Reviews (111)

Cognitive Friction and Dancing Bears
Alan Cooper does a good job of explaining why we experience difficulty and frustration when we operate a computer or device with a microchip or computer program built in. He describe this problem as "cognitive friction", the resistance encountered by a human intellect when it engages with a complex system of rules that change as the problem permutes (19-20).

The theme of this book is that interactive products need to be designed by interaction designers instead of by software engineers, the inmates who run the asylum (21). Cooper prefers using the term "interaction design" over the term "interface design" so that programmers and software companies take more responsibility in placing design at the forefront of the planning stages. He defines interaction design as the selection of behavior, function, and information and their presentation to users, end product design being the part he wishes to take from programmers and put into the hands of dedicated interaction designers (22).

Cooper describes two types of computer users, apologists and survivors. He defines apologists as those who fight their way through program design and interaction making excuses for the programmers. These people are generally computer literate. Survivors do not think of computers as being simple to use and make up about 90% of those who use computers.

Cooper proposes that companies not rush to put products on shelves, that programmers not test their own code, that corporate managers take a more active role in understanding how people will effectively use their products, to throw prototypes of existing code away and build from scratch with the end user and interface in mind, and to incorporate interaction design before programming starts.

The book is an interesting behind-the-scenes look at what takes place in the software industry. For those of us, really everyone who has used a computer or electronic product, consumers who have become frustrated at "dancing bear" products and who simply wish to turn on their VCR to record the Super Bowl or use the computer to send e-mail, the book is a comforting piece of knowledge in realizing that we are not the problem.

Say You Want a Revolution...
I found myself really getting into Cooper's book as I read it. He's an easy writer to read. He keeps things interesting with all sorts of anecdotes and experiences, and he describes them with tongue planted firmly in cheek.

That's not to say that he isn't serious about what he has to say... clearly, he is very serious. In describing the difference between a Designer and a Developer, and even in more detail when contrasting a Visual Designer and an Interaction Designer, he makes clear just how important this subject is, and how the differences he is talking about can determine the process by which a piece of software or application comes together, and the success of the final product. His obvious frustrations with the roadblocks to effective user-focused design should be understood by anyone involved in the design process.

The pinnacle of the book, for me, came in the middle. At the end of Part 3 ("Eating Soup with a Fork" -- great title), he discusses the relationship between humans and technology. He says something so simple that it should have been obvious, but it's really a fairly major shift in perception from what many people think. He talks about the assumption that technology is dehumanizing here:

"It doesn't require sophisticated tools to dehumanize your fellow humans -- a glance or a kick does it as well. It is not technology that is dehumanizing. It is the technologists, or the processes that technologists use, that create dehumanizing products."

This is important to what Cooper is trying to say in "Inmates" in so many ways. The theme of the book throughout seemed to be that interaction design is only as friendly, or as UN-friendly, as people make it. Technology only does what we tell it to, as we design and implement its specific functions.

The real revolution that this implies is the possibility that technology can be made to interact successfully with humans, and that it doesn't have to frustrate or debase the people who try to use it. In fact, as a human creation, technology is as human as we want to make it. As Cooper said in chapter 6, "For users to be happy and effective with software, it must be written in harmony with the demands of human nature."

But like anything, to make software effectively intereact with humans (i.e. more helpful, more usable, etc.) takes more work... one of the roadblocks. Cooper talks, also, about the established culture of programmers. He defines them as almost a seperate breed of humans, at least as far as their thought process and rationale... "Homo Logicus" as opposed to "Homo Sapiens." He talks about the rift that often appears between them, largely because of the cultural perception (mostly an obsolete view) that software is a solitary occupation, that programmers work in a vacuum and are the sole authors of their work.

The book makes it clear that the software design process can no longer be one which belongs to a solitary person. The creation of software works better as a collaborative effort than it does as a single-author process. Product planners, interaction designers, usability experts, testers, and yes, programmers all have their part to play, and when it comes together, it can yield great results.

Cooper's conclusion seems to be that the most fundamental changes to the software industry need to be made to the process. The people who make the software are, by and large, talented at what they do, and willing to change for the better if they can. It is when they are asked to do more than they should be that problems arise. A change to the process will ensure that better, more usable products can be made.

It seems that most of the people who do the work of making the software in question are willing to change the way they do things, but only need permission to do so. Cooper's take on it, which I agree with, is that it has become not only advisable to move on from the obsolete programming culture we have relied on in the past. If we want to make a change towards more usable products that end-users feel comfortable interacting with, then a change to the process of software creation to a more collaborative effort of interaction design and development becomes an imperative, at the very least.

Recommended to anyone involved in the software design process. Record it on tape and play it for project managers while they sleep.

A very dangerous guide for any organization
I work for a large computer company that makes software. This book was instrumental in creating and organizing our human interface engineering department.

I don't think you can put a price tag on the amount of damage this book and the attitude it promotes has cost us.

On the one hand, the examples presented are insightful and on target; on the other hand, Mr. Cooper is a usability consultant, and his goal is to convince you that you need a usability consultant. My company drank the kool-aid, and has even paid for training services based on his work.

Part of convincing you that you need a usability consultant is convincing you that your programmers will be congenitally incapable of doing good UI without one.

Now, of course, human interface engineering departments eat that up, since it justifies their existence. Human interface engineering departments are a Good Thing. Having two teams (which must collaborate on producing a product that the market will want) at each others throats, waging political wars and each casually making the assumption that the other is incompetent does not lead to an effective organization. But it is the organization that Mr. Cooper's advice can easily lead to.

I can say categorically that our product's user interface is *worse*, not better, as a result of the attitudes Mr. Cooper promotes - not due to inattention, but due to the fact that in many cases were everyone agreed improvement was needed, the mutual animosity between the HIE department and the Development department was so great that the decision ended in a stalemate and nothing was done. We are only now pulling away from that era.

Read it warily, if you are thinking about how to set up your organization, and remember that it is written with an agenda that may not be set up to benefit you.

