Articles and Presentations
 In praise of inflexibility - Agility seems like a great idea. But so does "steadfastness of purpose". Getting the right balance is what really counts. EvaluationCentre.com, June 2008
Wish upon a cloud - There are a number of reasons why cloud computing makes sense. There are also a number of traps to be managed. EvaluationCentre.com, May 2008
Why can't IT project be Insured? - Many small and medium-sized organisations are avoiding IT, or doing the bare minimum, because they fear the complexity and risk that IT projects bring. Are completion bonds the answer? Computer Weekly, May 2008
Not negotiable - You don't define requirements: you negotiate them. By paying attention to this negotiation, you may uncover solutions that provide benefits to all parties. EvaluationCentre.com, April 2008
Earthquakes in the project portfolio - My article on project reviews in the games industry has been republished by EE Publishers in South Africa. EE Publishers, March 2008
How green is your SOA? - The trend for environmentally sound IT doesn't just affect datacentres. To gain real benefits, we need to think about building the right applications too. EvaluationCentre.com, March 2008
Can IT Projects be Insured? - Could we give "completion bonds" on IT projects, to assure customers they'll be delivered on time and budget? What would we need to do to make the premiums reasonable? Presented at Agile Approaches for Delivering Business Value, Feb 2008
Known Unknowns - Competitive advantage often lies in complex and chaotic domains. Do traditional analysis methods serve us well here? EvaluationCentre.com, Jan 2008
Science Fact - Imagine a computer that reads your brain waves and adjusts its behaviour accordingly. It's in the research labs now. How does this change the way we integrate applications? EvaluationCentre.com, Dec 2007
One plus One - Web and CMS consolidation is in vogue. What questions should you ask before starting to consolidate? cmf2007, Nov 2007
Sleep Easily - Projects begin to fail when they lose touch with reality. This presentation discussed the role of project reviews and assurance in the delivery of web and enterprise content management projects. cmf2007, Nov 2007
Role of the Architect - It's people who integrate systems, and the architect is at the core of this activity. So why is the role of the architect so poorly defined? EvaluationCentre.com, Nov 2007
Fit or Fatigued? - How does "change fatigue" affect your attempts to become more agile? EvaluationCentre.com, Oct 2007
Change Fatigue - Many organisations complain of "change fatigue". Are they undergoing too much change, or do they need to do more to build their fitness? CM Pros Newsletter , Sep 2007
Screen Test - Some more thoughts about project and service guarantees. EvaluationCentre.com, Sep 2007
IT Project Insurance - Software development is often compared to film production. What could we learn from the movie industry about project guarantees? Business 550 , July 2007
Earthquakes in the project portfolio - Projects can only succeed when they deal with reality. This article looks at my experience of using project reviews to support the reflection and dialogue necessary to keep in touch with reality. British Computer Society, July 2007
A necessary evil? - Could the open source movement survive without Microsoft? Sometimes we need to live with paradoxes. EvaluationCentre.com, July 2007
e-Teaching -- teamwork and the new technology - What is the role of teaching in the brave new world of personalised learning and e-learning technologies? Teaching Times, July 2007
Assuring Agile Projects - Agile teams can deliver value very quickly. However, they are also very vulnerable to pressures on the "gatekeeper" roles (e.g. product owners and project managers). Independent review and assurance teams may help bridge gaps and promote agile adoption. Agile and Test Driven Development, July 2007
It doesn't pay to be too tidy - Web and CMS consolidation is in vogue. This article in the Financial Times identifies the questions you should ask before starting to consolidate. Financial Times Digital Business, 13 June 2007
Let me count the ways - What do sonnets and Service Oriented Archiectures have in common? It's all to do with standards. EvaluationCentre.com, June 2007
Service, Process or Collaboration? - The combination of SOA and BPM could be a viable approach to delivering business flexibility. But is it be too late? EvaluationCentre.com, May 2007
Too many tools - How do you choose the right tool for the job? How do you make best use of the tools you've chosen? I like to keep it simple. EvaluationCentre.com, April 2007
Question CMS Consolidation - When your
CIO starts to get excited about the cost savings that CMS consolidation will
release, what questions should you be asking?. CMS Watch , March 2007
A two-way street? - What is a commodity? Just as people were starting to say “IT is infrastructure - why do you need a special department to run it, you don’t have a director of electricity?”, electricity started to find its way into boardroom conversation. What other services might go the same way? EvaluationCentre.com, March 2007
Tragedy of the Commons - Many companies are developing new web services, but users can’t find services to do what they want - and don’t fully trust the ones they can find. EvaluationCentre.com, Jan 2007
Keeping in touch with reality - Projects and programmes begin to fail when they lose touch with reality. Reviews can help them keep in touch, if you set up the reviews appropriately. A podcast on Controlling Chaos , Jan 2007
