tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32916162011-07-30T15:43:23.885-04:00Postcards from the RevolutionRants, raves, thoughts and reports about holding IT accountable to professional standards.Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comBlogger1641100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-54311913912051893952009-03-07T16:17:00.001-05:002009-03-07T16:20:39.910-05:00I have moved to Process Notes, which is a forum. I may be adding content here from time to time, but the forum is a more interactive vehicle.Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-768361732002-05-22T07:19:00.001-04:002010-02-22T09:26:07.491-05:00Back to Business. If you're exploring the feasibility of employing m-commerce or wireless-enabled systems I recommend reading Mobile Business Strategies: Understanding the Technologies and Opportunities. It's not overly technical, so if you are not up-to-speed in the technology (which is constantly and rapidly evolving) it will allow you to quickly learn the fundamentals. It's written to Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-768170402002-05-21T19:10:00.001-04:002010-02-22T09:27:50.586-05:00Square Peg in a Round Hole? I usually discuss software engineering topics in Notes from the Field, reserving this weblog for IT management issues. This entry falls into a grey area. I recently evaluated Webgain Studio to determine how viable it is as a development environment. Since product evaluation and cost/benefit are topics that fit here I am going to summarize my findings because I was Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-767649122002-05-20T14:21:00.001-04:002010-02-22T09:28:23.803-05:00I just pre-ordered a book called Building Operational Excellence that may be of interest to readers. Amazon has little information about it, but the Addison-Wesley description (including a sample chapter) sold me. Right now Amazon is selling it at 30% below cover price, so if this is a topic that interests you, the risk of pre-ordering sight unseen is mitigated by the cost savings.Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-767174422002-05-19T03:53:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:47.765-05:00IT Quality. The recent theme in our sister weblog, Notes from the Field is centered around software testing and test process improvement, and will be addressing software quality assurance and reliability in the next few entries. Notes from the Field is aimed more at the software engineering community, while this weblog is slanted towards project management and service delivery. However, there Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-766990972002-05-18T14:02:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:47.777-05:00Business As Usual. In my 16 May entry I provided links to topics that span the IT and business domains, and are excellent resources for business systems analysts for understanding their business process owner constituents. One of the resources was a PowerPoint presentation on TQM, lean methods and 6-sigma. If that presentation piqued your interest you'll love iSixSigma, which is a portal Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-766713972002-05-17T16:38:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:47.795-05:00Service and Strategy. I have once again fallen into that vortex of competing priorities swirling around and a negative time warp where I seem to be moving backwards in time with respect to the things I need to accomplish. The good news is this is going to be a terse entry that provides presentations and documents, but little commentary.Service. The three presentations on service level Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-766113042002-05-16T03:43:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:47.809-05:00First Things First. I've been searching for a Visio diagram that depicts the PRINCE2 Process flow and finally found it. Unfortunately, I do not know the name of the author who took the time to create this excellent resource, and who had the goodness of heart to share it. If you are the author, please let me know so I can give proper credit. I also have a WBS Reference Guide that shows how to Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-765728722002-05-15T06:55:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:47.821-05:00I've written more than a few entries about project management in the past two weeks. This entry is going to combine project management with ERP, and is appropriate because too many ERP projects either fail or cost far more than anticipated. The dependent variable in many cases is project management.Allen Web's ERP Project Management Basics is a good starting point. He also has an informative Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-765400092002-05-14T12:52:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:47.835-05:00I found three excellent project management resources while following up on some of the links that Mike provided last week:9 Essential Project Management Success Factors.Project Management KnowledgeBank.SoftwareProjects.org, which has online courses, articles and links that are interesting and worth investigating.Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514809834027799756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-765121952002-05-13T18:38:00.001-04:002010-02-22T09:36:19.760-05:00Mike has been covering a wide range of topics lately, but his 11 May entry inspired me to give my thoughts about a few of the books he mentioned.One, CyberRegs, is a complete primer on intellectual property and its value to the enterprise. Key issues that are addressed include:Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)- this is probably the most important discussion in the book because it continues Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514809834027799756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-764894992002-05-13T05:06:00.001-04:002010-02-22T10:25:42.733-05:00Random Thoughts. This entry has two fuzzy objectives: (1) a warm-up exercise for some work that I need to get done, and (2) fill in missing pieces from the previous entries.As-Is and To-Be. One mistake I see in one project after another is the quest to document existing systems before defining its replacement. Here are some rules-of-thumb that I use to determine whether or not the 'as-is' Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-764551912002-05-12T05:32:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:47.889-05:00More Project Management Resources. In response to my 9 May entry a few readers recommended the following books, none of which I've read:Project Management Institute Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures.Modern Project Management: Successfully Integrating