Great design approach, but arrogance and repitition hurt
It's worth reading this book -- even despite the painful tone he often takes -- just to pick up on the ideas of creating concrete personas and how you use them to develop your product. We do that today at Microsoft (at least in Developer Tools), and it's a highly successful way of not only building a good product, but also in helping hundreds of developers understand why a feature is 'in' or 'out', no matter how much they might like it personally.

It's also mentioned quickly, but the idea of how much work customers are willing to do for an amount of benefit can affect your designs for the better as well. Fundamentally, you should add value with no documentation and no setup -- if somebody paid money, they should feel rewarded as soon as they start to use your application. Then, after they want to do new things, you can require more work of them to do it. However, it should never be more work than the benefit that they derive! This is an important lesson that, say, most media player application writers would be advised to learn...

Of course, as many other reviewers have pointed out, it might have been nice if he had created some personas for who his readers were. I doubt that any of them would have had a goal of being preached to.

You're either part of the problem or part of the solution
Cooper gets it. He understands that computers and electronics are designed by engineeers, for engineers. But what if you want to design something for the masses? Not just something they will use, but something they will enjoy?

Cooper has the idea. If you want to design for "normal" people, you need to put yourself in their shoes. In this bible of high-tech product design, Cooper gives you tools that helps you design products for your target customers. This isn't just a bunch of recipes for GUIs and wizards, but a way to think about how people actually use your tools.

I know Cooper's techniques work. I have adopted them across my software development team, and the difference is astounding. Bottom line: If you're involved in high-tech development, design, or marketing, you need this book. ... Read more

Book Description

This book provides a comprehensive up-to-date survey of the field of accounting information systems control and audit.Presents the most up-to-date technological advances in accounting information technology that have occurred within the last ten years. New material reflects the latest professional standards. The book covers essential subjects and topics, including conducting an information systems audit; frameworks for management and application controls; audit software; concurrent auditing techniques; and evaluating data integrity, system effectiveness, and system efficiency.An essential resource on information systems management for accounting professionals. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

ITS REALLY IMPRESSIVE
I being a first time reader of this book actually fell in love with the book. It is self explanatory and will leads u to become a good IT auditor if u got a comprehensive auditing back groud. i appreciate the effort by mr weber.

A Student Perspective
As a student, I have found this book to be a very difficult read. The chapters were filled with impossible to understand details. Perhaps for a practitioner the book is useful, but as an introductory textbook in a university course, it proved to be a very thick volume with litte useful information.

RON WEBER -AGIN ON IS AUDIT
I HAVE READ THE EARLIER BOOK 1988 OF THE SAME AUTHOR.THIS BOOK(EARLIER) HAS HELPED A LOT IN MY PROFESSION. NO BOOK HAS THIS MUCH DETAIL RIGHT FROM THE PROGRAME DESIGNING STAGE TILL THE MAINTENANCE. ESPECIALLY FOR THEAUDIT TEAM WHO ARE IN FIs AND BANKS THIS WILL SERVE AS A POWERFUL TOOL IN WRITING REPORTS CONTROLS. ETC. IT WOULD BE BETTER IF THE EDITION COMES OUT WITH ASIAN EDITION SO THAT WE CAN ACCESS TO THIS BOOK BY RON WEBER

Information Systems Control and Audit
a very good book if you are not a techie. this book has all the gritty details that one will ever need for IS auditing for the moment. however i tend to get bogged down by all the details in the book. also, as IT is evolving at a tremedous rate, therefore expect an updated version very soon. the MCQs and review questions at the end of every chapter are very comprehensive and ensures that you can really understand the material that has been discussed in the chapter.

THE textbook for cutting-edge auditing courses.
An excellent textbook that is both comprehensive and enjoyable. Numerous up-to-date examples make the material come alive, and the use of varied theoretical approaches transcends more traditional textbooks. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Relational modeling and not object modeling
With heavy emphasis in the manufacturing and supply-chain world, this book provides a treasure-chest of reusable concepts and data modeling frameworks on which to grow to model a business. Strongly slanted towards relational database modeling, it has a totally different flavor than from a book slanted towards object modeling, such as Analsys Patterns by Martin Fowler. A cheaper version of this book, and in my view just as good is The Data Model Resource Book by Len Silverston. It would be nice to see this book into a second edition with XML templates representing invoices, customers, contacts, billing item, etc etc.

Data Model Design: Going from theory to implementation
For years, I searched for a book that would bridge the gap between the theoretical principles of relational database design and the actual application of those principles to a real-world problem; a reference with practical, industry-specific examples of complete data models. David Hay's book is that, and much more. Data Model Patterns provides models for specific enterprise "types". But it goes a step further by generalizing many common entities and relationships to emphasize that, although details differ, there are striking similarities between analogous data structures across enterprises. Along the way, he points out some of the more common mistakes in data model design and how to avoid them (e.g. building "relationship" information into the structure of an entity or failing to recognize the distinction between the existance of an entity and the actual use of that entity). This book is packed with diagrams, descriptions, and analysis tips. It's contribution to my understanding of data model analysis and design is nothing less than transcendental. David, you should rename this book "Zen and the Art of Data Model Patterns"!

Based on Entity-Relationship modelling
Be aware entity-relationship modelling is considered harmful, being incapable of representing a full, detailed relational model and even being misleading quite often.

Since this book is based on ERM, it won't be ever a definitive reference. It may have other qualities.

Not Practical
This book provides you with patterns for creating conceptual data models. It's not practical, though, in that it does not provide insight into how to go from conceptual to real. In fact, it's almost useless.

These "patterns" are nothing more than concepts that good data modelers instinctively know already.

Also, his ER modeling techniques are a bit outdated.

Finally, this book is very, very dense and difficult to read. He just describes how to set up the models in very dense language, without going into the why's. It becomes virtually unreadable after the second or third pattern.

There are other, more recent books out there which provide better, more up to date thinking on this nascent topic (which I believe is still years, if not decades away from truly practical modeling/process techniques).

