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Before you Kill that Project, by Bart Perkins
Bart Perkins describes the often unanticipated ramifications that must be anticipated before a failing project is finally stopped.
COMPUTERWORLD, March 10, 2008

The Pitfalls of Social Networking, by Bart Perkins
Bart Perkins asserts that although social networking can be very beneficial in the office, there are a number of potential problems that must be managed.
COMPUTERWORLD, February 11, 2008

Follow the Loser, by Bart Perkins
Bart Perkins argues that if you have a pulse, it is easier to follow a CIO who is viewed as a complete failure, rather than a CIO who is highly regarded.
COMPUTERWORLD, January 14, 2008

Know which Risks Matter, by Bart Perkins
Bart Perkins describes four types of risk, each with a different mitigation strategy
COMPUTERWORLD, December 17, 2007

Don't take a CHUMP job, by Bart Perkins
Bart Perkins asserts that CIO jobs whose sole purpose is to develop and communicate long-term IT vision and strategy without an operational responsibility are doomed to failure.
COMPUTERWORLD, November 19, 2007

ITIL Starts to Make Sense in v3, by Bart Perkins
Bart Perkins argues that the expanded scope of v3 will become much more useful since it facilitates business trade-offs, is more prescriptive and addresses executive audiences as well as IT.
COMPUTERWORLD, October 15, 2007

Ten Ways to Cut Energy Costs, by Bart Perkins
Bart Perkins offers ten ideas for cutting the energy costs of the IT department.
COMPUTERWORLD, September 10, 2007

Environmental Mandates on the IT Horizon, by Bart Perkins
Bart Perkins discusses some of the European and U.S. legislation requiring IT manufacturers, as well as companies that use that equipment, to become greener.
COMPUTERWORLD, August 13, 2007

When to Fix a Broken Process: Before or After Outsourcing, by Bart Perkins
Bart Perkins contrasts the benefits of fixing a broken process before outsourcing with the benefits of letting the outsourcer fix the broken process.
COMPUTERWORLD, July 23, 2007

RFPs: The Cost of Being Unclear, by Bart Perkins
RFPs produce much better results than RRPS that are not clear, says Bart Perkins.
COMPUTERWORLD, June 11, 2007

How to Jump Start a Records Management Program, by Bart Perkins
Bart Perkins offers suggestions on how to get a good records management program underway.
COMPUTERWORLD, May 21, 2007

12 Things You Know about Projects but Choose to Ignore, by Bart Perkins
Good records retention is important as a result of legislation, costly penalties in several recent high profile cases, and awareness by the legal profession, says Bart Perkins.
COMPUTERWORLD, March 12, 2007

How to Conduct a Post Project Review, by Bart Perkins
Bart Perkins asserts that a comprehensive post project review requires more effort than simply getting a few people in a room to discuss a project.  This article describes the necessary steps required for a worthwhile post project review..
COMPUTERWORLD, February 12, 2007

Postproject Reviews: They're Critical, by Bart Perkins
A PPR provides an opportunity for team members to reflect and report on their experiences in a way that helps the organization learn constructive lessons, says Bart Perkins.
COMPUTERWORLD, January 15, 2007

Assessments Are Opportunities, by Bart Perkins
Opinion: Baseline reviews, audits and other assessments are opportunities to reevaluate direction, change strategy and enter new markets, says Bart Perkins. Don't let them go to waste.
COMPUTERWORLD, December 18, 2006

Managing IT as a Professional Services Firm, by Bart Perkins
Savvy Fortune 500 IT organizations are finding that adopting management concepts from legal, consulting and accounting organizations increases their effectiveness. Bart Perkins provides some examples you can try.
COMPUTERWORLD, November 20, 2006

IT Attitude Check, by Bart Perkins
Treat your customers as if they could take their IT business elsewhere, says Bart Perkins. It’s more and more likely that they can.
COMPUTERWORLD, October 23, 2006

Budget Busters Are Looming, by Bart Perkins
You may have wrestled compliance to a draw, but don't relax yet, says Bart Perkins. He sees a lineup of big-ticket expenses ahead for IT departments.
COMPUTERWORLD, September 11, 2006

Bad News Is Not Like Fine Wine, by Bart Perkins
Ignoring problems almost never improves them, says Bart Perkins. He offers some tips on facing bad news in a timely and effective way.
COMPUTERWORLD, August 14, 2006

