clear evidence

Launching successful projects

Mon, 14 May 2007 20:01:39 -0400

The most successful projects deliver tangible business value in the first 30 days. By quickly delivering value business people can immediately use, stakeholders can see clear evidence that the project is headed in the right direction and will live up to expectations. Another way to ensure that stakeholders see value immediately is to keep the scope narrow by delivering 20 percent of the capabilities that provide 80 percent of the value. And keep it really simple; it's often better to build systems where the user interface is composed of common office productivity tools like spreadsheets, web browsers, word processing, and personal databases. People already know how to use these tools so there is much less of a learning curve. IT agility like this delivers major business benefits at a fraction of the time and cost otherwise incurred if companies go the conventional route of buying and installing large, complex, all-in-one packages.

Read more about successful IT projects:
- read the blog at CIO

ALSO:
- read this on why too many software projects invite trouble
- and this for tales of projects that crashed and burned

C&L: IT employment news bodes well

Tue, 18 Apr 2006 20:01:32 -0400

What great news today about the IT workforce! More people than ever are toiling in IT, clear evidence that companies are finally paying attention to what CIOs have been saying for years: Tech can move business forward if given enough investment and support. Not only that, but a healthy marketplace provides an exciting career front with new opportunities opening and new job options for everyone.

In the meantime, here are some recent career announcements about colleagues taking on new leadership roles:

Dan Mintz is the new CIO at the Department of Transportation.

Lisa Feldner has been named as North Dakota's state CIO.

Mark Esposito has been tapped as CIO and VP and director of business technology at the Hartford Financial Services Group.

Handleman has named Khaled Haram as senior VP and CIO.

Carl Turza is the new CIO at Sigma-Aldrich.

Apple turns a healthy 30

Sun, 02 Apr 2006 20:01:35 -0400

Just like any business that has survived a few decades, Apple has constantly been reinventing itself as a technology innovator and product maker. As it celebrates its 30th birthday, the vendor is finding new commerce ground with its ever-popular iPod and continues to morph its operating system to meet user expectations and needs. While it didn't invent the computer, its history and tenure is clear evidence it is a prime reason why many are happy using computers today.

For more on Apple turning 30:
- read this News.com article