Offering regional and national programs, CIO (and CSO) events bring together some of the most respected names and thought leaders in information technology and security. Presented by CIOs and other senior level executives, these invitation-only programs offer timely topics and strong networking. Learn More »
Public Council Teleconference: Application Rationalization — Hidden Costs and Smart Decisions
November 17 at 11:00 am US/Eastern (GMT-5)
Join Honorio Padrón, of The Hackett Group, who will share the drivers for companies to tackle application rationalization and the results of research that define the hidden cost of complexity. Additionally, we will discuss key decision milestones—to start or not, holding the course steady and fulfilling expectations.
Virtual Desktop Cost-Benefit Analysis — Michael Jacobs, Catlin Group
The analysis contained in this presentation measures the cost of everything from the machines and licenses to the infrastructure for virtual vs. traditional desktop environments.
Honor your best senior team members - Apply for the CIO Ones to Watch Award
Get well-earned public recognition for your top up-and-coming team members, your IT organization and your enterprise. Award winners will be announced, publicized and feted in May 2010, great timing to help attract new IT recruits to your company.
Learn more about the CIO Executive Council »May 21, 2007 — CIO —
This year three researchers from Massey University in New Zealand set out to determine whether agile development truly was better than traditional development. It truly was. But they also discovered that companies that used more than one agile method had more success.
The most effective combination was Extreme Programming (XP) coupled with Scrum. “It appears that successful adoption of an agile approach does not necessarily just mean selecting an individual method,” they wrote. “Rather, it may be better to consider blending multiple complementary methods.” You can read an online version of the paper (in PDF format) by clicking here.
CIOs, analysts and agile experts recommend starting with a blended, customized agile approach. “I find people saying that they’re taking a little of each and creating their own agile process. You don’t have to be religious on these things,” says Jim Johnson, chairman of The Standish Group. “In turn, they were able to bring success rates up and deliver better products and services to stakeholders.”
Scott Spencer, vice president of engineering at First American CoreLogic, has been using agile processes at his company for almost three years. First American CoreLogic is the largest provider of property and real estate data in the United States, and Spencer’s 12 development teams span the globe—on the West and East coasts and in India. His teams all employ Scrum, but he’s done his share of customizing. “I don’t know anybody doing pure Scrum or pure XP,” he says. “It’s hard to do.” For example, in Scrum there’s no concept of a project manager. But Spencer uses a staffer in a project manager-type role (called the Scrum master), which works more effectively with his development teams. “You have to map agile to your existing organizational needs,” Spencer says.