Process > Business Reengineering

Developing a phased approach that brings continuous and measurable improvements is key to implementing an effective SLM capability. SLM isn’t about service level agreements, layers of complex processes and such. SLM is about aligning the services and capabilities IT provides to the organization with its fundamental operational and competitive sustainability needs.

Your project indicators must go beyond past phases and address readiness for upcoming tasks and activities. This is one of six principles for implementing a project assurance methodology that can help minimize surprises, provide objective analysis, and build trust among team members and stakeholders.

What is worse for a CIO than a bad economy? An uncertain economy, and that's exactly where we'll be heading in 2011. CIOs will have to shift strategies--if not priorities--to weather the upcoming turbulence in the business atmosphere. Hold on tight and read on for advice to keep you on steady ground.

The purist view of BPI is that it is a quantum leap rather than a step-change for businesses. Radical transformation is BPI's intent, but it often falls short of that goal. Even when they face possible corporate demise, many businesses do not really have the appetite for radical transformation, and settle for the half-way house of process re-engineering instead. But this does not have to be considered a failure...

Given IT has played a significant role in business since the 1960s, it seems almost inconceivable that CIOs are still alignment challenged. Perhaps the challenge isn’t so much getting aligned but staying aligned given the pace and nature of change companies must cope with and adapt to in today’s global economies.

This cloud thing’s just not working...the silver bullet seems to have misfired. So what went wrong? A tool won't solve all of your problems; in reality, it's a combination of the tool, training, process re-engineering and integration with other corporate functions that will keep you up to speed.

If all goes well, 2010 offers a great opportunity for CIOs to catch up and re-establish their IT priorities within an overall business strategy. Here's how the wise CIO can take advantage of the opportunity.

Why don’t we just stop reengineering and de-layering and restructuring and decentralizing and instead start thinking?

Sink or swim! Taking over a dysfunctional project team can be a very frustrating yet exhilarating experience. This article summarizes some “rules of the road” that should help you navigate through shark-infested waters--with the result being a highly motivated department or team delivering quality projects on time.

Welcome to the other side of process improvement, where we need to support processes that are not designed in such a way that they are able to be performed by a 14-year-old.

So much for 2011 being the year of recovery. Next year should be much like the last. Some recent developments may impact your success as a CIO. What trends are likely to impact your organization from an IT perspective? What strategies and actions will yield the best outcomes for CIOs and their companies?

It's the most wonderful time of the year for you data-hungry CIOs. Welcome to our annual summary of the most recent and relevant IT surveys to keep you aware of all the trends that affect your job and your success. How does your experience match up with what others are saying?

The economic downturn forced one company to revisit its entire portfolio. Here we take a look at the drivers behind a portfolio reengineering.

Few know the evolution of Application Lifecycle Management and how the Structured Revolution of the 1970s and '80s was a major turning point in software development. This article presents a retrospective on ALM and Structured Development Life Cycles--those that shaped it, the influencing principles and the related methodologies and tools the movement spawned.

Ever stop to ponder all the different PM frameworks that have been developed over the years and which one you should be using in your organization? Is there really one best framework out there? The options are dizzying, so here we take a look at four of them in depth. What can they do for you? Remember, one size does not fit all...

The author posits that knowledge workers are too important and too expensive to be left alone completely. If it were up to him, the next big business process reengineering fad would include knowledge workers in its scope.

ITIL brings with it tremendous potential to transform an organization. However, it requires unwavering persistence and commitment to leverage the transformation potential.

E-Business applications are changing the face of the business and are impacting the groups within corporations that were previously unaffected by traditional IT applications. New development tools and techniques are changing the way IT applications are built and implemented. This calls for a paradigm sift in the project management approach, too.

Best practices help businesses become more efficient, effective and competitive. They provide you with insights on how leading organizations perform. Then, you can identify the performance gaps and learn ways to improve your business. This is true whether you are executing an e-commerce project or implementing minor adjustments or major reengineering in your processes.

From Harris Corporation
Harris Corporation offers compelling insights into the impacts that process can have on culture and vice versa. This organization understood the four reasons why many organizations fail to transform their Project Management cultures, and avoided these pitfalls with their PMO working with OPM Experts LLC.

Let’s face it--business has an insatiable appetite for all kinds of technology projects and as a PM you usually end up caught in the middle. How can you balance competing requests and demand for limited resources? One way is to ask for intercession of governance.

A special report from META Group.
With companies faced with increasingly complex initiatives involving multiple IT projects, IT executives are turning to project management offices (PMOs) to manage multiple risks and target their vital resources. Patterns of evolution and maturity are emerging.

One of the biggest hurdles in understanding the prevalence and popularity of SOA is pinning down the right definition. Depending on how you look at it, 2008 could be a big year for SOA development and deployment.

Right, son. Tell that to her parents. If you haven't made the knowledge management/pregnancy connection yet (we don't know how you could be so out of touch!), read on to find out what these two essential life functions have in common.

The key to IT organization is to start thinking from a business perspective. Start shifting from technology to "professional services," and you're on your way.

What's your business focus? If it's something other than your customers, you may want to rethink it. Your business is nothing without your customers. That's the whole idea behind CRM--knowing your customers, making them happy and keeping them happy.

Making the most out of one of the most difficult parts of a project can reap tremendous rewards.

Recent appointments, promotions, openings and awards in the world of project management.

Turf battles, poor oversight, misplaced objectives and vaguely defined responsibilities derail many transformation initiatives. Switching from a task management mindset to a benefit management framework can get these projects back on track.

What does it take to become a knowledge manager? Here's how to connect all of the dots in the KM development picture.

Is there such a thing as a technology-free project, and maybe more importantly…should there be?

Are you still having problems backing a major KM initiative? This book provides a detailed analysis of "the secrets of successful idea practitioners"--including the idea of knowledge management--and may be just what you need to help get things off the ground.

Requirements have been finalized, the development cycle is underway and stakeholders are ready to wait until the application is released for user acceptance testing. Not so fast. Here are six neglected supporting activities that will increase the chances of success on application development projects.

Stakeholders, stakeholders, stakeholders! Everybody has them, but few know what to do about them. Join me over the next four weeks as we explore the world of stakeholders-- who they are and what they want

How we work has changed a lot over the past 20 years. It's time for office space to change with it.

…a.k.a., “You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know” or “A Treatise on How to Improve Spotting Risks on Your Project”. Quantifying the potential for that danger isn’t always easy for a lot of project managers. But here are some ways that you can improve the odds. (Cue Tom Cruise and Bob Seger!)

It may sound like something new for the 21st century, but Six-Sigma is actually a process improvement method that's been around for quite some time. Here's an idea or two about how to use it to improve your BI in this new millennium.

The director of Stanford’s acclaimed project management program has co-authored a book that outlines a six-part model to help organizations align projects with strategy, culture and structure. Ray Levitt discusses some of the book’s key takeaways with Projects@Work.