Project Management Knowledge Areas and Processes (this one received rave reviews on Amazon - I just ordered a copy).I have read and Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-764487762002-05-12T00:17:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:47.905-05:00Kate's Influence. Although Kate Hartshorn is engaged in other endeavors at the moment and won't be contributing her insights, her influence here has been significant. I am going to attempt to address topics that are in her expertise domain, but more importantly, want to assure everyone that she's doing exceptionally well. If you enjoyed her contributions here and want to show it, you can Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-764084762002-05-10T16:18:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:47.920-05:00PRINCE2. Because I believe in the superiority of PRINCE2 over the PMI approach discussed in my last entry I want to provide a few links to educate readers who are not familiar with the UK standard for project management. As mentioned in my last entry, Linda and I reviewed a book titled Prince 2: A Practical Handbook in which we both discussed how PRINCE2 compares to the PMBOK.In addition to the Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-763389082002-05-09T06:30:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:47.941-05:00Project Management: Getting a Handle on Learning How. This entry is going to be long because it's a culmination of answers to frequently asked questions about what should be a straightforward subject.The Basics. Although we've addressed this topic in many previous entries there are a few basics. First, project management has three elements (PMBOK processes notwithstanding):Planning - definingMike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-763267662002-05-08T21:57:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:47.950-05:00Availability. Linda and I are now available for consulting assignments, either as a team or individually. Marcia Hopkins will be available in early June. A summary of our experience and qualifications is available on the TEAM Zarate-Tarrani page. Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-762977402002-05-08T04:37:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:47.962-05:00Temporary Absence. Kate Hartshorn will be conspicuously absent for an indefinite period while she is engaged elsewhere. Kate's contributions here were interesting and well-written, and will be sorely missed. I'm looking forward to her return as a constant and permanent addition.Choices? I read an interesting article by Jason Brooks in the 6 May issue of eWeek titled OpenOffice.org: Serious Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-762542532002-05-07T03:33:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:47.976-05:00One often overlooked aspect of IT security and service delivery is the importance of facilities management. From an IT security point of view the physical security of facilities is as important as the logical security and administrative measures that are the heart of most security strategies. In the service delivery domain facilities play a large role in reliability, which in turn directly Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-762216752002-05-06T11:20:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:47.987-05:00Sanity and Scaling Back. When I recommended Information Security Policies Made Easy in my 4 May entry someone asked me if I had lost my mind for recommending a $595.00 book. The answer is no, and if I did it's no problem because I have it backed up and stored in secure off-site storage. Seriously, the book will save a significant amount of time and will quickly pay for itself.However, one can Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-762086912002-05-06T00:45:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.011-05:00Princely Artifacts. I've discussed the UK project management standard called PRINCE2 in previous entries, and have a large number of PRINCE2 documents on my old Project Management Newsletter page. I've recently come across sample PRINCE2 foundation exam questions and the answers, and sample PRINCE2 practitioner exam questions and the answers that will be useful to anyone who is pursuing Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-761698082002-05-04T21:52:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.024-05:00Risk management is a much discussed topic here, and one of the better books on this topic that I've recently read is Effective Risk Management: Some Keys to Success. This book is for risk management professionals, or those who work with risk management (project managers, IT security and business continuity professionals and engineers) who want or need to master advanced risk management Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-761551182002-05-04T11:39:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.034-05:00Essential Security Resources. If you develop security policies and procedures you need to seriously consider investing in a copy of Information Security Policies Made Easy. The 1175 policies contained in this book are also provided in soft copy on the accompanying CD ROM, making this one of the most valuable resources to companies that need to cost-effectively develop and implement policies. Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-761324082002-05-03T17:06:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.044-05:00I've been discussing process improvement and business value. I found a book that combines the two in a neat, coherent package: Software Process Improvement: Concepts and Practices. The value of this book is that it examines software process improvement from the perspective of business value instead of why it makes sense from a software engineering process point of view. I found this refreshing Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-760771872002-05-02T09:04:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.054-05:00The newest issue of CrossTalk is out. Although I normally post new issue announcements for this excellent magazine in Notes from the Field, the May issue is more in line with recent discussions here. The top articles in the May 2002 issue are:Best PracticesOnline: Achieving CMMI Level 5 Improvements with MBASE and the CeBASE Method by Dr. Barry Boehm, Dr. Daniel Port, and Apurva Jain (download Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-760599142002-05-01T20:46:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.070-05:00It seems that I make an entry and it turns into a series. The MS Word document titled A Business Goal-Based Approach to Achieving Systems and Software Engineering Capability Maturity neatly connects the dots between business processes and software