Fantastic Collection of Ideas
This books is great for getting ideas. I use it to help me think about data models that I'm creating. Hay presents his thinking from many perspectives. He's not trying to say, "Here's how you do this data model." What he does is present different aspects of modeling various subject areas; illustrating various slants at approaching models for the subject area. This is very helpful when brainstorming or trying to come up with a model. This book is a great reference that I consult consistently at the beginning of each new modeling task. A must have. ... Read more

Book Description

The fifth edition of this popular book presents the fundamental concepts of data communications, networking, distributed applications, and network management and security; and uses real world case studies to explicatebusiness environment and business management and staff issues. Up-to-date coverage of key issues-the use of the Internet, intranets, and extranets support business objectives, LANs, WANs, high-speed networks, asychronous transfer mode (ATM) and TCP/IP. Accessible presentation for information systems managers, telecommunications managers, product marketing personnel, and system support specialists.

Reviews (12)

Not an Appropriate Introductory Textbook
A course I took earlier this year used this textbook, and I wasn't too fond of it.The book's explanations were very clinical, and other reviewers are correct in observing that it has many typographical errors (which are very frustrating when trying to solve mathematically inclined equations).

The professor deviated substantially from the text, supplying us with several real-world examples and more on the theory behind the examples given in the book.If he had not done that, I do not think I would have been able to learn the material from the book alone.Many of its explanations are too brief and lack depth or supporting examples.

If you are teaching an information systems course and intend to use this textbook, be prepared to supplement it with substantial cases or lose the interest and comprehension of your students.

Good Book for CIS Majors
I bought this book for an online course on Network Communications which I took as a Computer Science major. This book is riddled with technical information and looks at things from an 'implementation cost' perspective (the case studies at the end of almost every chapter are good examples of this) which is good for Computer Information Systems (CIS) majors since they tend to focus more on the business aspect of the 'field'.

The majority of the chapters are easy reading (if you like reading technical info.). I found some of the problems at the end of some chapters to be quite challenging (which was a treat being the geek that I am). I've also used this book as reference for TCP/IP when doing low-level network programming.

Conclusion: if you're a CIS major or a business major focusing on IT, then I recommend this book for you.

Solutions CD
I was very fascinated about this book and the way it brings a sometimes difficult to understand content to the reader in a funny and easy way. But I was angry about the problems and questions in the book and that there weren't any solutions available.
So more or less accidentally I came to the "Solutions CD" of the fourth edition. Take a look at amazon.de and lothar_ast here you can buy the book+CD for 73,90 Euro.

Business Data Communications
Excellent layman's book on Communications.Despite its ease of reading, it is detail oriented and directs you to sources if you require more specific information on the topics.You won't be able to pass the MCSE after reading the book, but you will certainly have a good idea of system networking.

Take the Lead
It is an excellent book to teach graduate courses.While the studentsfind this book too dry and technical, at the end of the course they seethemselves with the basic skills for this growing field.For the ISpractitioner, the book is an ideal resource.It gives exactly the level ofdetail needed to understand projects related to data communicationtechnology.

I have read the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th editions.I find theauthors to progressively focus on new technology and issues of currentinterest. I recommend this book to someone wanting to learn fundamentalconcepts in data and TCP/IP communications. ... Read more

Book Description

For the public sector, which is globally the largest employer of people and repository of information, managing information and knowledge is an extremely problematic area to address.The essence of both resources is that they are intangible, their impact and value cannot be measured through traditional accounting methods, yet they are also, paradoxically, where the greatest value and potential for improvement is located. ... Read more

Book Description

This book explains how to apply the most modern systems engineering modeling approaches not only to products, processes and business enterprises, but also to the description of the process of systems engineering. The result is an easily understood description of the systems engineering process which can be tailored to the many methodologies, notations and tools that compete for adoption. The book provides an engineering basis for: specification of near-optimal products and processes; tailoring the systems engineering process to commercial or aerospace projects; selection of a specific methodlogy and notation; selection and development of tools for automation; and training students in a systems development disciplines. ... Read more

Book Description

Looking for Information presents examples of information seeking and reviews studies of the information-seeking behavior of both general and specific social and occupational groups: scientists, engineers, social scientists, humanists, policy experts, the aged, the poor, and "the public" in general. It also discusses general research on information seeking, including basic research on human communication behavior as found in the literature of psychology, anthropology, sociology, and other disciplines. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Looking for Information: A Survey of Research on Information
%This is a graduate textbook and handbook for scholars in information behavior research. It defines concepts relevant to information behavior, identifies models and theories used in information seeking studies, provides examples of methods for studying information seeking, reviews research findings of the past two decades, and suggests some directions for seeking more information and information seeking.

I have to disagree with a Reader from England...
I'm currently enrolled in a doctoral program in Information Science and, while this book isn't the sum total of all LIS knowledge, I've found it invaluable as a reference on Information Seeking. Few other places will you find this level of literature review laid out in such a compact way. I use it nearly every day in my studies and I'm grateful that Don Case wrote it. It's a roadmap and guidebook for my studies.

- A reader from Texas

The case of a failed survey mission....
I was excited by the possibility of a suitable overview of information seeking, I obtained the book a.s.a.p. I was willing to forgive the high price in favour of a good text.

It was downhill from there: Unfortunately the text of Donald Case's book fails to impress on any level.

For the scope of the subject matter the book is surprising in the selection of items included and omitted. With some areas appearing rather bald in references and general coverage.

By giving focus to a selection of models that embrace need and sources, and in different aspects e.g. information overload, the portrait is skewed.

To use this book in teaching it would require much more support from supplementary texts and journal articles to correct the omissions.

I cannot recommend this text to students nor to academics seeking a suitable class text. ... Read more

Book Description

The new emphasis on physical security resulting from the terrorist threat has forced many information security professionals to struggle to maintain their organization's focus on protecting information assets. In order to command attention, they need to emphasize the broader role of information security in the strategy of their companies. Until now, however, most books about strategy and planning have focused on the production side of the business, rather than operations.Strategic Information Security integrates the importance of sound security policy with the strategic goals of an organization. It provides IT professionals and management with insight into the issues surrounding the goals of protecting valuable information assets. This text reiterates that an effective information security program relies on more than policies or hardware and software, instead it hinges on having a mindset that security is a core part of the business and not just an afterthought.Armed with the content contained in this book, security specialists can redirect the discussion of security towards the terms and concepts that management understands. This increases the likelihood of obtaining the funding and managerial support that is needed to build and maintain airtight security programs. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

"Rock climbing, Joel ! Rock climbing !"
The quote is from Mystery Science Theater 3000, and is used to identify a movie scene so repetitious that it seems like torture. But it could also apply to this book. I've lost count of how many times Highsmith has padded his text with rock climbing metaphors. It's annoying and distracting and it adds only fluff. I've developed the practice of skipping the paragraph whenever Highsmith starts another inane mountaineering passage.