Test Drivers - Test driven development is catching on. Is it primarily a tool for developers, or can we also use it to communicate confidence to our customers? EvaluationCentre.com, Dec 2006
Creating a Managed Website, Part 2 - Final part of my series on web content management: selecting a CMS, installing it, setting up and promoting your site. Free Software Magazine, Dec 2006
Where have all the managers gone? - Offshore development can save you money, but over time the risks may begin to dominate the cost savings. Are you managing your skills pipeline? EvaluationCentre.com, Nov 2006
Portals, Processes and People - "Portal" means different things to different people. Worse, portal projects often assume technology will deliver benefits in itself. Focus on people and processes for real success. cmf2006, Nov 2006
The Paradox of Control - Controlling software development seems like a good idea. But if your control framework ignores the critical data in spreadsheets, then rigid controls may actually increase risk. EvaluationCentre.com, Oct 2006
Creating a Managed Website, Part 1 - Focus on the message, not the tools. Set up a content management system to manage your site. First part of a series on web content management. Free Software Magazine, Oct 2006
You can't buy Governance - Governance is sexy. The word was barely on our radars five years ago, yet now every vendor is selling it. But Governance is something you have to work at. EvaluationCentre.com, Sep 2006
Introduction to Content Management Systems - What is a content management system? How have they evolved? Who uses them? How is open source software changing the way we manage the web? Free Software Magazine, Aug 2006
Power to the People - The world is changing. People are driving adoption of technology in very different ways to those which caused the growth of the corporate datacentre. Can IT keep up? EvaluationCentre.com, July 2006
There's no success like failure - How pervasive is project failure? This article in the Financial Times explores the reality and discusses how you can make the most of your projects. Financial Times Digital Business, 11 July 2006
Keep in touch with Reality: Effective Project Assurance - Projects fail for one reason above all others: people lose touch with reality. This article discusses the role of project reviews in keeping in touch with reality, and gives some tips for setting up effective project reviews. APM Project magazine, July, 2006
National Savings & Investments Case Study - Enterprise Architecture Conference Europe 2006, 12-14 June, 2006
Aligning Projects, Processes and Infrastructure - Process 2006, 25-26 April, 2006
Work in Progress: Local authorities and eGovernment - Computing, 23 March, 2006
Open Source for SMEs - ICT Forum Wales, 21 November, 2005
Assurance of Open Source Projects - Drug Information Association, 9 November, 2005
Building a Culture of Integration - Conspectus, October, 2005
A Framework for Information Governance - Association for Imaging and Information Management, 26 October, 2005
What does a good Customer Relationship Management strategy look like? - CA Magazine, September, 2005
Selling Knowledge - European Pharmaceutical Executive, May/June, 2005
Why Do People Buy? - The Evaluation Centre, May, 2005
Enterprise Application and Data Integration Round Table - Conspectus, November, 2004
News
"Can IT Projects be Insured?" - I will be presenting a workshop at Agile2008 in August.
Ready to battle the IT big boys - Graham Oakes Ltd has been selected as a finalist in the BCS IT Consultancy of the Year Awards. How can a small consultancy compete with the big players? Manchester Evening News, Nov 2007
IT Consultancy of the Year Awards . Graham Oakes Ltd has been selected as a finalist for the BCS IT Consultancy of the Year awards. Our entry was based on the work we've been doing for Oxfam (assisting procurement and implementation of e-commerce systems) and the Council of Europe (defining requirements and architecture for document management and e-learning systems). Winners will be announced on 6 Dec.
I will be speaking at the "Key Steps to Successful Programme and Project Management" conference in November. This conference aims to promote the essentials for achieving market leadership and performance excellence for the project and the organisation.
"Project Reviews, Assurance and Governance". I have signed a contract with Gower Publishing to write a book on project and programme reviews and assurance. Watch for more information.
2007 dates for my seminar on "Running Effective Project Reviews" have been announced by Unicom. The course gives a practical, hands-on view of some of the issues of running project reviews and assurance, and helps participants to think about ways to address these issues.
Oxfam appoints Graham Oakes to help strengthen its online presence - September 2006
Graham Oakes speaking at CMF2006 - 7-9 November, 2006
Graham Oakes speaking on project governance - 7 November, 2006
Graham Oakes runs workshop on Project Assurance - 6 November, 2006
Graham Oakes organises "Open Source and Agile Development" at BCS - 25 April, 2006
Graham Oakes speaking at Enterprise Architecture Conference Europe 2006 - 12-14 June, 2006
Graham Oakes speaking at Process 2006 - 25-26 April, 2006
Graham Oakes Ltd achieves ISO9001:2000 certification - November, 2005
Turning CRM into success - February, 2005
|