engineering.Related to process and the earlier series on project management, Measurement Based Guidance for Software Projects adds metrics and process Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-760133302002-04-30T17:06:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.079-05:00More on Process. I place process above all else. Tools without processes frequently turn into shelfware and are a monument to poor management practices, abysmal leadership and the major disconnect between IT and business imperatives. Once processes are in place they cannot remain static, or they will soon become monuments themselves - monuments to lethargy, not invented here syndrome and sourceMike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-759765642002-04-29T17:30:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.088-05:00Linda and Kate covered service delivery in their recent entries while I addressed project management and metrics. The following documents will, in many ways, tie together these disciplines:SLAs and Application Development OutsourcingCustomer-Developer Interface in Software ProjectsLeading Virtual TeamsChange Proficiency Maturity ModelReining In TechnologyMike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-759322282002-04-28T15:17:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.101-05:00My entry on 25 April wrapped up thoughts and associated documents on project management. This entry's theme is metrics. There is a direct relationship between software project management and metrics, as well as between service delivery and metrics. A good place to start is Practical Approach to Software Metrics, which is a primer. Also see previous metrics entries because this is a recurring Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-758985842002-04-27T14:01:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.112-05:00I've dredged up more documents that apply to service delivery in one or more ways. Each is from the GartnerGroup and each is short and focused:Bringing IT Services In-HouseCustomer-Focused Service PortfoliosEnd-to-End Customer SupportEnd-to-End Service LevelsCreating Service Level Agreements
Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514809834027799756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-758627692002-04-26T17:39:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.120-05:00Kate's entry caused me to remember that I have recent ITIL resources to share. ITIL Tools to Manage IT is collection of links that all service delivery professionals will find valuable, but are particularly applicable to ITIL practitioners. I also like the way that ITIL-compliant service processes are depicted in the well designed IT services page. It you're a help desk professional you'll Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514809834027799756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-758089172002-04-25T10:23:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.129-05:00In my entry in Notes from the Field today I discussed privacy as it related to presence and availability management. If you read my 25 April entry there you'll see initiatives sponsored by IETF IMPP Working Group and the Presence and Availability Management Forum. Those are not the only two groups that have emerged with privacy-related initiatives and proposed standards. An article titled Katenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-758047542002-04-25T07:26:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.161-05:00Ending Notes: Project Management. My last two entries covered various aspects of software project management. I'll end the series (which didn't start out as a series, but managed to become one anyway) with these documents:E-Project ManagementImproving the Software Development ProcessOne of the best books, in my opinion, on software project management is Software Project Management: Unified Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-757605872002-04-24T03:57:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.170-05:00More on Project Management. In my last entry I shared documents that will pave the way to sound software project risk management techniques. In this entry I have documents to share that will further strengthen the foundation of software project management. The context for software projects can be captured in software development rules of thumb and software project success factors. These two Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-757267952002-04-23T09:48:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.181-05:00Project Risk. Managing software project risks is often discussed, but too often misunderstood. One of the unfortunate problems is that IT professionals side-step the math and assign arbirtary ratings that have no basis in reality. The net result is miscalculated risks with no quantifiable impacts. A starting point is to brush up on probability, and Simple Measures of Success will step you Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-757156412002-04-23T00:47:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.189-05:00Wrap-up. I'm going to wrap the security thread with a PDF presentation on risk analysis. The author of this presentation is Thomas R. Peltier who wrote Information Security Risk Analysis. Linda reviewed this excellent book on Amazon on 25 September 2001, and I reviewed it on 22 April 2001. Read what we had to say - if you're interested in risk analysis from a security perspective this book is Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-756726882002-04-21T23:50:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.197-05:00Back to Security. I'm going to sidestep Linda's challenge to continue the ISO thread and refocus on security. I have documents to share that cover two important topics:Access ControlsBusiness Process Framework for Role-Based Access ControlsX.509 Role-Based PrivilegesRole-Based Object Model ArchitectureAssurance and MetricsScorecard for Authentication TechnologiesInformation Assurance Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-756293652002-04-20T17:10:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.204-05:00My Turn. Mike and I have been tossing the ISO 9001 topic back and forth, both here and in Notes from the Field. Since I'm keeping score, Mike's 18 April entry in Notes from the Field means that the ball is back in my court.If the burning question is "Why should I care about ISO 9001?" the answer is that it's a solid foundation upon which to build a quality system. Also, unlike the 1994 versionLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514809834027799756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-755777852002-04-19T03:16:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.216-05:00Security (again!). Security