Stifling IT Innovation, by Bart Perkins
It's easy to demand innovation from IT, says Bart Perkins, but in many cases, it may be nearly impossible for IT to deliver.
COMPUTERWORLD, July 10, 2006

The Long Fuse to Fusion, by Bart Perkins
Oracle's upcoming Fusion migration will require customers to make some hard business decisions, says columnist Bart Perkins. And the time to develop a strategy is now.
COMPUTERWORLD, June 12 2006

IT Energy Costs: The Quiet Budget Killer, by Bart Perkins
Reducing your energy use is a relatively easy way to reduce your infrastructure costs, says columnist Bart Perkins. Here are lots of suggestions to get you started.
COMPUTERWORLD, May 8, 2006

The Pervasive Potholes of Charge-out, by Bart Perkins
Bart Perkins offers advice on how to avoid eight potholes that can make your route to effective charge-out unnecessarily bumpy.
COMPUTERWORLD, April 10, 2006

Outsourcing: Out of Sight, Out of Mind? by Bart Perkins
A yard-care outsourcing debacle reminded Bart Perkins that you can outsource an IT function but never its management.
COMPUTERWORLD, March 13, 2006

Don't Outsource Program Management, by Bart Perkins
You can outsource individual projects, but never abdicate responsibility for program management, says Bart Perkins. He tells why you need to maintain accountability in-house and how to do it.
COMPUTERWORLD, January 16, 2006

Katrina Brought Out the Best Of IT by Bart Perkins
Rallied by the American Red Cross, a large group of IT vendors put aside competition and profit in a highly effective team effort to assist with relief after Hurricane Katrina.
COMPUTERWORLD, December 5, 2005

Penny Wise and Pound Foolish, by Bart Perkins
Software consolidation has many obvious benefits, says Bart Perkins, but it's time to look at some of the more troubling long-term implications. COMPUTERWORLD, November 14, 2005

Leveraging the Risk/Reward Contract, by Bart Perkins
Managing risk/reward contracts requires extra effort and a new mind-set, says Bart Perkins, but the benefits are worth it.
COMPUTERWORLD, October 10, 2005

Executive Sponsors: What They Really Do, by Bart Perkins
Executive sponsors are crucial to an IT project's success, but only if they do what they ought to be doing. Bart Perkins has some ideas about that.
COMPUTERWORLD, September 12, 2005

The Elusive Executive Sponsor, by Bart Perkins
Business people can be reluctant to take on an executive sponsor role, but don't let them off the hook, Bart Perkins says. He offers some suggestions to get them to commit.
COMPUTERWORLD, August 8, 2005

 A Separate IT Capital Pool Makes No Sense, by Bart Perkins
Eliminating discreet capital allocation processes for IT and business is a boon to both, Bart Perkins says.
COMPUTERWORLD, July 11, 2005

Business Cases:  What, Why and How, by Bart Perkins
If your IT priorities aren't based on business cases you're shooting in the dark, says Bart Perkins. Here's why you need to build them and how.
COMPUTERWORLD, June 23, 2005

Management Controls: A Lost Art, by Bart Perkins
Good management controls are the basic blocking and and tackling of IT, says Bart Perkins. By letting controls at your company grow lax, you're setting yourself up for embarrassment and failure.
COMPUTERWORLD, May 9, 2005

Strategic Cost Accounting, by Bart Perkins
Accurate IT cost accounting is crucial to making good trade-offs, says Bart Perkins. Here's how it will help your business make the right decisions.
COMPUTERWORLD, April 11, 2005

Share the Spoils, by Bart Perkins
Helping your suppliers reduce costs takes time and effort, but it makes you a preferred customer and can save you money.
COMPUTERWORLD, March 14, 2005

Enterprise Agreements?  Not So Fast! by Bart Perkins
Sure, corporatewide contracts often save you money, but be careful, says Bart Perkins. In some circumstances they can backfire.
COMPUTERWORLD, February 14, 2005

Funding Your Infrastructure, by Bart Perkins
The IT infrastructure is the foundation of corporate productivity, but it's not sexy, so nobody wants to pay for it. Bart Perkins suggests some strategies for getting the business to see the light.
COMPUTERWORLD, January 17, 2005

