Capability Cases: A Solution Envisioning Approach - Softcover

Polikoff, Irene

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0321205766 ISBN 13: 9780321205766

Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional, 2005

Synopsis

This book introduces Capability Cases -- a solution-based technique to building viable enterprise and commercial software. [UNK] Help your organization bridge the gap between business and ITI [UNK] Empowers the reader to better grasp business needs and more quickly solve problems by leveraging the promise of emerging technologies [UNK] Optimize the enterprise by envisioning solutions and taking advantage of the emerging practice of capability cases In today's climate of breakneck business pace, enterprise computing practitioners have to be results-oriented. This insightful new book lays our a clear path to achieving solutions. It describes an innovative and powerful new approach to envisioning, planning, designing, and building contemporary business software system solutions, using best practices captured in the form of Capability Cases. The authors help the reader align business strategy and required results to successful technology implementations. They demonstrate how to build a reliable bridge from the organization's business needs to optimal technology solutions that assure the long term viability of the enterprise, and maximize return on institutional investments. and design patterns, and this book is the first to show you how to make them work for your organization.

About this title

From the Back Cover

"In this innovative book, Irene Polikoff, Robert Coyne, and Ralph Hodgson have captured deep insights from many years of studying how to get across the 'Business-IT Gap.' Capability Cases are an invaluable tool for bridging from envisioning to design."

—Steve Cook, software architect, Microsoft Corporation

"Capability Cases offers hope that mere mortals can rise above the daunting challenge of blending technology and process. Executives hoping to adopt high-performing business models will want to learn this step-by-step approach to designing and implementing IT-enabled organizational change."

—Dr. Jeanne W. Ross, principal research scientist, MIT Center for Information

BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN BUSINESS VISION AND SOFTWARE SOLUTION

Both IT organizations and business leaders recognize the urgent importance of aligning technology solutions with enterprise strategy. But they've struggled to do so... until now. Capability Cases represents a breakthrough: a powerful, systematic way to translate business vision into effective plans and system designs.

The authors' Solution Envisioning methodology addresses the crucial "front end" of software development, where you decide what to build and how you're going to build it. Using realistic examples, they walk you through exploring the capabilities you need, capturing business best practices, identifying optimal solutions, and crafting software systems that deliver them.

Solution Envisioning enables you to specify better solutions in less time, build systems that more fully reflect your true needs, and dramatically reduce risk and cost throughout the entire development process. Understand Solution Envisioning—from vision to plan—in three phases:

• Use Business Capability Exploration (BCE) to build a shared understanding of what is needed in a solution—model your business situation using business forces, desired results, metrics, and scenarios

• Run Solution Capability Envisioning (SCE) workshops to facilitate decision-making, collaborative assessment, and consolidation of a solution concept—use Capability Case Galleries to discover alternatives, gain context, promote stakeholder interaction, and stimulate creativity

• Move from concept to business case to a roadmap for realization with Software Capability Design (SCD)

Includes easy-to-use "best of class" templates for developing a business case, concept of operations, architectural decisions, and other key work products.

Whether you're an executive, architect, project manager, developer, change agent, or consultant, Capability Cases will help you bridge the gap between vision and solution—so you can finally get what you need from information technology.

© Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Capability Cases: A Solution Envisioning Approach About the Authors

Irene Polikoff, partner and co-founder of TopQuadrant, Inc., has more than 15 years of IT experience. Her specialties include technology strategy, IT management, system integration, process reengineering, systems assessment, and technology selection.

Dr. Robert Coyne, executive partner at TopQuadrant, has more than 20 years of experience in the full lifecycle of business development, product design, software development, production, and delivery. He brings integrated knowledge and expertise from business, consulting, academia, and research to solution development processes, methods, and practice.

Ralph Hodgson, partner and co-founder of TopQuadrant, has been a thought leader in the IT industry for some 25 years. He has expertise in enterprise systems design, software engineering, IT consulting, object and ontology modeling, Semantic Technology, logic programming, and methodology development.

© Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0321205766
• ISBN 13: 9780321205766
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 504