is a recurring theme here and in Notes from the Field, and it's time for another installment. One excellent resource for IT security is Ben Rothke's web page. Ben is a columnist for Information Security Magazine, among other things, and his home page contains a wealth of information. The real gems are:Preparation material for the CISSP examPublic Key Infrastructure Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-755603572002-04-18T17:24:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.225-05:00ITIL, ITSMF and Service Level Management. Linda's 14 April entry was on the mark. With established international standards we do not need another methodology, and we definitely don't need proprietary methodologies. She and I have over 50 years of IT operations, service delivery and production support experience between us. We've seen the methodology of the month, silver bullets and all of the Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-755228092002-04-17T18:56:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.234-05:00Preparations. One of the projects in which I'll be engaging is to develop reference data for issue management. I'm currently reading Managing Reference Data in Enterprise Databases to get ideas about how to build a taxonomy, populate it and manage the data. Although the project is in support of service level management, the role I have is squarely in the knowledge management domain.Knowledge Katenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-755179812002-04-17T16:41:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.244-05:00Frequently Asked Questions. We often receive e-mail that asks the same questions. I'm going to answer the most common questions in this entry:Q Why isn't the Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF) discussed here?A The MSF is essentially a project management framework. It is a proprietary standard that is defined and owned by a single company. We support two internationally recognized standardsLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514809834027799756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-754855862002-04-16T21:11:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.264-05:00Privacy is a hot topic, but hotter still is the thorny issues surrounding how to best protect it. Linda reviewed a chilling book titled World Without Secrets in her 17 April entry in Notes from the Field. This book, and its associated web page, paint a bleak picture of privacy. One of my main sources of information on the topic is Lisa Rein's weblog. I also do a considerable amount of researchKatenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-754833622002-04-16T20:04:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.271-05:00Service Level Management Update. There are new articles and links on Next SLM, which is the web site that supports Foundations of Service Level Management by Rick Sturm, Wayne Morris and Mary Jander (see my and Mike's reviews on Amazon).Highlights of the updated content include:How Businesses Use Technology: Pushing the Envelope from the Implementing Service Level Management topic area.New Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514809834027799756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-754823952002-04-16T19:32:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.281-05:00Security & Contracts. I've been posting book reviews and other security-related information here and in Notes from the Field since the inception of these weblogs. Contracting is another recurring topic. A recent eWeek security series titled Contracts Getting Tough on Security ties the two topics together. If you write RFPs and evaluate vendors you'll find best practices. If you write proposals Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-754749832002-04-16T16:04:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.290-05:00Friends don't let friends use MS Project. If you want a project management application that correctly levels resources, can correctly compute earned value, and is made by a company that understands project management you should look at SureTrak Project Manager 3.0 (see Linda's 27 May 2001 review on Amazon).I just finished reviewing an outstanding book on how to use this powerful program: Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-754358222002-04-15T16:54:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.299-05:00Flu? Flown! Workload? Groan! The past few days were spent suffering through a mild case of the flu. I seem to be back to normal (depending, of course, how you define normal). It appears that my workload is growing, which means that my entries here are going to remain short, and other avocation activities are going to be put on hold. One of those activities is writing book reviews on Amazon.I Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-754191262002-04-15T07:22:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.307-05:00Administrative Note. Over the next few days my ISP will be doing maintenance. Most of the documents we provide here reside on the server that hosts tarrani.net. You may experience Document not found errors during the next 48 hours. If there are any documents that you absolutely need during this period let me know and I'll e-mail them to you.Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-753827542002-04-14T03:33:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.323-05:00I just finished reading Computer Forensics: Incident Response Essentials by Warren G. Kruse and Jay G. Heiser. The authors, both of whom have impeccable credentials, have managed to distill a complex subject into a book that can be understood by anyone with intermediate-level computer skills. More importantly, computer forensics is a relatively new sub discipline of IT security, making this bookMike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-753546172002-04-13T03:36:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.332-05:00Good News. Microsoft postpones .NET My services, which means that the convicted monopoly is meeting with resistance. I, for one, applaud this turn of events. Why? I don't have confidence in their ability to secure my personal information, and I don't trust their corporate motives. Will I ever trust them? It depends on how effective they are with their security initiatives, and if they can Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-753217792002-04-12T07:57:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.342-05:00Tarrani-Zarate Model: Organization and Core Processes, Part 2. I'm providing an annotated list of documents to give deeper background information about organizational issues. These documents address general IT service delivery processes, which will be delved into as this series