Click Here to View the 2012 Webinar Brochure

CAI and the IT Metrics & Productivity Institute are proud to present

The 2012
Software Best Practices
Webinar Series

2012 Program

Agile Enterprise Architecture

February 7, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

In this webinar, Chris Armstrong will explain how traditional enterprise architecture (EA) practices can be augmented with agile project management and development best practices. You will learn how to link EA to business strategy, incorporate iterative planning, and apply test-driven development.  

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The Seven Trends that will Transform Local Government Through Technology

February 8, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

What are the new technology trends that will transform local government? This webinar with Alan Shark will take you on a short journey to the near future and will help businesses, citizens, and public managers alike better understand what these trends really mean and how can one benefit.

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The First Five Traits of Risk Management Excellence

February 9, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

In this webinar, Carl Pritchard examines the first five critical traits possessed by those who are truly organizationally ready and effective as risk managers.  And for those who aren't?  He walks down the path of how to improve on those traits and join the cadre of those who manage risk effectively.

Improving Performance in IT Service Delivery

February 14, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

This webinar with Beth Layman will explore how some of the best practices found in the new CMMI for Services model can be applied to the IT organization as well as to the broader business.

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Why Outsource Application Support?

February 15, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

This webinar  with Nick Spanos discusses potential benefits from Application Support Outsourcing and provides a framework for successful support outsourcing.

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Three Leadership Competencies Every Project Manager Needs

February 16, 2012
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm Eastern Time

In this webinar with Jack Ferraro, we will explore three critical leadership competencies that project managers must be aware of to manage complex software projects and ascend to true Project Leadership.

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Monitoring the Cloud

February 21, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

In this webinar with Charles Babcock, we will examine several different forms of monitoring that are currently available to help you independently check on how well your cloud service is performing.

Building an IT Command and Control Center

February 22, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

Have you ever been surprised by something of significance in your business? Have you ever gotten inconsistent information from your organization?  In this webinar, Dave Smith will  discuss a method for controlling and automating the flow of IT information so that it can be made available to teams, managers, and executives.

21st Century IT Trends

February 23, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

In this webinar, Leon Kappelman will take a glimpse into the future of IT and will examine an approaching paradigm shift that is radically changing how we manage our technologies and the organizations they serve.

The Decision Model in 2012

February 28, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

Major corporations worldwide have created hundreds of Decision Models, deployed them easily in various technologies, and as a result have reduced business and IT efforts significantly.  This webinar with Barbara von Halle and Larry Goldberg will reference real-world Decision Model projects across industries, disclose actual productivity numbers and business performance impact, and will discuss unanticipated uses for decision models.

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Implementing a Winning IT Governance Strategy and Action Program

February 29, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

In this webinar, Dr. Gad J. Selig will explain how to plan, deploy and sustain a successful IT governance environment. He will  guide  participants through a step-by-step  roadmap based on current and emerging best practices.

How To Be Productively Disruptive in Crazy World!

March 1, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

Managers know that they live in a place best described as a crazy world. It's a world where expectations are off the charts, requirements are vague, commitments are tenuous, strategic priorities shift as often as a race car, and responsibility is given with marginal authority. What do most managers do? They unwittingly jump into the chasm and hope the rope holds. This webinar with Raj Kapur gets you out of your professional comfort zone, challenges you, creates spirited dialogue, and empowers you to be a more sought-after manager. This thought provoking session is designed to deliver major attitude adjustments and strong recommendations for conduct that will enable you, in your difficult role, to make a few waves and become productive.

Overcoming Cultural Differences by Focusing on Similarities

March 6, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

One of the challenges global teams are facing is overcoming cultural differences. This webinar with Jutta Eckstein will explore various techniques that have helped her create a common culture on different global projects.

BAseBOK—Business Analysis should employ (this) Body of Knowledge

March 7, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

In this webinar, Robin Goldsmith introduces BAseBOK, a different and more appropriate approach to business analysis that offers opportunities for delivering far greater value to businesses and business analysis.

Three Myths that Kill Projects

March 8, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

In this webinar with Jorge Boria, you will learn about the three myths that kill projects, why they kill projects, and how to avoid them.

