Crowdsourcing Ideas with a Virtual Workforce

In a traditional office environment, crowdsourcing ideas can take a variety of forms. While suggestion boxes and whiteboards are the most tangible ways of gathering input, water cooler chats and drive-by desk conversations also present frequent, albeit informal, opportunities for brainstorming or vetting ideas.  But as the world responded to the COVID-19 pandemic with an abrupt shift to remote work, tangible and in-person ways of crowdsourcing employees were no longer an option — and for some organizations,...

7 Essential Tools & Technologies that Remote Workers Need to Succeed

A survey by Gartner has revealed that 74 percent of CFOs plan on shifting at least five percent of previously on-site employees to permanently remote positions once the COVID-19 crisis ends. And McKinsey & Company concludes: “remote working was gaining currency before the crisis, but the pandemic has shown that telecommuting is here to stay.”...

The Rise of Value Stream Management (VSM)

In 2006, I got a call from a Forrester analyst. I was in the midst of wrapping up my thesis and spending most of my days coding, and had no clue as to why an analyst would want to talk to me. I then found out that analyst was Carey Schwaber, the daughter of Scrum...

Application Portfolio Optimization: Value Up in a Down Economy

Application portfolio optimization has never been more important than today. The practice can lower operating costs as well as foster innovation and growth. Companies that emerge strongest from economic downturns do both. According to the latest Fortune CEO survey, nearly 80% of CEOs have “significantly accelerated” digital transformation during the pandemic. The biggest areas of investment...

Portfolio Management in a Pandemic: A Case Study

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought severe disruption to many industries, including drug development and medical device companies. All businesses face uncertainty about the return to normalcy—and what normal will even look like going forward. For some industries, the new normal might look very different. For others, like pharma and medical devices, the new normal may...

What Does Being an “Adaptable Business” Mean?

Here are seven integrated principles that define adaptable businesses in the new world of work. These are the core elements and aspects that enterprises need to target, sustain, and continuously improve upon to drive success in the short term, and ensure survival in the long run. 1. Conscious Culture Change Adaptable businesses demonstrate what Gartner...

5 Best Practices for Leading Remote Workers

Newly-minted remote workers are not the only ones who need to make a significant adjustment when they trade-in (entirely or partially) a corporate office for a home office. Leaders also need to shift their approaches, actions and attitudes. To achieve cohesion instead of unleash chaos, below we highlight five best practices for managing remote workers:...

5 Tips to Begin Simplifying Traceability in Enterprise Software Delivery

When it comes to traceability in enterprise software delivery, there’s no beating around the bush: It’s always going to be a challenge. It is, after all, a complex adaptive system that comprises a huge evolving web of people, disciplines, teams and processes.  Complicating matters further, traceability also means different things to different people across the...

Single Source of Truth, Make Way for a Single Source of Understanding

In my last post, I covered the essential attributes of an effective single source of truth—a consolidated, reliable source of project information. But simply collecting project details into a centralized vault is not enough for effective decision-making. Your single source of truth needs to become a single source of understanding. A single source of understanding moves...

Agile Planning Tool: Four Lean-Agile Use Cases

Agile has officially moved beyond independent application groups to play a critical role in managing work across the broader enterprise. As a result, organizations need Agile planning software that supports a variety of work methodologies and processes, such as Lean, Agile, Scrum, Kanban, Scrumban, and even traditional project delivery. Whether your organization is new to...