| [epf-dev] CFP |
|
Call for
Papers
Cutter IT Journal Claude R. Baudoin, Guest Editor Abstract Submission Date: 8 December 2006 Articles Due: 22 January 2007 The IT Innovation Process: Necessity or Oxymoron? The word "innovation" seems to be the buzzword du jour in the IT world. Consulting firms promise to tell you how to innovate. Independent inventors form loose networks of people who, Web 2.0-style, market their skills on open networks. Once staid companies, gun-shy after the excesses of the late '90s and the "tech bubble," are now looking for emerging information technologies that can positively impact their bottom line. The US in particular has caught a case of "outsourcing vertigo": activities that are based on repetitive actions, or are capital-intensive, have often gone overseas, and so have engineering and services activities that do not require close physical proximity. Like Wiley Coyote when he discovers that there is no ground under his feet any more, we need to catch the closest branch to avoid falling into the ravine: can Innovation, with a capital I, be our salvation? At the same time, what does it mean to innovate in a culture that defines the success of a company according to quarterly earnings per share? How do you reconcile the need for a healthy pipeline of new IT-based product capabilities that ensure long-term growth with the need to manage R&D costs to satisfy the shareholders? The above dilemma is only perhaps the most obvious. Another one is the tension between internal and external innovation (back to "outsourcing" again!). If we open our arms to ideas coming from outside, how do we tell our best and brightest engineers and researchers, "We love you, too?" On the other hand, if we want to jealously guard the confidentiality of any invention that might give us a competitive edge, how can we possibly sign a research contract with a university, where work is still governed by the "publish or perish" dictum? Next, what is the right level of risk? Much has been written on the fact that if you don't fail enough, it means you're not daring enough. But we've all known senior managers who would use a form of that exhortation, pushing their middle managers and R&D directors to "take more risk" -- and who would then mercilessly punish those whose projects failed, especially if the failure was expensive (yet not as expensive, by far, as their last failed acquisition). So in the middle of all the claims by "innovation consultants," authors of books on innovation, marketplaces for innovators, and so on, one question still remains. In an organization that has a mission, a strategy, and metrics oriented toward a mainstream business model (be it products, services, or the indefinable cop-out word "solutions"), how does one manage innovation, especially innovation in IT, which is often not the core competency of the company? The March 2007 issue of the Cutter IT Journal proposes to resolve some of the myths inherent in the current infatuation with innovation. We invite useful and thoughtful analysis and debate, especially if based on real experience, from technology managers, IT managers, business managers, consultants, and academics on the best ways to foster, maintain, and exploit innovation in information technologies in an organization. TOPICS OF INTEREST MAY INCLUDE (but are not limited to) the following: * Does innovation "just happen," or can you foster it? What central function, if any, do you need in order to organize the process? Do you hurt innovation by pushing for it (hence the "oxymoron" in the title)? How much innovation do you need if you are an IT vendor, and how much if you are not? * What is the appropriate balance of external vs. internal sourcing of innovation? Are there examples of companies that have entirely outsourced their IT innovation and preserved their ability to gain a competitive advantage from new ideas? * Can your existing IT employees contribute innovations? Can you have "innovation Fridays" to match the more casual way of dressing? Does it require a Ph.D. to innovate, or how broadly can you make the sparks fly? Can you tell who would thrive if you let them work on skunkworks projects? How do you motivate and reward them for doing it -- and their bosses for allowing it? * What do you do once you have a promising invention? How do you get the rest of the organization, which may already be busy on a set roadmap, to make room for something coming "out of left field"? TO SUBMIT AN ARTICLE IDEA Please respond to Claude Baudoin, claude[dot]baudoin[at]slb[dot]com, with a copy to itjournal[at]cutter[dot]com, no later than 8 December 2006 and include an extended abstract and a short article outline showing major discussion points. ARTICLE DEADLINE Articles are due on 22 January 2007. EDITORIAL GUIDELINES Most Cutter IT Journal articles are approximately 2,500-3,500 words long, plus whatever graphics are appropriate. If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact CITJ's Group Publisher, Christine Generali at cgenerali[at]cutter[dot]com or the Guest Editor, Claude Baudoin at claude[dot]baudoin[at]slb[dot]com. Editorial guidelines are available at http://www.cutter.com/content-and-analysis/journals-and-reports/cut ter-it-journal/edguide.html AUDIENCE Typical readers of Cutter IT Journal range from CIOs and vice presidents of software organizations to IT managers, directors, project leaders, and very senior technical staff. Most work in fairly large organizations: Fortune 500 IT shops, large computer vendors (IBM, HP, etc.), and government agencies. 48% of our readership is outside of the US (15% from Canada, 14% Europe, 5% Australia/NZ, 14% elsewhere). Please avoid introductory-level, tutorial coverage of a topic. Assume you're writing for someone who has been in the industry for 10 to 20 years, is very busy, and very impatient. Assume he or she will be asking, "What's the point? What do I do with this information?" Apply the "So what?" test to everything you write. PROMOTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES We are pleased to offer Journal authors a year's complimentary subscription and 10 copies of the issue in which they are published. In addition, we occasionally pull excerpts, along with the author's bio, to include in our weekly Cutter Edge e-mail bulletin, which reaches another 8,000 readers. We'd also be pleased to quote you, or passages from your article, in Cutter press releases. If you plan to be speaking at industry conferences, we can arrange to make copies of your article or the entire issue available for attendees of those speaking engagements -- furthering your own promotional efforts. ABOUT CUTTER IT JOURNAL No other journal brings together so many cutting-edge thinkers, and lets them speak so bluntly and frankly. We strive to maintain the Journal's reputation as the "Harvard Business Review of IT." Our goal is to present well-grounded opinion (based on real, accountable experiences), research, and animated debate about each topic the Journal explores. FEEL FREE TO FORWARD THIS CALL FOR PAPERS TO ANYONE WHO MIGHT HAVE AN APPROPRIATE SUBMISSION. Scott W. Ambler Practice Leader Agile Development, IBM Senior Contributing Editor, Dr. Dobb's Journal http://www-306.ibm.com/software/rational/bios/ambler.html Every organization gets the process that it deserves.
|