There is some meat in this book, but you've got to nibble around a whole lot of loess to get it.

Leadership and collaboration
"Adaptive Software Development" is a light, human-powered methodology for development of complex software systems. Unlike Extreme Programming, Adaptive Software Development is less disciplined and does not mandate individual techniques like On-Site Customer, Pair Programming or Automated Tests. It rather encourages adaptation, which depends on leadership and collaboration.

One of the vital components of Adaptive Software Development is clearly articulated Project Mission, Shared Vision and Clear Focus, and it is the responsibility of the whole team to create the mission and use it on a day-to-day basis as an alignment tool to keep the common direction.

I would also highly recommend "Agile Software Development" by Alistair Cockburn in addition to this book.

MustRead
Compelling case for Adaptive Software Development (ASD), an approach enabling successful completion of complex software development projects. Draws on the theory of complex adaptive systems (CAS). Explains using judicious analogies with mountain climbing. Assembles ideas from the author's own extensive experience and readings. Describes in some detail the ideas of other authors that have influenced ASD. Excellent annotated bibliography allows the reader to pursue further study in any of a number of different directions.

It's hard to express just how good this book is. I can't recommend it highly enough. If you're interested in the currents of thought on software development variously labeled "extreme" or "agile," then I believe you will find Adaptive Software Development to be very near to their sources.

The author distinguishes a "complex" project from one that is merely "complicated." As one might well imagine, he would classify a project to develop the avionics software for the NASA space shuttle as complicated--but not complex: its goal is well defined and attainable by applying the stable laws of Newtonian physics. Development of an internet-based product for the consumer marketplace on the other hand is complex because one might expect almost anything to change during the course of such a project: target technology, competitive offerings, financing, marketing strategy, etc.

Complexity arises from moving fast in a continually changing environment.

Adaptive Software Development comprises
(1) Adaptive Conceptual Model--the theoretical foundation,
(2) Adaptive Development Model--a software development lifecycle for complex projects, and
(3) Adaptive Management Model--principles for managing complex projects.

(1) The Adaptive Conceptual Model proposes that a software development organization is a complex adaptive system like a marketplace or a flock of birds. According to the theory, CASs composed of independent agents acting for themselves without centralized control can under proper circumstances develop "emergent" capabilities exceeding the mere sum of the capabilities of the individual agents.

It is further proposed that only emergent capabilities are powerful enough to tame complexity. Software development organizations aspiring to do so must create the proper circumstances for the emergence of superior capabilities. The Development Model and the Management Model show the way.

(2) The Adaptive Development Model has three phases: Speculate, Collaborate, Learn. A typical project is expected to cycle through the phases several times. The output of each successive cycle converges on the final product of the project.

The beginning of each cycle is called "speculation" in preference to "planning" to reject the command-and-control philosophy that stifles emergence. ASD establishes a general direction, hypothesizes a product with a set of components, then puts the developers to work. Tasks are not specified in the ASD project plan--only the components to be completed by the end of the cycle.

Collaboration is the phase where development occurs. Under conditions of "diversity, rich relationships, unfettered information flow, and good leadership (p. 45)" collaboration can be the crucible of emergent capability. To foster this emergence, the project leader must keep the team "poised at the edge of chaos," imposing just enough rigor on the collaboration to keep it from spinning out of control. To impose any more rigor would stifle emergence. Borrowing from Ralph Stacey, Mr. Highsmith cites five dimensions for measuring how closely a project team approaches chaos. The goal is to structure collaboration so that it has just enough--but never too much--of each of the following:

1. Information Flow
2. Diversity
3. Rich Connectivity
4. Contained Anxiety
5. Power Differential.

Mr. Highsmith observes that adaptation, not optimization, is the key to success in a complex ecosystem. Software developers adapt by learning. ASD ends every cycle with specific collaborative learning activities including customer focus groups, technical reviews, post-mortems, etc. The adaptations resulting from the learning phase keep the output of subsequent cycles converging on a successful product.

(3) ASD gives to the project leader responsibility for establishing the conditions under which superior capabilities emerge from the collaboration of team members. This responsibility entails "the ability to help teams to understand the project's mission, to stand back and let the group struggle with mistakes, to encourage learning, to balance the need for flexibility and rigor, and to force decisions onto the group (pp. 209-210)."

To balance successfully between flexibility and rigor--poised at the edge of chaos--managers of complex projects must attend primarily to two structural elements: workstate and network.

ASD manages workSTATE in preference to workFLOW. Instead of monitoring the completion of tasks, the project leader tracks the completion of components. Tasks are not necessarily prescribed. Team members decide for themselves how to build the components. To scale up to large projects, workstate management defines explicit milestones for each component describing its degree of completion. Progress is tracked against these milestones.

The emergence of superior capability through collaboration depends on the communication network of the collaborators. For smaller, collocated teams with sufficient interpersonal skills, it will emerge informally. For larger teams, ASD prescribes a conscious effort to build it and to maintain it. The remote nodes of a virtual team are all too likely to fall into a state of insufficient interaction.

The collaboration network should provide team members just a little more information than they need, stopping just short of overload. Information clutter must be avoided. Content must not be provided without context (author, revision date, approval status, for example). The formal properties of the collaboration network must be identified and tuned to the needs of the complex project. A "collaboration service layer" of tools (mostly web-based) and practices must be installed. A new role, collaboration facilitator, extending the role of JAD facilitator, should be created to tend the collaboration network.

Is a software development organization really a complex adaptive system? No matter. Mr. Highsmith has ably used the theory of complex adaptive systems as a powerful metaphor for unifying many existing ideas about managing complex software development and for generating new ones--with at least as much validity as older theories have been applied in the past. Stimulating and refreshing. A must-read by any standard.

