Previously, I discussed open source as an agile method for software development but figured I need to share thoughts on how enterprise architects can become more open in their thinking...Here are a few considerations:Release early, Release often: Eschew worst practices as encouraged by PMP and consider not waiting for some arbitrarily specified release date and instead consider getting it into the hands of users as soon as possible.Listen to your customers: Isn't it funny that ...

Many folks get it twisted and think that open source is about source code and not a way to develop high quality valuable working software...Have you ever asked yourself, why do enterprises require so many meetings just to get something done? Have you ever wondered how open source gets developed without a single meeting or even a conversation? In order for software to be successful, does it really require having a project charter, timelines and ...

Have you noticed that within most enterprises, requirements are captured in Microsoft Word documents that often become big, unreadable, ambiguous and unmaintainable messes? Maybe we need to revisit the requirement of comprehensive documentation and consider writing requirements in code...Even though modern software development occurs in object-oriented languages, most of the thinking is still highly procedural. While industry analysts aren't talking much about other approaches such as BPM and usage of rules engines such as Blaze ...

In my humble opinion, emphatically no!There is a shortage of perfectly healthy unmarried childless folk who need no benefits, aged between 22 and 26, who need no visas, who have done a previous job within the last two months so much like the one you need that they require absolutely no ramp-up time and who are willing to live anywhere and work cheaply in noisy cubicles on inferior computers without sunlight.IT executives need to stop ...

IT continually disappoints the folks on the business. My thesis is that IT interviews is at the root cause as most test presentation skills vs ability...Why does IT have to continue the HR facade of interviewing when the pendulum has swung too far towards emphasis on soft skills? Imagine if business customers were smart enough to figure out that the person running IT didn't actually know anything about IT or that their coveted very expensive ...

I bet you don't know what it takes to become a certified Scrum Master...For certification be truly meaningful, a certification must have some sort of experiential component to it (typically involving internship or apprenticeship) and the applications must be verified by other certified professionals. The Scrum Alliance continues to embarrass itself, and to a lesser extent the agile community as a whole, with its continued operation of the Certified Scrum Master (CSM) program. To "earn" ...

I will be starting on my second OWASP Project which is to create a maturity model to help enterprises index themselves in terms of maturity related to application security. We hope to have something published by the end of the year that will aid IT executives in understanding areas in which they need to focus.If you are interested in contributing, please visit the OWASP web site and subscribe to the listserv. In the meantime, I ...

The Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) is working on creating a certification targeted at software development professionals. The survey is located here.The survey closes on Friday July 25th (tomorrow)...Pray, Fast and Be Charitable...

Several folks have pinged me offline in hopes of getting a peak at the results of the OWASP survey. Many folks wanted to understand the answers to such questions as which industry analyst firms best understand the challenges of Web Application Security. I found it somewhat insightful how folks perceive firms such as Redmonk, Gartner, Forrester, Entiva and the Burton Group.Anyway, below are preliminary results to a few select questions. The full report will be ...

The Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) is working on creating a certification targeted at software development professionals. The survey is located here.The survey closes on Friday July 25th so please complete survey as soon as possible...Pray, Fast and Be Charitable...

The Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) is working on creating a certification targeted at software development professionals. The survey is located here.The survey closes on Friday July 25th so please complete survey as soon as possible...Pray, Fast and Be Charitable...

Rahulh Tiwari posted the below comment that I will carefully dissect...Hi James, Thanks for finding time to write on the subject. Your views are truly helpful though provocative. But I would like you to consider the following picture also: IT firms in India (at least mine) spend decent amount of money in providing books, magazines etc and have a library in most of the locations.Rahul, thank you for taking time out of your busy day ...

James Governor of Redmonk provides an interesting perspective of Sun here but ignores some important considerations. I figured I would outline a few...But consider that Windows revenues this quarter fell by more than 24%.Do you believe that Windows is any less popular? I would argue that the adoption of Windows is growing. Pricing pressures are not the same as lack of adoption.Sun is in recapture mode. It needs to have the make-side in its pocket ...

Perhaps the "orders" are more like a process.You want to solve a problem but are unaware that there is knowledge that would help.You have a sense that there must be something that will help, but you are unaware of where to find it.You know where it is, but you do not have access to it.You have access to it, but do not understand how to make it work.You get it to work, but find out ...

Do you work in an IT shop where there are two project managers for every developer?Folks in human resources do a wonderful job of tracking the salaries for specific positions within a geographic location or industry vertical. Have you noticed though that while they are babbling about work/life balance, none of them ever track the ratios elsewhere of project managers to developers which is the leading cause for lack of balance?Wouldn't it be curious if ...

The complexity of subjects and diversity of students renders any notion of uniform testing foolish...Process weenies will ask: How are we supposed to measure mastery of the material without any form of testing? but won't ask: If we uniformly test, then how to we keep this as a minimum vs allowing it to turn into the goal?.From its very beginnings, the purpose of public education has been very consciously conceived as indoctrination. That remains its ...

AuthN and everythingGunnar Peterson provides an interesting perspective of how Enterprise Architects need to think about authorization, even when many vendors have no incentive of helping them fix the problem. Maybe Gunnar has some thoughts on how the identity crowd could start conversations with the ECM and BPM crowds since this conversation has yet to happen as well.Attributes of an ArchitectMax provides insights into the essence of enterprise architecture.Has online banking became safer than offline ...

Many bloggers who write about enterprise architecture are doing the community at large a huge disservice by talking about process while not talking about practices...There is way too much discussion regarding improved processes these days, including everything from ITIL and RUP, CMMi, project portfolio management. Many folks who aren't indoctrinated process weenies can be heard in the corridors of large enterprises saying phrase such as: "They are talking about creating a complicated, time consuming process ...

As a co-author of the bestselling book: Enterprise Service Oriented Architectures I came to the conclusion that folks shouldn't buy my book...Generally speaking, programming books are a waste of time. Although my book isn't about programming some of the rationale still applies. What if folks spent more time doing instead of reading? Likewise, what if folks understood that there is more to read than programming books? What would happen if we all read classic literature ...

I am from a different school of thought when it comes to Microsoft and refuse to throw daggers at them. They are more innovative than Sun, BEA and Oracle combined...One blogger commented on Microsoft SharePoint and Will it live up to the hype? that needs to be dissected.The latest version even includes workflow features that were only available previously in much more complex and expensive products like Documentum. And because cheap storage has made the ...