unfolds.Rewind. Before proceeding I want to recap the purpose of the model, which places organization and core Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514809834027799756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-752859372002-04-11T10:38:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.420-05:00New Discoveries. I'm not-so-patiently awaiting the June publication of The Weblog Handbook by Rebecca Blood. Although weblogs have some major drawbacks as knowledge management tools, such as the difficulty in organizing and cross-referencing information for near-transparent retrieval, they do have a place in the knowledge ecology. Ms. Blood's weblog, Rebecca's Pocket shows that she is an Katenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-752819552002-04-11T07:27:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.428-05:00Security and Information Warfare. I just finished reading a book titled Know Your Enemy: Revealing the Security Tools, Tactics, and Motives of the Blackhat Community. In it, the authors extensively document their honeypot project, which was designed to deflect attackers away from real systems and data assets by using decoys. The project evolved into something much more, which is chronicled in Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-752384622002-04-10T03:46:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.438-05:00Measure Twice, Code Once. I've been posting material and book reviews about metrics in Notes from the Field, and have related documents that I will share here:A Business Goal-Based Approach to Achieving Systems/Software Engineering Capability Maturity. This MS Word document focuses on the Goal-Question-Metric approach, and ties together various software engineering models to business Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-752091932002-04-09T12:40:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.445-05:00WAP, Banks and Business. I recently reviewed The Mobile Internet: How Japan Dialled up and the West Disconnected and came away insights I never imagined before I read the book. I've also worked closely with Unmesh Laddha and his team at Thinking Minds, Inc. on defining one of their products which extends the reach of Oracle-based applications, PeopleSoft and SAP R/3 to wireless PDAs and Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-751757652002-04-08T16:38:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.460-05:00I've been covering performance and scalability, and other metrics in Notes from the Field, and want to extend that discussion to this weblog. One excellent online paper I've recently read is SPI and Measurement, which is a wide survey of software and system engineering metrics.Another related document is Web Site Analysis Using Soft System Methods. A final document, not closely related to Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-751652282002-04-08T11:21:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.469-05:00Insights and Truths. Robert Frost once said, "Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can't, and the other half who have nothing to say and keep on saying it." His observation is both witty and astute. It was also written before the advent of weblogs, knowledge management and the underlying social and psychological theories and realities that define our world. I'm Katenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-751505612002-04-07T23:37:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.477-05:00Tarrani-Zarate Model: Organization and Core Processes. This entry will refer to illustrations, each of which will open in a separate window. The first illustration is a quick view of the Porter Value Chain, from Michael Porter's classic, Competitive Strategy.Basically, the value chain is comprised of direct value-adding activities and support activities. A common business ratio, called the Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514809834027799756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-751289552002-04-07T05:48:00.000-04:002009-03-07T16:16:48.497-05:00Due Diligence, Quality and Strategy. Since writing extensively about RFPs, contracts and related topics during the past two weeks I continue to discover material that is too good to keep to the team. One collection of such gems is a GartnerGroup series on IT Service Contracts.If quality and strategy are foremost on your agenda, the collection of PowerPoint presentations and Word documents that Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-751106162002-04-06T15:06:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.508-05:00Notes & Miscellany. Kate's announcement regarding our documentation products we'll soon be offering represents a major step forward for TEAM Zarate-Tarrani. Offering these products has been an oft discussed goal and a source of procrastination. Kate stepped forward and the project is taking on a life of its own. Our timing may not be optimum because we are scheduled to be in Kuwait for a Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-750763712002-04-05T11:36:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.516-05:00Much Ado About Much. This has been a busy week. First I became a grandmother, joining Mike and Linda in that milestone event in life where one must confront the march of time. I assure you that I'll not go gently into that role if it means growing up. Second, I've been given editorial control over a collection of documents that Mike and Linda have produced over the past two years. My task isKatenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-750658882002-04-05T03:21:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.529-05:00Dutch - Language of Service Management? Most of our research focused on service management leads to the Netherlands, and many of the documents are in Dutch - a language that none of the members of TEAM Zarate-Tarrani read or speak.The IT Service CMM initiative is under the aegis of the Software Engineering Research Centre (Netherlands). The other interesting initiative, the Application Services Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-114612752002-04-04T14:20:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.538-05:00Service Management. More background material and primary reading for anyone who is developing, implementing and/or managing a service delivery strategy. First, Introduction to IT Service Management places service management within the context of the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL)approach. Linda and I have both discussed the ITIL in previous entries, and we both closely follow news related toMike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-114392442002-04-03T23:13:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.549-05:00A Little Help