Solid theory behind the Agile movement
Highsmith postulates: "If the core of our belief system about managing organizations is rooted in the old science of deterministic Newtonian physics and survival-of-the-fittest Darwinian biology, then only a new science such as complex adaptive systems with an equally powerful philosophy and scientific foundation provides the credibility necessary for a major management cultural evolution."

He then persuasively uses the science and language of complex adaptive system theory to provide new conceptual models to guide complex software development projects. His presentation is refreshingly well thought out, synthesizing much of the best ideas in science and business management in the past decade to software development.

Highsmith succeeds is providing a theoretical basis for the Agile methodologies that are sprouting up everywhere (XP being the best known).

If you are looking for specific best practices of software development, look elsewhere. But if you want to understand the true nature of software development as well as principles in harnessing change as a competitive advantage, you will not find a better book. I couldn't recommend it any more strongly.

Strikingly clear
This is a strikingly clear, concise book. It is written for software development team leaders and managers, but it's filled with enough common sense wisdom to appeal to anyone working in IT. The author is a Technology storyteller. I have enjoyed reading his book and have been able to apply his ideas within my own department. ... Read more

Book Description

Far beyond simple data archives and streamlined access, enterprise knowledge portals represent the future of corporate informationmanagement. Seamlessly interweaving three essential principles -- people, content, and technology -- an effective portal is the ultimate roadmap to everyconceivable permutation of the components in a business's landscape.

This prescient, authoritative book is a vital reference for anyone concerned with harvesting, creating, distributing, or analyzing company information. HRexecutives and IT professionals will learn not only how to create the atlas to their company's universe but also how to define and assign the roles andresponsibilities that will ensure long-term efficacy and relevance. Companies will have the ability to:

* Build technology around knowledge requirements, not the other way around * Customize desktop access around individual requirements and workstyles * Make better decisions as a result of quick access to crucial information * Maximize speed, efficiency, accuracy, and flexibility of knowledge transfer. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Enterprise Portal Boosting Productivity and Profitability
Enterprise Knowledge Portals is a good reference book that is relevant to both a business and IT audience. Heidi Collins rightly reminds her audience that the enterprise portal should be designed around and be implementing the organization's knowledge management strategy. The enterprise portal is key to manage and communicate knowledge within an organization and to eventually share part of it with strategic external constituencies. Collins briefly describes the existing four portal categories: enterprise information portals, e-business and e-commerce portals, mobile commerce portals and Internet portals. Over time, a portal could metamorphose itself into a hybrid creature that offers the functionality of different portal categories to meet the needs of multiple constituencies.

Enterprise portal is gaining increasing acceptance because there is great value in having a single repository for all the information knowledge workers need to do their job. Knowledge workers should not waste their precious time locating information or answering questions again and again that could be addressed on the enterprise portal. In the process, innovation could get a definitive boost by facilitating both internal and external collaboration. Enterprise portal strategy should not be separated from alliance strategy for that reason.

A portal reporting team made up of cross-functional members from diverse business functions should be identified to get widespread buy-in. The portal reporting team could meet resistance or deal with skepticism from entrenched interests that are happy with the status quo. An executive sponsor is key to deal with these eventual obstacles effectively. A budget roadmap should also be defined to keep track of costs associated with the project and facilitate ROI calculation.

Portal components should be defined and organized around work processes and then prioritized. Data and/or applications needed to support portal components should be determined and documented. Data should be scrubbed, mapped and validated to guarantee credibility. Security and confidentiality should not be overlooked in the process.

When the portal is ready to be launched, one individual or a dedicated team should be identified as the single contact responsible for managing the portal and keeping its content fresh and relevant to the target audience. Before making the portal widely accessible, a portal pilot is advisable. Usage should be tracked. Furthermore, the pilot audience should be surveyed on a regular basis to foster acceptance, document key learnings and tweak the portal wherever necessary.

The portal management should keep in mind that the portal is a collective effort that requires buy-in from multiple constituencies to avoid stall content. Roles and responsibilities should be clearly delineated to insure accountability on that point. Ultimately, a portal is dynamic because its objectives are associated with corporate strategy and vision.

As portal project manager and administrator in addition to my marketing roles and responsibilities in a large company, I have only one regret about Enterprise Knowledge Portals. Some portal pages reproduced are generic screen snapshots that have little bearing on what a portal reporting and/or managing team is expected to tackle in the life of such a project.

Great book for serious Knowldge Portal Architects
Finally there is a book on what it takes to rollout an Enterprise Knowledge Portal (EKP). A lot has been written and said by Analysts, Vendors and other experts on the EKP subject but when it comes to actually how to implement EKPs, there isn't much out there other than vendor's marketing hype and analyst's 'reports regurgitation'. Now Heidi, through her practical EKP implementation experience, has written this masterpiece to demystifies the EKP implementation roadmap with easy to understand templates that guide you through entire rollout process. What I find interesting is that Heidi provides numerous benchmarks to set realistic expectation at each phase of EKP implementation. I strongly recommend this book to IT planners, architects, managers as well as the project team who are serious to implement successful EKP in their organizations.

Naeem Hashmi,
CTO, Information Frameworks
Author: Business Information Warehouse for SAP
Co-author: Getting the Most from Business Intelligence & SAP Business Warehouse
Technical Editor: SAP BW Certification: A Business Information Warehouse Study Guide

Must-Read for Businesspeople and IT alike
I am an IT Manager responsible for knowledge management initiatives. I have found "Enterprise Knowledge Portals" to be an invaluable and one-of-a-kind reference. The book is a comprehensive reference for developing a portal initiative and the prerequisite elements of a knowledge management program. Two infrastructure layers of particular interest to me are content-based retrieval and related taxonomy-categorization systems, and this book makes these subjects understandable to technician and business user alike. I was also pleased to find Collins' emphasis of a subject that is often ignored in KM initiatives: Usability. Her chapter on support and competency centers provides guidance about usability, the magic ingredient helping assure success in KM projects and one that is often overlooked on technical requirements short lists. I found Collins' description of all these subjects succinct, readable and comprehensive. The book is a must-read for both IT staff and businesspeople assigned to portal and KM projects.