Ethics in IT Offshore Outsourcing

March 13, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

In this webinar with Tandy Gold, we will outline and analyze the Ethics of Outsourcing at three levels: macro, molar, and micro.  Ten key questions will be applied to each level and explored within the context of current and historical research and events.

How to Effectively Lead a Global Team

March 14, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

In this webinar, David Broderick, Director of Global Services Delivery for CAI, will share his experiences and insights on how to effectively lead IT teams dispersed across different countries.

Agile Business Analysis

March 20, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

In this webinar, Mary Gorman debunks the myths surrounding agile business analysis and explains what the work of agile analysis really consists of and how it is essential to delivering business value.

The Four Pillars of Service-Orientation

March 21, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

In this webinar, Thomas Erl will discuss the four fundamental "pillars" that need to be in place to address the critical success factors most relevant to service-orientation. These pillars will establish a foundation  for the successful introduction of service-orientation principles, practices, and methodologies.

The High Probability of Extremely Low-Probability Events

March 22, 2012
12:00 am - 1:30 pm Eastern Time

Risk managers keep their jobs under control by deciding which risks are worth tracking.  In most cases, any risk having an extremely low probability is excluded from their list.   But extremely low-probability events happen every day.  This webinar with Riley Rice will show you the mathematical realities behind such low probability events and illustrate with real-world examples.

The Top 10 Risks that Threaten Project Portfolio Management Success

March 27, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

This webinar with Mark Perry provides a business-driven approach to project portfolio management that features a short case example followed by a list and discussion of the top ten risks that threaten the successful implementation and adoption of project portfolio management.

Managing Risk in Agile Development Projects

March 28, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

As Agile software development has emerged over the last decade, there have been few risk management frameworks discussed that can accommodate the unique risk characteristics of Agile. In this webinar, Pete DeYoe will present a Risk Management framework for Agile  Development Projects.

Taking the Creep out of Scope Creep: Managing Project Scope

April 3, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

This webinar with Janet Russac will assist participants in learning how better to determine the scope of a project, identify and manage changes to the scope, and involve the customer in decision making in regards to the change in scope.

Earning IIBA's Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP) Certification

April 4, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

This webinar with Scott Fabel will define business analysis and explore the process of becoming a certified Business Analyst. You will be introduced to the International Institute of Business Analysis and their Business Analysis Body of Knowledge.

The Four Reasons 68% of Development Projects Will Not Succeed This Year

April 5, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

In this webinar with Master Agile practitioner Alan Shalloway, you will learn the 4 reasons that more than 2/3 of software development projects do not succeed and you will receive an unbiased view of which Agile methods can actually address your problems.

Value Measurement for Enterprise Architecture (EA)

April 10, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

Measuring and communicating value is often reported as one of the greatest challenges associated with Enterprise Architecture (EA).  This webinar with Brian Cameron will present recent  research on the current state of EA value measurement in a broad cross-section of organizations and will discuss best practices for communicating EA value.

Implementing Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) Methodologies  - Pitfalls and Speed-Bumps

April 11, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

Strategy maps, balanced scorecards with KPIs, customer profitability reporting, driver based budgeting, risk management... This webinar with Gary Cokins presents an overview of  Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) methodologies and how they can easily be integrated.

"Are We There Yet?" A Look at Software Development Performance over 20 Years

April 12, 2012
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm Eastern Time

The ISBSG has data on software projects spanning a 20 year period. In this webinar, Peter Hill, Director of the ISBSG, reveals whether the industry has improved its performance over 20 years.   Peter will answer this question and others through an analysis of the ISBSG project history data.

Sourcing and Manufacturing in China: The Rules

April 17, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

Today's global business environment, managing projects, suppliers and people is vastly more complex than it was just a few years ago.  7x24 access to email and phones helps with communications, but these tools are only as good as the plans and people operating them.  In addition, managing across cultures may be the most difficult challenge we will ever face in business.  In this webinar, Rosemary Coates explains why every business professional should know how to deal with China and explores the rules for doing so.

Summitting Mt. Kilimanjaro: A Project Management Case Study

April 19, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

In 2000, Kerry Wills climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro. He spent months designing his approach, preparing the equipment,  training for endurance and executing the plan. In this webinar, Kerry takes you through his journey, and compares it to the adventure of managing a typical project.