Don't Outsource These!  by Bart Perkins
Knowing which IT functions belong in-house is as important as deciding what to outsource, Bart Perkins says. Here are some of the keepers.
COMPUTERWORLD, December 14, 2004

Outsourcing: First Ask Why, by Bart Perkins
By identifying reasons to outsource early, you can make better decisions, says Bart Perkins
COMPUTERWORLD, November 8, 2004

Development Drop-Down Budgeting, by Bart Perkins
Ongoing infrastructure and support costs for new development can throw your hard-won budget out of whack, says Bart Perkins. Plan carefully to avoid nasty surprises.
COMPUTERWORLD, October 11, 2004

Your Other IT Budget
Gearing up for the budget wars? A different mind-set could provide additional ammunition -- and allies. Bart Perkins tells how.
COMPUTERWORLD, September 13, 2004

Objectivity: Don't Settle for Less, by Bart Perkins
IT vendor consolidation has made objective advice a rarity, says Bart Perkins. But good IT planning demands unbiased guidance. Here's how to get it.
COMPUTERWORLD, August 9, 2004

Regenerating IT, by Bart Perkins
Amputating a "broken" IT shop through outsourcing squanders precious time and resources, says Bart Perkins. You're better off investing in a sound project to bring the failed organization back to life.
COMPUTERWORLD, July 12, 2004

Risk/Reward Contracts:  Laying the Foundation, by Bart Perkins
Bart Perkins looks at how to manage risk/reward contracts to maximize the rewards and minimize the risks.
COMPUTERWORLD, May 10, 2004

It’s Time for a Risk/Reward System, by Bart Perkins
Sharing the risk on a contract benefits the IT customer and the vendor, says Bart Perkins. Here's how shared risk contracts work.
COMPUTERWORLD, April 12, 2004

The Peanut Butter Syndrome, by Bart Perkins
Bart Perkins says that if you squeeze the central IT budget too hard, you'll force the pent-up IT demand to spill over into the budgets of the business units.
COMPUTERWORLD, March 8, 2004

 The Case of the Missing Metrics, by Bart Perkins
When dealing with outsourcing contractors, "if you don't use the metrics you designed and negotiated, you'll get the performance you deserve," says Bart Perkins.
COMPUTERWORLD, February 9, 2004

Offshore Mania, by Bart Perkins
Bart Perkins reminds us that business people need to slow down and make sure that they're sending work to locations that offer the best combination of cost and service.
COMPUTERWORLD, January 19, 2004

Big Outsourcers: Behind the Eight Ball, by Bart Perkins
Bart Perkins says the big outsourcers are being undercut by smaller upstarts. It's bad news for giants like IBM and EDS, but it could mean falling prices for their clients.
COMPUTERWORLD, December 8, 2003 

Outsourcing’s Dirty Little Secret, by Bart Perkins
Bart Perkins says many users wind up unhappy with their outsourcing deals, for reasons ranging from "sales puffery" to insufficient performance monitoring. Sometimes it's simply because the execs who were enthusiastic about the deal have left.
COMPUTERWORLD, November 10, 2003

Offshore:  The Third Time's the Charm,  by Bart Perkins
Bart Perkins says the conditions are right for this third wave of offshore IT outsourcing to be more successful than the first two.

COMPUTERWORLD, October 13, 2003

Selecting the Right Offshore Vehicle,  by Bart Perkins
Bart Perkins says there are different types of offshore outsourcing vendors, and it's wise to pick the type that fits your company culture, requirements and risk profile.

COMPUTERWORLD, September 15, 2003

The Forgotten Side of Outsourcing, by Bart Perkins
Bart Perkins says you must consider and manage the people issues when making outsourcing decisions. Reckless outsourcing can strip your organization of talent and sow fear in the remaining staff.
COMPUTERWORLD, September 8, 2003

Terminator 4: How to Fire Suppliers, by Bart Perkins
Careful and regular pruning of your IT vendors will reduce costs and complexity, says Bart Perkins. He provides guidelines for doing it right.
COMPUTERWORLD, August 11, 2003

Oracle, PeopleSoft and You, by Bart Perkins
Oracle's effort to take over PeopleSoft underscores the need for CIOs to protect their own interests in software contracts, says columnist Bart Perkins.
COMPUTERWORLD, July 21, 2003