The Knowledge Transformation point of view
In this book Heidi presents the challenges of developing and implementing knowledge portals in organizations in a very articulate yet simple way. The book walks you through the phases and the challenges associated with implementing both knowledge management practices and systems. You will get insights to what others have experienced and what you could expect. "If you just build it, they might not come" you have to get the culture and the people involved in the process.

Excellent - Packed with Knowledge
Enterprise Knowledge Portals is filled with important, "real-world" information and tools for any organization planning or deploying a knowledge management portal. Heidi Collins documents case studies and a methodology with valuable questionnaires and planning models that will enhance any deployment. If you already have a portal initiative, the book can help your organization move from a departmental portal to an enterprise portal solution.... ... Read more

Book Description

· How to choose the best call center tools and systems · How to get the most out of ACDs (automatic call distributors) and other complex systems in order to boost customer satisfaction and increase sales · Includes three ready to use RFPs (request for proposals) for buying an ACD, computer telephony system, or recording and analysis solution

Phone calls and emails from customers are not just "events"; they are significant milestones in customer relationships. This book presents a roadmap showing you how to significantly improve customer relationships - whether via phone, mail, fax, email, or Web - by making the best use of call center technology.

You'll discover how to navigate the business, technical, and financial issues in building and managing a customer contact center. The book shows you how to foster enhanced customer satisfaction at a reasonable cost, and how to make the call center an engine of business growth by using technology to up-sell and generate new revenues from existing customers.

No other book provides such practical, in-depth information on managing a call center's technology and workflow. Key topics include staffing, network basics, ACDs; disaster recovery, data gathering and reporting, customer experience mapping and management, CRM, and much more. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Needed help
I was promoted to run the call center in our company. We have two centers with 300 Telephone and Customer sales reps. I have no expernce in computers except for my PC. I bought this book to help me talk to the computer staff. They cannot fool me as much now. They were too busy for the call center. Now they understand we make most of the money. This book help me present this better.

A solid, fact-filled, and highly useful guide
A Practical Guide To Call Center Technology: Select The Right Systems For Total Customer Satisfaction by telecommunications expert Andrew J. Waite is a highly informational book for businesspeople who need to set up a telephone system to handle customer orders, complains, and other important matters. Fielding long-distance calls from any number of people for good business is no small feat, and chapters from this guide address such diverse issues as basic connection and setup, typical switching systems, the value of an ACD (Automatic Call Distributor) system, and much more. A glossary at the back helps readers unfamiliar with the terminology catch up quickly...A solid, fact-filled, and highly useful guide for anyone who needs to launch an effective and efficient call center -- and keep it running smoothly! ... Read more

Book Description

Most companies do not survive the upheavals of change and competition over the long haul. But there are a few remarkable firms that have withstood the test of several centuries. What hidden lessons do they hold for the rest of us? Arie de Geus, the man who introduced the revolutionary concept of the learning organization, reveals the key to managing for a long and prosperous organizational life.

The Living Company speaks not just to aspiring leaders, but to anyone trying to adapt to a turbulent business environment. Only those steeped in the habits of a living company will survive.

"This profound and uplifting book is for the leaders in all of us. Arie de Geus challenges most of the conventional wisdom in management thinking today."

-Dr. James F. Moore, author of The Death of Competition

"Arie de Geus gives leaders of the future an indispensable guidebook in which commitment to values, people, learning, and innovation defines the living company. It's in my book bag."

-Frances Hesselbein, President and CEO, The Drucker Foundation

... Read more

Reviews (16)

This experience is like a busines trip to the Galapagos!
Arie De Geus turns on its head the idea that companies must go through stages of life and eventually mature and fade away. Instead, those that really succeed constantly adapt, having conserved the resources to allow that to occur. You will develop new ideas about how to help your company succeed. The book also explains how and why scenario planning began, and how critical it is to being ready to adapt to the changing environment. With today's increasing volatility in business, resources and world economies, this book should be required reading.

This book is must reading for any leader or aspiring leader!
Arie de Geus is probably the most unique business thinker around. He combines the pragmatism of someone who had a very successful career at Shell with the curiosity of a talented academic. Behind this unique perspective is a deep appreciation for people. Most of us automatically relate to organizations like Newton related to the natural world, as one big physical mechanism. We casually talk about "aligning parts of the organization", "operating in organizational smokestacks or silos", and "fixing communications channels". Mr. de Geus helps us learn to think about organizations from the natural perspective, as living organisms, subject to many of the same limitations and forces as individual people are. When you read this book, you will become a much better and more effective person in all parts of your life. You will also feel better about yourself, and make those around you feel better about themselves. Read THE LIVING COMPANY today. This book is a wonderful gift to us all!

Excellent Management Book
This is a must read for all those people who are interested in the subject of organizational learning. The book illustrates clearly the challenges companies face in encouraging its employees to learn. Also, it provides a lot of examples and strategies from Shell. Overall, it is an excellent for a any person, even if they are not in a managerial position in a company. If the reader is such a position, then this is a must read.

Insightful yet sarcastically entertaining.
I found this book to be a relief and escape to the way the corporate world has evolved. By taking a look at long living companies, the author has extracted some timeless advice for corporations to pay attention to. The thing that "lowered the score," so to speak is that there were hardly any statistics or hard numbers involved to back up his claims, regardless of the intuitive excellence of their teachings. If this book is to make a difference and it has the ingredients to do so, I thought some hard results outside of the longevity would have to be produced and they weren't. What I particularly liked was how the distinction was made between living companies and economic companies. More importantly, how people need to realize that you can't run a company with some of one philosophy and some of the other. You'll have to pick this up and read it to understand this, but I think if you do, you'll see that most companies are attempting to mix oil and water today and unfortuneately, I agree that they will be "dead before their time." Overall, this was a very insightful book and upon reflection to my own life, sarcastically entertaining.

the living book
If I have to stay with only one business book in my shelf( I have more than 300 in the last count), the living company would be this book. My review will be more emotional I think. This is so, because the way this book touched me. I read it three times and some time think I have to read it again.

This is a very similar with the "Built to last", one of the bestsellers of Amazon. If you liked that book this will be an excellent complement of your reading and thoughts.