Do the Right Things: Practical Guidance for Adapting Your Requirements Practices

April 24, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

In this webinar, Ellen Gottesdiener describes project characteristics and factors to consider when you're developing and managing requirements and explains how to adapt requirements practices to fit various project situations so you can do the right things for your project.

The Next Software Process Improvement Frontier: People

April 25, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

In this webinar with Louis Poulin, you will gain a better understanding of how an organization's established work environment is often the source of its own limitations and you will gain insight into how people issues are related to successful IT projects.

Eat Your Own Dog Food - Applying the CMMI to Your Process Improvement Project

April 26, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

It's time for improvement programs to use the CMMI to improve their own internal practices - in other words, it's time for them to eat their own dog food!  This webinar with Pat O'Toole outlines a palatable, multi-course meal plan.

A Roadmap to Successful Change Management

May 1, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

It's tempting to believe your organization can acquire new technology solutions and the efficiencies will roll in. But successfully evolving the way you do business takes a managed approach. And to reap the full return on your investment, experience shows the effort is no less than a business transformation. Leading your organization through the transformation is a process, a change process, one that needs to be managed like any project that is critical to your firm's success. How do you effectively manage a change process? To equip your team to do this, this webinar with Raj Kapur presents a proven change management methodology, explores key leadership themes, and the fundamental tools necessary to optimize your change initiatives.

Catastrophe Disentanglement: Getting Projects Back on Track

May 2, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

This webinar with Elli Bennatan presents a ten-step process to disentangle a software project catastrophe and get it back on track.

Winning and Keeping the Seat at the Table

May 8, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

Every CIO is either working towards or has arrived at a seat at the table with the Executive Leadership team at an organization.  Regardless of where you are on this journey this presentation  with Don Martin, former CIO of Armstrong Industries, will provide some approaches and tips that will be of use.  It covers some "rules of the game" that technology executives need to keep in the forefront and the methodologies for maintaining a peer relationship with the C suite.  Key insights will include organizational perception management, process improvement, relationship management skills, and business strategy.

Conversations for Creating Star Performers

May 9, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

Want to be a star performer or lead a team of high performers?  This webinar with Shawn Kent Hayashi will reveal the conversations you need to create meaningful, engaging conversations that bring star performance alive. 

Managing the Technical Debt Lifecycle

May 15, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

In this webinar with Ted Theodoropolous, you will learn what technical debt is, how it can be identified and measured,  and strategies for remediation and governance.

Automatic Generation of Test Cases

May 16, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

In this webinar, Dr. Mikael Lindvall will introduce  the Fraunhofer Approach for Software Testing (FAST). Participants can expect to learn state-of-the-art testing methods and tools that can immediately be used in their jobs to make testing more fun, efficient and effective. 

Enterprise Agility: The Challenges in Moving Towards End-to-End Value for Money

May 17, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

Bob Marshall discusses how to develop a systemic agile capability throughout your organisation's value stream. He will look at what commonly prevents effective delivery of business value and value for money, and how to harness the skills of your people - and your suppliers - to deliver the best business results for your money. 

Business Pipeline Management:  Leveraging Capability Modeling to  Drive Strategic Agility

May 22, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

In this webinar with Nathaniel Boughton,  you will learn how capability modeling can be leveraged to drive strategy so that positive results are created on both sides of your balance sheet. 

Creating an Environment for Successful Projects

May 23, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

Is your project enviornment supporting, or thwarting, you?  In this webinar, Randall L. Englund will explain the role your project environment plays and will show you  how to assess your  environment and make the changes that lead to more successful projects.  

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How to Roll Out the CMMI and Reach Level 5

May 29, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

The implementation of the SEI's CMMI is not a trivial task, but it can be done. This webinar with Alfred Allik will explain how it was accomplished in a very complex software development environment. Key success factors and  lessons learned will be provided. 

Developing Career Enhancing Presentation Skills

May 30, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

In this webinar,  Naomi Karten will examine the elements of a polished presentation and the challenges posed by presentation anxiety. Naomi will offer guidelines, ideas and advice to help you present with confidence. Regardless of your current skill level, this webinar will help you improve as a presenter. 