A Reality Check on Going Offshore, by Bart Perkins
Bart Perkins provides a checklist of issues to consider -- from U.S. privacy and security laws to potential employee backlash -- before taking the offshore IT outsourcing plunge.
COMPUTERWORLD, June 16, 2003

What You Measure is What You Get, by Bart Perkins
How to get the most of your IT services contract.
COMPUTERWORLD, May 12, 2003

Readying for a Trip Offshore, by Bart Perkins
Consider the same consequences for offshore outsourcing as you would in any outsourcing decision, warns columnist Bart Perkins.
COMPUTERWORLD, April 21, 2003

Look Before You Leap to Outsource, by Bart Perkins
Do your homework before leaping into an outsourcing contract, advises columnist Bart Perkins.
COMPUTERWORLD, March 10, 2003

What CIOs Need from IT Suppliers, by Bart Perkins
Deciding which suppliers to retain is a complex decision. Columnist Bart Perkins offers CIOs a checklist they can use to decide which suppliers should be on their A-list.
COMPUTERWORLD, February 10, 2003

Manage Suppliers for Project Success, by Bart Perkins
About $75 billion is spent yearly on failed IT projects, and poor management and methodology are the chief culprits, says columnist Bart Perkins.
COMPUTERWORLD, January 27, 2003

Develop a Supplier Contingency Plan, by Bart Perkins
Who could have anticipated the fast demise of WorldCom or Arthur Andersen? In today's market, you need to prepare for the unforeseeable. For IT managers, that means developing a supplier contingency plan.
COMPUTERWORLD, December 9, 2002

A Squeezed Supplier Never Forgets, by Bart Perkins
Anyone can cut supplier costs in a buyer's market. Suppliers expect to be squeezed. But don't squeeze too hard, as it's bound to leave your suppliers angry and waiting for revenge.
COMPUTERWORLD, November 11, 2002

Buying Well Is the Best Revenge, by Bart Perkins
Six key steps to developing a successful IT sourcing strategy
COMPUTERWORLD, October 14, 2002

The Other Three Rs, by Bart Perkins
Forget reading, writing and arithmetic. There are three new Rs to supplier management. Here's how to put them to work to cut costs.
COMPUTERWORLD, September 9, 2002

Divide, Conquer, Save, by Bart Perkins
So many suppliers . . . so little time, money, staff and patience to manage them effectively. Your baseline of IT suppliers identified thousands of vendors.  But you can't treat them all equally. Don't even try - divide and conquer.
COMPUTERWORLD, August 12, 2002

Step 1: The Baseline, by Bart Perkins
Establishing a baseline of information on your IT suppliers and the way you buy products and services marks the first phase in gaining better leverage from your vendors and in your buying processes.
COMPUTERWORLD, July 8, 2002

Discipline by Design by Bart Perkins
Having a disciplined process to guide IT purchasing can save your company money. But more important, it can help you simplify your corporate IT architecture.
COMPUTERWORLD, June 10, 2002

More Isn't Better, by Bart Perkins
Want to wring costs out of your purchasing budget? A good way to begin is to initiate a supplier portfolio management program and whittle the number of your company's IT suppliers. Here are the steps you should take.
COMPUTERWORLD, May 13, 2002

IT Procurement Goes Big Time, by Chris Woodward, Scott Knell and Cher Boespflug
CSC Foundation Research Journal, Computer Sciences Corporation, May 2002

Buying the Elephant--A Portfolio Approach to IT Procurement, by Scott Knell
Info-Tech, April 16, 2002

After the Purchase, by Bart Perkins
It's critically important today for IT to provide a good return on what it spends. And effective supplier management is one of the best ways to leverage external spending and boost the IT organization's success. So says former CIO Bart Perkins in his debut as a Computerworld columnist.
COMPUTERWORLD, April 8, 2002

Purchasing Model Broken
IT leaders rarely have a clear buying strategy when it comes to technology purchases. As a result, they often wind up following the strategies of their vendors, according to panelists at Computerworld's Premier 100 conference.
COMPUTERWORLD, March 5, 2002

How to Choose an IT Vendor
Twelve tips from managers on picking a technology supplier -- and cutting through marketing blather.
COMPUTERWORLD, February 25, 2002

Where Do You Fit?
There are predictable stages that companies go through in selecting a vendor. You might be surprised to discover where your organization ranks.
COMPUTERWORLD, February 25, 2002

 

 
 
   
   
   
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