Perhaps this is the book that a Startup's CEOs should had read before launch their enterprise, because one of the characteristic of a living company is that they are conservative in their finances.

De Geus wrote a book that it is not limit to a period of time like recent books dot com books. By this I mean that you can go back to it and reapply its contents in your business reality again and again.

An import thing to say is that this is a book of principles, not rules or easy steps to success. Although the author is going to show you that there is a pattern in all the living company, he goes beyond that, showing the root that origin these patterns. The principles was constructed by observing companies, specially Royal Doutch/shell, were Arie de Geus worked for many years, but with the help of other disciplines like psychology and biology, which study the behavior and life of humans and animals. To discuss about innovation for instance, you will observe how a specie of bird is very smart to pass a learning to the whole specie. And to understand how we react or anticipate an external change in our business, it will be useful to look some psychology's theories about the human mind, and so on.

Don't think this is a book for academic public, it is not. You will find not only theories but many examples and cases of the thesis of De Geus. But it is different, I think, of the recent business book. Some times it seems so easy to look a successful company today and says "look, this is what you have to do in your company". A couple of years ago you could find many books explaining why Netscape was so great. Where are Netscape now?. It would not pass in the test of time.

So if you are only worried to make your money no matter what is going to happen to your company, this is not a book for you. Probably you are Jim Clark type. Read the new, new thing instead. But if you thing that management is more than stock options ( I said more. I am saying that is a consequence not the only objective), if you believe the every company must have a reason to exist, if you believe the people are important, than I guarantee, you gonna like this book, tell me about ... Read more

Book Description

Building the IT Practice is a clear and practical guide organized to help design, build, and manage lucrative consulting practices. Building on the advisory methodologies described in the author's previous book, The IT Consultant, this book goes beond the personal practices and behaviors presented in that work to offer a roadmap to the creation of an IT Professional Services business. This book focuses on the basics of building a consulting business, dicussing such core issues as the creation of a unique marketing message, the design of a firm-wide delivery methodology, and the recruitment and retention of world-class sales and talent. ... Read more

Book Description

A practical, managerial-oriented approach that shows how IT is used in organizations to improve quality and productivity
Case studies highlight new technology and applications, including fuzzy logic, neural computing, and hypermedia
Contains a variety of cases that emphasize problems many corporations encounter
Features international cases, illustrating how IT can be adapted to other cultures ... Read more

Reviews (9)

one of eight books on IS to stay away from
The book contains numerous factual errors and omissions of crucial material. Textbooks like these that are so full of misinformation are responsible for why management fails to get along with engineers.

[...]

My Best Choice!!
This is one of the best (if not the best) book in this field, comprehensive, up-to-date, and to lay down the concrete and profound managerial framework in IT management (contrast to those books so abstruct or general for nothing to gain, or too IT technical to be so narrow or specific in its scope or to be obsolete in a few years). The strength of this book is the authors themselves who really understand (in theory and practice) both IT and Management fields, and to be able to integrate these two vast fields togather. I have used this book for my MBA MIS course that I have been teaching, and I recommend to read from cover to cover. I think that this book is a bargain!!

Book Doesn't Connect
Information Technology for Management, while a nice paperweight, provides little more than an illustrated dictionary of IT related terms. Its chapters feature lengthy and overly verbose descriptions of fairly basic terms, and far too many case studies and examples. Of course, such examples are important, however the present work tends to rely upon third-party analyses of IT/IS installations, making one wonder whether Turban, McLean, and Wetherbe are in fact authors, or merely just librarians compiling information for this seemingly derivative work.

Moreover, the text includes a significant number of charts and diagrams, many of which are provided with little explaination and often serve to confuse, rather than to clarify specific points.

Those wishing to learn more about information technology as well as professors considering adopting this text, would be strongly urged to consider some of the many other, perhaps more appropriate, texts available in the rapidly growing field of information technology for management.

Good for MIS
In the MIS department of a multinational company, the survival skills are not thorough knowledge of VB, ASP, PowerBuilder or JCL, but the overall understanding of company's huge system. You don't do coding step by step by ask for outsourcing. This book shows the computer system blueprints of big corporations. When you bosses ask you about what's the future of company Intranet, you better be able to give him/her a satisfactory answer in terms of company¡¦s overall profit/loss.

But if you want to be a creative professional, this book might let you down. Chapter 3 Caterpillar's case study is back to 1993. This book emphasizes too many advantages from IT and ignores many hazards. The EDI case study seems too good to be real. EDI is good, even though Internet is prevailing. But before the system can function properly, many people will suffer from system implementation, such as data missing, counterpart's delay and so on. Even if a field missing on EDI can cause your system stop operation. Besides, I believe most of the corporations in this world already had EDI linkage by 98. Probably it's too late to mention EDI at Y2K. But for a university student who has never heard EDI and other IT things, this book is worth reading.

Glossy IT-ABC
Information Technology for Management (Making Connections for Strategic Advantage) is a glossy compendium (or better: hotchpotch) of IT and related management concepts. Many important aspects are touched only at the surface or not at all and vagueness is pervasive throughout the book. There are a lot of glossy illustrations and cartoons and the many website screenshots (which must have been taken with an old Mac version of Netscape) of well-known e-commerce examples such as Wellsfargo and Onsale.com are but one indicator for the level of the book. Another example is its simplistic listing of technical limitations of e-commerce, one being "the need for special Web servers in addition to the network servers" (is this the 1999 edition I'm looking at? yes...). Another "highlight" is "What Firewalls Cannot Do": they cannot protect from viruses is stated. No mention of OPSEC specification and available products. Having this book as a core reading in an MBA is worse than just having it bought by accident because then you actually have to read it. I have not heard any positive comments from other classmates on this book. The book tries to cover too many topics too superficially. Important new technologies such as XML are barely mentioned. Don't waste your time with this book if you can avoid it. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Flawed, but some excellent concepts make it worthwhile
This book has some flaws, such as the table of contents that reminds me of my first c program with pointers going off into the ozone. I managed to eventually become proficient in c. By looking past the book's flaws I managed to discover some valuable concepts and ideas for getting a handle on the thorny problems of aligning IT with business requirements.

