Industry Watch: Healing the VA through modernization
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is a mess. From a lack of leadership at the top, to poor facilities management at local hospitals and clinics, the department with the second-largest budget in government cannot get its act together. Veterans complain about the length of time it takes them to get appointments, the amount of … continue reading
Analyst View: Three “killer apps” for next-gen mobile
Often it isn’t one thing that brings about a technology revolution but a blending of elements. 5G, mixed reality, and AI are about to dramatically change both how we interact with computers not only revolutionize human/machine interaction but blur the lines between what constitutes imagination and reality. Let’s talk about this coming technological revolution and … continue reading
Analyst Watch: Smartphone sales mirror PC declines
According to Gartner, smartphone sales have moved into decline seeming to mirror the trend in PCs. I think the reason for both declines is the massive reduction in demand generation in the segment. For PCs it was the result of Microsoft and Intel cutting back sharply on their marketing efforts along with the PC OEMs. … continue reading
Industry Watch: In software, words matter
This month’s column is about words — specifically, the textual content that appears in your applications. While teams of engineers and designers spend hours thinking about the user interface, the actual words written into an application are often an oversight. An easy example used to understand the importance of the word content is when you … continue reading
Revolutionizing API testing with artificial intelligence
Recently, a simple conversation I had analyzing the current challenges associated with software testing in the modern era led to a key realization: the tools in the software testing industry have not been focused on simplicity for the Agile world. Agile is primarily a development-focused activity. In its most basic terms, Agile is a software … continue reading
Data Connectivity: An unrecognized, multi-issue problem
“Facts are stubborn, but statistics are more pliable,” wrote Mark Twain. Never has this been more true when it comes to data connectivity. If you don’t have good connectivity to your data wherever it may reside, then it’s hard to do applications like artificial intelligence (AI) or analytics. They are very data dependent technologies. Connectivity … continue reading
Analyst View: The demise of the statistician
One of the remarkable consequences of the contemporary proliferation of data is the corresponding profusion of data-driven analytics across a wide range of industry verticals. In particular, research in verticals such as environmental science, education, pharmacology, medicine and public health differentially explore concepts such as correlation and causality as they relate to two or more … continue reading
Guest View: CEOs — The biggest shadow IT threat?
Chances are high that your business is home to shadow IT. The practice of using unsanctioned software on company devices isn’t done out of malice. It’s quite the opposite — users are turning to unapproved applications like chat apps, task managers, or collaboration tools in an effort to be more productive. While the intentions of … continue reading
Assessing the need for Big Data solution architecture
The most challenging obstacle facing companies is recognizing if they have a valid use case requiring the use of Big Data technologies. Having a large amount of data does not necessitate the deployment of a Big Data solution architecture. A company should only determine to use a Big Data solution based on the characteristics and its intended use. This allows actionable insights … continue reading
Guest View: Maximizing taxpayer ROI through agile development
Knowing that vacationers were looking for information about hiking and camping in national forests, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) undertook a project to create an Interactive Visitor Map. The USFS hoped to provide visitors with an easy way to discover and explore recreational opportunities across 193 million acres of National Forest System land – including … continue reading
Guest View: In the future, developers will be judged on mindset over skillset
“The future of coding is no coding at all.” It was a bold proclamation for Chris Wanstrath, CEO of GitHub, to make at the company’s recent Universe Conference considering he heads one of the most important companies for developers. But I can’t help but think Chris is on to something — technology is transforming development … continue reading
Architecting for the value stream
More features, faster time to market, fewer defects. These are what organizations strive for. But an overly narrow continuous integration and continuous delivery focus on DevOps is insufficient to achieve these goals. Instead, we should be taking a whole-system point of view that considers factors beyond development and operations — including people, teams, processes and … continue reading
Industry Watch: Transformation can be a monster
Frankenstein is a monster. IT can harm the people who created it. Ergo, IT is a monster. Taking a software tool from this vendor, hardware from another vendor, using a cloud-based storage and network system, can often lead to problems not foreseen by those who approved that approach. “There’s a new philosophy of how IT … continue reading
Guest View: Want to crush your organization strategy? Study up on neuroscience
How many times have you started the year with a list of New Year’s resolutions meant to transform yourself into an entirely new person? And how many times have you succeeded? The majority of us have set out on such a mission to reinvent ourselves. And by Valentine’s Day, we’re fishing through the freezer for … continue reading