for my Friends. Linda has graciously accepted the task of continuing the description of the Tarrani-Zarate Model for core processes and organization. She has been busy working on her Oracle Certified Professional training, among other things, and will get to it when her increasingly busy schedule permits.While she's structuring her description I'm going to contribute more Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-113786002002-04-02T10:43:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.559-05:00Legal Issues and Other Matters. I've been bouncing among knowledge management, legal issues and competitive intelligence in recent entries here and in Notes from the Field. One important topic that touches everything we do is law. In particular, the legal aspects of intellectual property. See my earlier entry today in Notes from the Field for more information and breaking news.K8 ... Q8? Katenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-113772342002-04-02T09:56:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.573-05:00News, Reviews and Miscellaneous Notes. I'll be writing the next entry about the Tarrani-Zarate Model, which will address process and organization elements of the foundation layer. Much of this information deals with infrastructure, and I want to provide background material as a prelude while I'm writing my entry. One important book (among many) is one that I recently read titled, Enriching the Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514809834027799756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-113539132002-04-01T15:28:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.586-05:00Book Review. Title: Acquisition: IT Due Diligence from IT Manager Development Series by Mike Sisco.Summary: This book is one of a ten-book series of short, focused books on aspects of IT management. The companion to this particular book is Acquisition: IT Assimilations, which I reviewed in my 31 March entry.Due diligence is about risk management from an investment perspective. This 88-page Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-113047492002-03-31T04:28:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.612-05:00I've been reading Mike Sisco's final book in the IT Manager Development Series titled Acquisition: IT assimilations. This 58-page book is worth its weight in gold to any organization which is acquiring (or being acquired by) another and is faced with the daunting task of merging IT.The book starts with the problem statement ("We've bought another company; what do we do now?") and then proceeds Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-112817112002-03-30T11:53:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.624-05:00Life imitating ... life. Mike's recent entries here and in Notes from the Field have been heavily focused on contract law. I cannot resist using the following quote as a lead-in:A learned County Court judge in a book of memoirs recently said that the overwhelming amount of his time on the bench was taken up 'with people who are persuaded by persons whom they do not know to enter into contracts Katenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-112808642002-03-30T11:14:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.639-05:00New Thread? Not! The material on software development RFPs and contracts was in response to a friend's questions. The topic has taken on a life of its own. On the plus side we've all pitched in and provided information to someone who needed it, and that's what TEAM Zarate-Tarrani is all about, and why we started these weblogs in the first place. An added bonus is this material complements Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-112459752002-03-29T08:02:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.650-05:00Saving the Best for Later. I've accumulated a large number of presentations, links and documents about knowledge management and competitive intelligence during the past two days. I'm in the process of sorting and classifying them, and will be posting them here and in Notes from the Field later today.There are two resources that I do want to share in this entry:CIO Magazine's collection of Katenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-112243952002-03-28T16:40:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.662-05:00RFP Redux, Outsourcing and More on Quality. I have a few additional considerations to add to Mike's software RFP entry. I also want to share two papers on outsourcing and an excellent journal that is devoted to ISO 9000-3 (also known as TickIT).Software RFP Items to Consider. Mike ended his entry with the statement that acceptance testing is the buyer's responsibility. The entire QA process inLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514809834027799756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-111685462002-03-27T05:22:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.676-05:00Software RFPs. A friend recently asked if I had an example RFP for software development. The short answer was I had a few, but like all RFPs they were poor examples. I've been on both sides of the RFP process: I've written them and managed the vendor evaluation and selection process, and I've responded to them with proposals. Rare is the RFP that does the either party justice (rarer still are Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-111501632002-03-26T17:14:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.689-05:00Linda's 24 March post in Notes from the Field triggered something in my memory about an article I recently read about quality and its relationship to project failure. The article is titled Failed Software Projects? Not Anymore and is a chronicle of how an international service company, CTG, adopted ISO 9001 to eliminate costly errors.I also want to add one more resource to augment my last entry Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-111185102002-03-25T20:04:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.703-05:00Connections. One of the joys is to be able to augment or complement Mike's or Linda's entries. Both have left me an opportunity to connect material from my technical specialties to entries that reflect their specialities. Today is a day of joy.The whitepaper titled Value-Based Requirements for eCommerce Applications connects Mike's recent entries on both business requirements and service level Katenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-110920252002-03-25T03:15:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.713-05:00Tarrani-Zarate Model: Service Level Objectives. In my last entry about the Tarrani-Zarate Model I wrapped up the discussion on business requirements. The next layer in the model is service level objectives (see the illustration). Because