One of the most valuable concepts in the book is an IT organization that is defined by technology layers as opposed to products. For example, a compelling arguement is made for organizing the systems administration function as a single group without regard to what brand of system is being administered. The same argurment applies to organizing DBAs, network administrators, etc. in the same manner.

This is a powerful concept that has a lot going for it. For example, in the traditional organization system administration is performed by a number of groups, each focusing on NT, UNIX, etc. This promotes a disjointed and non-repeatable set of processes - if there are processes at all. This, in turn, leads to an IT organization that has no clear internal communications, a cacophony of wildly different processes and methods, and multiple agendas. It reinforces the business side's common complaint that IT of out-of-control, with no unified vision, as well as another often heard complaint that IT provides conflicting advice and are their own worst enemy.

Contrast the above with the organizational model that is proposed in this book: all functions are grouped and held together by a common set of processes and procedures. One easy-to-spot advantage of this type of organization is that service delivery becomes easier. Problems such as synchronizing batch processing (essential to data warehousing), aligned maintenance windows and uniform approaches to problem management become manageable because everyone is on the same team.

Another advantage is a leveling of process maturity. Mainframe administration processes are lot more mature than those employed by your typical NT administrator, who would benefit greatly by "discovering" what was probably in place before he or she was born. And the business - the real reason we IT professionals exist at all - will benefit from the improved and reliable delivery of services and support.

There are gaps in some of the processes and organizational paradigms, as pointed out by other reviewers. These will require some thought on the reader's part to work through and fill. On the whole, however, I found the book to be a valuable source of concepts and ideas. The flaws and gaps are offset by some iteas that I though were excellent. Because I personally gained a much deeper understanding of how to align IT to better meet business needs I gave the book 4 stars (only because I cannot award it 3.5). In spite of the flaws and gaps I do highly recommend this book and hope that potential readers will look beyond the warts and find the enlightening information buried between the covers.

Disappointing. Don't expect insights nor explanations...
ABOUT ITS CONTENTS: I bought the book because of its table of contents. Reading the book the first time was very disappointing. After nine chapters I had read several tables containing the same information stated from different points of view, some organizational models that the author criticized without clear explanations. I found lots of recommendations for reading other books the author wrote himself. Sometimes I felt I was reading an editorial catalog. Because of the references I decided to buy some of those books. After reading three other books I decided to rewrite my review. The book has lots of ideas that help reorganizing an IT department, but the book itself is nothing but an update that summarizes concepts that were explained in other books.

ABOUT ITS VALUE: The author has succeed reorganizing IT departments and he wants to write about the importance of applying mainframe administration paradigm to client/server solutions. The book is helpful only if the reader wants to know what could be wrong at the IT Department. Although there is a proposed model, there aren't specific recommendations, choices, roadmaps, deployment guidelines, impact analysis (budget, time, employee morale, issues, risks, etc.). The model isn't complete. The author doesn't explain how to structure and integrate applications development teams, corporate applications administration, decentralized IT support personnel, and outsourced areas among other important functions. The project management function is mentioned but its explanation is avoided.

Intro to the series
This book is basically the introduction to "Harris Kern's Enterprise Computing Institute". This book is mediocre, but the rest of the series is very good.

If you really want to build a world class infrastructure look to _IT Systems Management_ by Rich Schiesser. It's also in this series and is everything this book is not.

_IT Systems Management_ does not really cover desktop support/helpdesk issues, its one minor shortcoming. For that look to _IT Problem Management_ by Gary Walker, also in this series.

You'll find both _IT Systems Management_ and _IT Problem Management_ here at Amazon, and they are both highly reviewed and they will be much more helpful than this book.

Really, really bad
This book is awful. There were at LEAST 15 comments like: "for more information on this topic, please read our book ....." The fact is, I was reading THIS book, and the information was not there. The length of the book, apart from the appendix, is only 120 pages, and there are so many graphs and charts in here, that there isn't any real meat to this book.

Maybe the authors knew what they were doing by telling us to go read their other books.

Brilliant concepts
I think that it is the best book for entire IT organizations. It takes you trough the journeys from basic and general concepts to concrete and specific topics of technology field. I sense that the writer has a enormous experience as well as knowledge in many areas of IT infrastructure.
I strongly recommend this book as an asset. ... Read more

Book Description

Be a Public Record Information Expert!Do you need to know which government agencies offer online access to public records?How would you like to know which county courts offer free searches by a county clerk or which government locations impose restrictions on searchers?The Sourcebook to Public Record Information 6th edition provides you the details you need to perform concise background investigations and public record searches nationwide.The revised and updated 6th edition of The Sourcebook:

• Profiles over 20,000 government agencies including county courts, county recorders offices, state record depositories, state occupational licensing boards and federal courts and agencies
• Reveals where records are kept
• Outlines access requirements
• Gives search hints
• Tells which agencies are online
• Provides all fees
• Also includes a County Locator to identify the right search county by place name or Zip Code

Replaces the Guide to Background Investigations BRB Publications purchased the rights to The Guide to Background Investigations.Rather than publish two very similar products, BRB Publications chose to incorporate the best of both product lines into one. The revised product line will offer you a wider selection of products with more information at a more economical price. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

The most comprehensive public record guide I've found
I've worked with public records for some time and have bought many books . . . some good and some bad.This is the best I've come across.The information is current and the format is easy to use.

The depth of information provided, particularly in the county court and state agency sections, is very comprehensive.This book provides more locations and more details than anything else I've seen and I have them all.

If you work with public records, forget the other guides and put your money here . . . you won't be disappointed

Profiles more than 20,000 record keeping agencies
Now in a fully updated and expanded second edition, The Sourcebook To Public Record Information profiles more than 20,000 record keeping agencies including county courts, real estate recording offices, state agencies, and federal courts. Here detailed are addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers, web addresses, access procedures and restrictions, fees, turnaround times, and more. The Sourcebook To Public Record Information is an essential, core reference for librarians, background investigators, journalists, attorneys, genealogists, law enforcement officials, private investigators, policy makers, pre-employment screeners, and academic researchers. ... Read more

Book Description

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