Recently I conducted a study on projects sized in function points that covers projects put into production from 1990 to the present, with a focus on ones completed since 2000. For an analyst like myself one of the fun things about a study like this is that you can identify trends and then consider possible explanations for why they are occurring. A notable trend from this study of over 2000 projects is that productivity, whether measured in function points per person month (FP/PM) or hours per function point, is about half of what it was in the 1990 to 1994 time ... READ MORE

This is the next entry in our “Best of” series, in which we venture deep into the vault to replay blog opinion and insight that has withstood the test of time. Today’s post hails from January 2011. We welcome your feedback. I heard the saddest story the other day. A few years ago, we worked on the launch of a new personal finance website developed by a veteran personal financial advisor. The site was detailed, secure, incredibly useful and solved a sharp, expensive and disruptive pain that the advisor had been running up against his entire professional life. Our media launch went well. ... READ MORE

As I am about to do an open innovation session for a B2B company, I got to think about this question once again and since it works well for a good discussion, let me start out with a couple of remarks: B2B companies are actually just as good as consumer goods companies on open innovation, but the latter are just more visible when it comes to open innovation initiatives. A reason for this could be that the products and brands of consumer goods companies are better known and thus we hear more about these companies. B2B companies have longer development cycles and ... READ MORE

Workforce management, an amorphous amalgamation of services and functions that are often partially or fully subsumed under the titles of HRMS and ERP is undergoing a rapid and irreversible change in 2013. As previously distinct business software packages widen their influence to create Venn diagrams of interconnected, integrated, and downright redundant systems, new demands are being made of both the technology itself and of the people responsible for its selection, maintenance, and use. As we will see through this survey of the biggest industry trends in 2013, the question is no longer what the positive effect of a single change ... READ MORE

Feasibility studies permit planners to outline their ideas on paper before implementing them. This can reveal errors in project design before their implementation negatively affects the project. Applying the lessons gained from a feasibility study can significantly lower the project risks. In my view feasibility studies should never be longer than four months, no matter how big your project is let me explain: The Feasibility study is not a sales pitch, way too often we focus on the COTS (Commercial off the Shelf ) product, In my view, this is a fundamental mistake all these products work and are already integrated ... READ MORE

According to Gartner, more than 50% of companies this year stated that increasing sales effectiveness and efficiency was a primary business objective—and yours has probably done the same. But have you given contract administration the same attention? And if not, why? Whether you realize it or not, there is a lot of money and opportunity hiding in your contracts, and the only way to find it is with effective contract management. Contract management is no longer just about risk mitigation, it’s about revenue, so if you’re not making contract management a priority, here’s why you might want to consider making a change. The ... READ MORE

Traditional application development keeps Dev and Ops teams running parallel but separate - but that can slow things down and lead to miscommunication along the way. Serena Software has revolutionized the app development lifecycle with the DevOps approach. We talked to Senior VP David Hurwitz about what the DevOps revolution means for ALM, and how Serena is staying a step ahead of the competition. What is Serena Software, in a nutshell, and how did you get started? Serena provides DevOps and IT management software for the Global 2000. We got started by doing that on a consulting basis for some banks 30 ... READ MORE

We’ve all heard the environmental benefits of "going green," but keeping our planet healthy isn't the only reason for brokerage firms to move to electronic documentation.There are significant benefits not just for your firm, but also for your customers. Did you know firms that use automated electronic processes see lower acquisition costs, increased sales and ongoing cost savings? And don’t take our word for it, a Forrester study proves it. But firms need a way to get signatures on important electronic documents. Digital signatures take care of that problem. Here are just some of the benefits of adopting digital signatures: Increased Revenue Increased Sales through Immediate ... READ MORE

There's no question that any modern logistical operation moving significant amounts of overland freight need a GPS fleet tracking system. The amount of investment and liability that goes into every shipment these days requires a level of security that goes well past hourly situation reports or logbooks kept on paper and pen. Plenty of fleet tracking vendors provide laundry lists of the features they offer, but few ever provide any insight as to which features are most important. This makes a little sense from the marketing perspective--why bother grading your product's features against each other versus giving all of them equal ... READ MORE

Explicitly or implicitly, talent management is somewhere between being diligently measured and nigh on neglected by every business in existence. Especially for small businesses, talent management has traditionally amounted to the boss’s keen eye for the right candidate, but the advent of SaaS has leveled the playing field such that there is no longer a scale or cost-based excuse for lacking a structured talent management system. As Sylvia Vorhauser-Smith cites in her recent article “Talent Management’s Perfect Storm”, “Bersin by Deloitte point to the technology trends that are enabling a new generation of HR professionals: the commoditization of talent management ... READ MORE