Improvements for Government

What’s the Role of Agentless within IT Operations?

Technical Debt & SW Governance seminar agenda is set

Governance Where IT Counts: Try It, You Might Like It

Blog Authors

Follow Us

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Categories

About the Blog

Twitter Updates

In Our Bookstore