For Application Development & Program Management Professionals

Microsoft Ups The ALM Ante With Its Bet On Teamprise

Expect VS 2010 To Accelerate The Shakeout In The Application Life-Cycle Management Market

by Jeffrey S. Hammond, November 16, 2009

Microsoft's Team Foundation Server (TFS) has proven very popular with .NET developers but not so much with Eclipse developers. This presents a problem for Microsoft, because many of its largest customers develop for both .NET and Java and want a consolidated . . .

For CIOs

CIOs: Develop A Technology Watch List

The Top 15 Technology Trends To Watch

by Sharyn Leaver, November 13, 2009

As IT executives set out their strategies and plan for 2010 and beyond, they must determine what the top technology trends are for their business and gauge IT's ability to support the next phase of technology innovation and growth. To help, Forrester . . .

For Application Development & Program Management Professionals

Learn More About Your 2009 Business Analysts  (694 KB PPT)

by Mary Gerush, November 13, 2009

These data charts highlight more data from the Forrester Research/IIBA Q2 2009 Global Business Analyst Online Survey, first reviewed in the July 23, 2009, "Your 2009 Business Analysts: Know Them To Grow Them" report.

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Enterprise Platform Trends, H1 2009: Bye-Bye Vista

by Ellen Daley, November 10, 2009

Forrester's six-month study of 75,453 enterprise users during H1 2009 reveals interesting insights into browser type, operating system, screen resolution, color depth, and Java and Flash adoption. These insights are especially useful for enterprise software . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

What Vendor Strategists Need To Know About Lean — The Hot Topic For CIOs Right Now

by Thomas Mendel, Ph.D., Alexander Peters, Ph.D., October 29, 2009

As smart executives delve into the core of Lean Thinking, the role of technology in Lean-based performance improvements becomes abundantly clear. Senior executives expect their chief information officers (CIOs) to drive improvements in the effectiveness . . .

For Application Development & Program Management Professionals

Test Data Privacy Is Critical To Meet Compliances

Data Masking Can Help Protect Test Data

by Noel Yuhanna, October 13, 2009

Using customer, employee, or other confidential data straight from production for testing or developing applications violates data privacy laws and regulations and makes that data a soft target for attacks. Data privacy is not just a concern for production . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

The Top 15 Technology Trends EA Should Watch

by Alex Cullen, October 6, 2009

IT organizations need to inform their annual and longer-term plans with an understanding of how changes in technology will enable business outcomes. EA groups are the logical leaders for this effort. Forrester has identified 15 technologies with the greatest . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

TechRadar™ For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals: Cloud Computing, Q3 2009

As Much Diversity Of Maturity Across Categories As Confusion Among Them

by James Staten, October 2, 2009

The No. 1 challenge in cloud computing today is determining what it really is. What categories of services exist within the definition and business model, and how ready are these options for enterprise consumption? Forrester defines cloud computing as . . .

For Application Development & Program Management Professionals

What Semantic Technology Means To Application Development Professionals

Semantic Technology Is Now Ready For Increased But Focused Use

by Dave West, October 2, 2009

Semantic technology has been incubating for the past 10 years, but most application development professionals view it with skepticism or outright distrust, believing that the dream of semantic technology is impractical in a time of stretched budgets and . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Lean: The New Business Technology Imperative

Lean Thinking Is Central To The Shift From IT To BT

by Connie Moore, Clay Richardson, John R. Rymer, Ted Schadler, Dave West, September 29, 2009

Everyone wants to be lean these days, whether when stepping off a scale in the morning or reviewing the cost of running a successful business. But just how do you define "Lean" — especially in the context of business and technology? Do you think of Lean . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Economic Forces Drive Lean BPM Trends And Adoption  (631 KB PPT)

by Clay Richardson, September 18, 2009

Data chart with key findings from the April 2009 Global Lean BPM Online Survey. Results include data on BPM initiative ownership, budgets, tools, and SaaS.

For Application Development & Program Management Professionals

Jeppesen's Customized Software Development Process Delivers Compliance And Flexibility

by Dave West, September 16, 2009

In the past 10 years, building highly complex navigation systems has become more difficult. New markets, technological advances, and new partnerships have increased product complexity, while intricate sourcing models and increasingly global development . . .