Why Legacy Modernization Projects Fail, and How to Ensure Success

May 31, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

This webinar with Don Estes explains how formal complexity and hubris are the root causes of legacy modernization failures, and how to overcome them with technology, methodology or both. 

Measuring Process Risk for Early Insights into Software Safety

June 6, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

How can we understand and measure software  risks early in the  development lifecycle?   In this webinar, Drs. Victor Basili and Lucas Layman will describe their real world experiences in measuring process risk to glean early insights into software safety risks. 

That's an Elephant Over There (and Other Uncomfortable Project Truths)

June 7, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

Testers, project managers, and consultants are all paid to tell the truth as they see it. But what is an evident fact to them may be unwelcome news to those in power.  In this webinar, Fiona Charles shares practical strategies and tips for delivering significant messages successfully.

Is it Alive? Read the Project Vital Signs

June 12, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

Everybody's reading the vital signs of their systems: pilots, surgeons, mechanics, and money managers. Every industry has its method of checks and counter-checks to ensure successful completion of their projects—except us! Many project managers do use a metric known as "percent complete," which is an insidious vital sign at best. To aid project managers in this arena, this webinar with Raj Kapur will discuss a highly effective eighteen-point plan for monitoring project vital signs. In the same way as a physician monitors the vital signs of a patient, so project managers can use project vital signs to assume direct responsibility for monitoring, reporting, and taking action to correct project management problems. Failure to do so will prevent decision-makers from taking timely actions, forcing emergency teams to be called in to perform crisis management on projects that may already be comatose.

Right Requirements, Right Now: Strategies For Successful Software Projects

June 13, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

This webinar with Scott Stribrny distills strategies and metrics from many successful requirements projects that may serve as the foundation for your next requirements effort. You'll get an overview of a useful requirements definition process and will learn how to build a specification that unambiguously and completely describes the product. 

Nailing Jello to the Wall: Managing the Business Side of Development Contracts that use Agile/Scrum

June 14, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

Adopting the Agile/Scrum framework while maintaining a basic level of  requirements management techniques (and imposing the right amount of metrics) can be a difficult balancing act. In this webinar, Michael Bragen examines the foundation for walking the line with approaches that yield the benefits of Agile/Scrum while maintaining a useful flow of information for management. 

Estimation, Planning & Control Can Make the Difference Between Project Success and Failure

June 19, 2012
12:00 am - 1:30 pm Eastern Time

This webinar with Dan Galorath covers estimation best practices, estimation process maturity, and examples of estimation, planning and control done right.  Estimation process maturity  will be discussed, along with the ROI of such practices.  

Building an IT Command and Control Center

June 20, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

Have you ever been surprised by something of significance in your business? Have you ever gotten inconsistent information from your organization?  In this webinar, Dave Smith will  discuss a method for controlling and automating the flow of IT information so that it can be made available to teams, managers, and executives. 

Building a Powerful Project Leadership Team

June 21, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

Technical and business groups have famously tense relationships and project managers frequently find themselves in a mediating role.   This webinar with Paul Glen will explore why it is all so difficult and what you can do about it.  

Return on Process (ROP): Getting Real Performance Results from Process Improvement

June 26, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

Many enterprises continue investing in process improvement  but cannot tell you how they are benefitting from it. In this webinar with Michael West, you will learn how to measure the "return on process" (ROP) so that your process improvement efforts remain  viable and valuable business pursuits.

Human Capital Architecture:  Why Talent Consistently Underwhelms Us

June 27, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

In this webinar with National Boughton, you will learn how to maximize the adaptability of  your organization through the adoption of  a Human Capital Architecture framework that leverages a Scorecard Ecosystem and that will enable you to attract, retain and motivate all of your employees. 

The ROI of Defect Reduction (Pay Now AND Pay Later)

June 28, 2012
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time

We're all familiar with the impact of defects that reach the public eye. What we overlook is the cost of defects on the product development lifecycle. In this webinar with Joe Schofield, we'll explore how defect reduction might be the best investment organizations can make today.