In business, driving value is a key strategy and typically starts at the top of an organization. In today's digital age, driving software value is also an important, and often overlooked, key strategy. Executives, and the corporate board, need to expect the highest level of business value from the software the organization is developing, buying, and selling. In today's digital transformation marketplace, it is imperative that organizations start driving business value from software development initiatives. For many years, the cost of software development challenged organizations with questions such as: How do we allocate software development costs? Should these costs be considered an overhead expense? Are we getting the most value possible for our investment? A fundamental problem has been built into these questions - the focus on cost. In almost every other part of the organization, maximizing profit or, in the case of a not-for-profit, maximizing the funds available, provides a clear focus with metrics to determine success or failure. In theory, simply aligning software spending with the maximizing profit goals should be sufficient to avoid any questions about value for money. Unfortunately, this alignment hasn't turned out to be so simple, and the questions persist, particularly at the strategic or application portfolio level. In this book, Michael D.S. Harris describes how a software business value culture-one where all stakeholders, including technology and business-have a clear understanding of the goals and expected business value from software development. The book shows readers how they can transform software development from a cost or profit center to a business value center. Only a culture of software as a value center enables an organization to constantly maximize business value flow through software development. If your organization is starting to ask how it can change software from a cost-center to a value-center, this book is for you.

In business, driving value is a key strategy and typically starts at the top of an organization. In today's digital age, driving software value is also an important, and often overlooked, key strategy. Executives, and the corporate board, need to expect the highest level of business value from the software the organization is developing, buying, and selling. In today's digital transformation marketplace, it is imperative that organizations start driving business value from software development initiatives. For many years, the cost of software development challenged organizations with questions such as: How do we allocate software development costs? Should these costs be considered an overhead expense? Are we getting the most value possible for our investment? A fundamental problem has been built into these questions - the focus on cost. In almost every other part of the organization, maximizing profit or, in the case of a not-for-profit, maximizing the funds available, provides a clear focus with metrics to determine success or failure. In theory, simply aligning software spending with the maximizing profit goals should be sufficient to avoid any questions about value for money. Unfortunately, this alignment hasn't turned out to be so simple, and the questions persist, particularly at the strategic or application portfolio level. In this book, Michael D.S. Harris describes how a software business value culture-one where all stakeholders, including technology and business-have a clear understanding of the goals and expected business value from software development. The book shows readers how they can transform software development from a cost or profit center to a business value center. Only a culture of software as a value center enables an organization to constantly maximize business value flow through software development. If your organization is starting to ask how it can change software from a cost-center to a value-center, this book is for you.

A sweeping retrospective of Alma W. Thomas's wide-reaching artistic practice that sheds new light on her singular search for beauty Achieving fame in 1972 as the first Black woman to mount a solo show at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Alma W. Thomas (1891-1978) is known for her large abstract paintings filled with irregular patterns of bright colors. This insightful reassessment of Thomas's life and work reveals her complex and deliberate artistic existence before, during, and after the years of commercial and critical success, and describes how her innovative palette and loose application of paint grew out of a long study of color theory. Essays trace Thomas's journey from semirural Georgia to international recognition and situate her work within the context of the Washington Color School and creative communities connected to Howard University. Featuring rarely seen theatrical designs, sculpture, family photographs, watercolors, and marionettes, this volume demonstrates how Thomas's pursuit of beauty extended to every facet of her life-from her exuberant abstractions to the conscientious construction of her own persona through community service, teaching, and gardening. Published in association with The Columbus Museum and the Chrysler Museum of Art Exhibition Schedule: Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA (July 9-October 3, 2021) The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC (October 30, 2021-January 23, 2022) Frist Art Museum, Nashville (February 25-June 5, 2022) The Columbus Museum, GA (July 1-September 25, 2022)

In order to maximize IT resources and justify IT expenditures, CIO's and other IT managers must be able to identify meaningful metrics and explain them in a way that management can understand. The Business Value of IT: Managing Risks, Optimizing Performance, and Measuring Results solves this problem by providing practical answers to these questions: What does IT contribute to the business? Why should we care about IT governance? How can we best measure IT performance? How do we mitigate the risks associated with change? Leading consultants Michael D. Harris, David E. Herron, and Stasia Iwanicki share their real-world experiences to explain how you can demonstrate IT's value, and potentially find extra value you didn't know your IT organization creates. They also show how to apply risk management to process improvement and avoid unintended consequences of process improvement programs. The text provides the understanding required to discover the processes necessary to: prioritize your organization's IT activities. identify alternative measurement frameworks, and evaluate the best approaches to outsourcing. Many IT organizations have successfully implemented the techniques described in this book to increase their business value. This work identifies the organizational and cultural obstacles you need to remove to get started along the same path.