For Application Development & Program Management Professionals

Application Life Cycles And Fates: Differentiate Between Strategic Intent And Tactical Necessities

by Phil Murphy, August 24, 2009

The application portfolios of large IT organizations are coming under increasing scrutiny as tempting targets for streamlining to increase agility and reduce waste. Applications professionals often seek to assign a label to each application that indicates . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Untamed Business Processes: When Even The Best Of Intentions Go Awry

by Craig Le Clair, August 21, 2009

A business process — at its highest level — is any activity that helps an enterprise achieve its goals. Packaged and industry-specific applications form the transactional backbone for most critical business processes in enterprises and small and medium-size . . .

For Application Development & Program Management Professionals

With "11g," Oracle Steps Out Of IBM's Middleware Shadow

New Release Will Also Blast Past SAP NetWeaver And Challenge Microsoft

by Jeffrey S. Hammond, John R. Rymer, August 19, 2009

The latest release of Oracle Fusion Middleware, dubbed "11g," establishes Oracle as the innovator among Java platform vendors. The first modules of Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g — the core Java application server, development tools, service-oriented architecture . . .

For Application Development & Program Management Professionals

Case Study: The IRS Got Audited, Leading It To Improve Software Requirements Practices

by Mary Gerush, August 10, 2009

When faced with a mandate to improve its software requirements practices, the United States Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) Business Rules and Requirements Management (BRRM) team stepped up to the plate and embraced the opportunity for improvement. It . . .

For Application Development & Program Management Professionals

The Forrester Wave™: Complex Event Processing (CEP) Platforms, Q3 2009

The Fledgling CEP Platform Market Is Vibrant, Competitive, And Dynamic

by Mike Gualtieri, John R. Rymer, August 4, 2009

Forrester evaluated nine complex event processing (CEP) platforms using 114 criteria and found Progress Software and Aleri to be standout Leaders because of their top scores in the event processing features and strategy categories. Solid features and . . .

For Application Development & Program Management Professionals

Software Size Matters, And You Should Measure It

Find The Right Software-Sizing Technique For Your Development Organization

by Mary Gerush, Dave West, July 27, 2009

It is critical for application development professionals to be able to effectively and objectively answer the question "how big is your software project?" in order to provide effective metrics, improve estimation practices, target improvement initiatives, . . .

For Application Development & Program Management Professionals

Your 2009 Business Analysts: Know Them To Grow Them

by Mary Gerush, July 23, 2009

A recent survey of approximately nine hundred current business analysts (BAs) indicates that business analysts are alive and kicking in organizations of all sizes and in all industries. They report into many different groups, and many are finding homes . . .

For CIOs

Distributed Enterprise 2.0

CIOs In Consumer-Facing, Distributed Firms Can Capitalize On Cloud Computing

by George Lawrie, July 23, 2009

In a desperate effort to maintain the connection with fickle consumers, line-of-business executives and their allies in IT are conspiring to lower the IT drawbridge in order to deliver personalized customer experiences wherever and whenever consumers . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

SOA Security 2009: Requirements And Design

Understanding Your SOA Security Requirements And Iterative Solution Design

by Randy Heffner, July 16, 2009

In industry discussions about SOA, external integration is treated as the benchmark indicator of SOA security maturity: If it's secure enough for external integration, SOA must be secure. By that benchmark, 30% of SOA users think SOA security is mature . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Use Lean Discovery To Accelerate The Return On Your BPM Investment

by Clay Richardson, July 14, 2009

In these lean economic times, business process professionals watch their budgets get slashed, while at the same time, the hunger for business process management (BPM) and process improvement continues to accelerate across the enterprise. To meet these . . .

For Application Development & Program Management Professionals

Balance Architecture And Agility To Sustain Value Delivery

The Role And Value Of Architecture In Agile Software Development

by Dave West, July 10, 2009

Enterprise architects often criticize Agile methods because they perceive them as lacking architectural control or governance. This lack of control and governance arguably leads to systems that have higher operational costs and become increasingly difficult . . .

For CIOs

Enterprise Software Budgets And Initiatives

Consolidation, Modernization, And Collaboration Are Top Software Priorities

by Sharyn Leaver, July 10, 2009

Budgeting and planning season is right around the corner, and an armful of new and unproven technologies and software initiatives promise to change the way IT conducts its business. IT organizations are wondering what to consider and what to let pass . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

When Looking For Product Insights, Not All Social Media Are Created Equal

The Choice Of Social Media Depends On The B2B Question Asked

by Tom Grant, Ph.D., July 10, 2009

"Location" — the "L" in Forrester's PLOT method for applying social media to product management decision-making — deserves special attention. The landscape of social media is now so broad, the tools so varied, and the creation costs so (relatively) low . . .