we've extensively addressed service level management in previous entries I am going to keep this discussion short and focused.Short. Instead of wading Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-110822292002-03-24T20:59:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.744-05:00My recent research has been directed towards business continuity planning and service level management from the service provider perspective. I've collected two archives of the better documents and PowerPoint presentations on these two subjects to share:Service Provider SLAsBusiness Continuity Planning ResourcesSince I am also in Oracle training for Oracle Certified Professional I couldn't resistLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514809834027799756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-110754742002-03-24T16:57:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.755-05:00I just finished reading Doug Kaye's second issue of his IT Strategy Letter and am overwhelmed by the depth of analysis and array of topics covered. Doug is well-connected in the industry and is an insighful observer. Add the fact that he is an articulate writer who addresses topics that are of interest to consultants, IT managers and those in the trenches, and you'll understand why I listen to Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-110532212002-03-23T21:17:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.764-05:00Reading Material. I'm still writing my next entry that addresses the service level objective layer in the Tarrani-Zarate Model. In the interim I want to provide some background material on business imperatives. It's a sad fact that too many IT professionals do not fully understand or appreciate the importance of business imperatives. Sadder still is the fact that many who have the title Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-110257572002-03-22T21:42:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.777-05:00Dim Memories of Exciting Times. What do the radical free speech movement of the 1960s Berkeley and a computer-based education system based on B. F. Skinner's behavioral theories have in common? Each has influenced the art and science of knowledge management in unique ways.I made these connections by serendipity. It started when Mike related some fascinating stories of the early days of personalKatenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-110184592002-03-22T16:28:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.790-05:00Tarrani-Zarate Model: Business Requirements. In my 21 March entry I introduced the model, how it evolved and discussed the importance of business imperatives. These are the impetus or driving force behind everything also the flows through the model, with an ultimate purpose of delivering tools to the business that are characterized by reliability, availability and support from IT.Refer to the Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-110013032002-03-22T03:11:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.812-05:00Treasure. We're all required to write, and for some of us it's what we really do for a living despite our titles. I found a handbook recently that is so well written and on the mark that I'm compelled to share it: Plain Language Handbook. I usually provide links and documents knowing that they will interest some readers, but not others. This book is for everyone and I encourage you to Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-109970202002-03-22T00:02:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.824-05:00Miscellaneous Musings. Group Decision Support Systems, Inc. has an excellent working paper collection covering topics ranging from knowledge management to organizational improvement.One of the best papers to illustrate competitive intelligence concepts is the 62 page publication titled U.S. and Worldwide Consulting Services Market Forecast and Analysis, 2001–2005. What makes this paper valuable Katenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-109841562002-03-21T17:23:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.834-05:00Tarrani-Zarate Model - Part 1. I'm finally caught up and have the time to pick up where I left off nearly two weeks ago. First things first: I greatly appreciate the way Linda Zarate and Kate Hartshorn stepped in and kept this and Notes from the Field going while I was engaged elsewhere. Not only did they cover for me, but they both shared an incredible amount of information about a wide arrayMike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-109555972002-03-20T22:30:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.851-05:00Capacity Management. I've just posted a review on Amazon of Resource Management. The review is:Approach and concepts that apply to all environments
This book provides in-depth coverage of resource management that can be applied to not only Solaris (or other UNIX systems), but to any system. It accomplishes this by tying resource management to service level management, and does so with one of Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514809834027799756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-109167332002-03-19T22:00:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.859-05:00Knowledge Management Wrap-Up. Kate's wonderful contributions and endless sources of documents and presentations on knowledge management have given me a priceless education and has inspired me to do deeper research on the topic. I have two contributions to the topic that relate to support and service delivery:Diagnostic Knowledge Representation, which discusses how to best display knowledge to Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514809834027799756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-108764572002-03-18T19:14:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.868-05:00Manage Knowledge Before It Manages You. Linda graciously left me an opening to add more material about knowledge management. The theme of this material is making the business case, and a good starting point is Knowledge Management Business Case Exploration. If you are considering whether or not knowledge management is worth the effort and resources, the paper titled Risks of No Knowledge Katenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-108526112002-03-18T04:34:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.880-05:00Book Review. Linda and I finally posted our reviews of : IT Systems Management: Designing, Implementing, and Managing World-Class Infrastructures on Amazon. It will take between three to five days for the reviews to appear on the Amazon product page, so I am going to post both here.Linda's ReviewAmazingly complete and packed with knowledgeMr. Schiesser has managed to capture all of the Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-108483082002-03-18T00:49:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.903-05:00Knowledge Captured. I'm going to wait for Kate to pick up the knowledge management thread to which she and I are contributing before going deeper into that topic. Knowledge management is Kate's domain and I am going to defer to her expertise, while learning everything I can from her. In this entry I want to address a topic that's important, but one that we tend to overlook: data center Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514809834027799756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-108020612002-03-16T14:33:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.919-05:00Knowledge in Production Support. Kate's discussion of knowledge management ties into IT production support, particularly at the contact center or help desk level. In fact, all of the major help desk applications either have knowledge management modules built into the core product or are available as options and/or third-party add-ons.Gaps. While these tools have been available for years, they Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514809834027799756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-107676202002-03-15T12:05:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.929-05:00Knowledge is Empowering. I've been discussing competitive intelligence and its relationship to business intelligence in recent entries here and in Notes from the Field. When you strip away the motives, processes and activities it all comes down to knowledge. It makes little sense to engage in competitive intelligence operations, or to use business intelligence as the basis for solutions to Katenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-107474832002-03-14T21:49:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.937-05:00TEAM Zarate-Tarrani. You read what we write, but probably don't know much about our backgrounds and professional capabilities. I've just placed TEAM Zarate-Tarrani Capabilities page online that fills in the gaps.Software Process Improvement. I've added process-related documents and presentations to my latest entry in Notes from the Field, and want to focus on software process improvement in my Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-107115092002-03-13T19:18:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.948-05:00Service is the Game. In today's Notes from the Field entry I discussed IT services and the emerging models that have been designed to standardize and/or add structure to service level management. My focus in that entry was service level management as it related to outsourcing and contracts. Here I'm going to concentrate on more general aspects of service level management, and also discuss the Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514809834027799756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-106785202002-03-12T22:07:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.961-05:00News. My web page is completed and available for viewing. There is still much content to add, but none of the pages are under construction. They are in a state of evolution, and more content will be added in the coming week.Interests and Documents. Although my background and technical specialties encompass research, competitive intelligence and knowledge management, I also have a professionalKatenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-106582572002-03-12T10:51:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.984-05:00Briefly Speaking. My time lately has been thinly sliced and shared among a number of competing projects, so this entry is going to be brief. My goal is to share, with little commentary, documents that I've recently come across. Each document is related to, or supports, in some way topics that I've recently discussed here and in Notes from the Field. Without further ado (or much in the way of Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-106125072002-03-11T04:07:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:48.992-05:00Plan of the Week. I just finished posting my first entry in a series about processes in Notes from the Field. In the next day or so I'll be starting a series about the Tarrani-Zarate Information Technology Management Model, starting with the foundation layer of business imperatives and requirements. That layer and the entries on processes in Notes from the Field complement each other, so if Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-105977762002-03-10T18:34:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:49.038-05:00Zachman Framework - Part 4. Since my last entry Kate Hartshorn and Linda Zarate have been busy adding background material here and in Notes from the Field. It's now my turn to produce. I'm going to pick up where I left off in my 7 March entry by finishing the topic about business rules, and wrapping up the Zachman Framework.Business Rules. In my previous entry I gave an overview of business Mike Tarranihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913542775337600817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-105954212002-03-10T17:06:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:49.047-05:00Killing Two Birds. I posted an extensive amount of material earlier today in Notes from the Field about processes. The following documents are about security, but two of them discuss security processes in great detail. In you're interested in developing and implementing security processes you'll find the general material on processes and capability maturity useful.The documents:Enterprise Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514809834027799756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-105635722002-03-09T14:23:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:49.057-05:00More Material. I've been reading Lisa Rein's weblog and am amazed by her knowledge of intellectual property law issues and related topics. When I first read about her in one of Mike's entries I assumed that she was an XML expert and a journalist. As it turns out, Ms. Rein closely follows intellectual property, civil liberties and related law, and her assessments are cogent and intelligent.Mike Katenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291616.post-105343892002-03-08T15:32:00.000-05:002009-03-07T16:16:49.071-05:00Introduction. Mike's recent Zachman Framework topic touches upon my core competencies, which has inspired me to emerge from the shadows and contribute to the discussion.Before proceeding I want to share information about my background and professional interests. I received my BA in Social Ecology from the University of California, Irvine in 1988. I've held a number of positions ranging from Katenoreply@blogger.com