Comments on: TOC 2009 (Tools of Change, or Twitter-Optimized Conversation)

By: Anthony Bouch

Anthony Bouch — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 21:02:24 +0000

Hi Alison – there are some interesting theories floating around about ‘management generations’ – and how ’systems’ – especially thinking about requirements and some elementary analysis of systems – should be part of all of the other major disciplines in business now. In fact Ross Anderson (a very well known professor of security engineering at Cambridge) recently suggested that the recent crisis in the financial markets was caused in part by finance folk that understood finance, but not complex systems. But then of course there are guilty parties on both sides of the fence when it comes to IT…

By: Alison Jones

Alison Jones — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 09:29:37 +0000

Anthony, you’ve got it. Except that too often publishers – and, as you say, many others – don’t particularly WANT to understand how systems work, which makes bridging the gap that much more difficult. Some of the most frustrating moments in my live involve stalemates with business representatives on the one hand saying, effectively, ‘Let it be thus’ (for very valid business reasons) and the systems people on the other hand saying, effectively, ‘Computer says no’, again for very valid IT reasons. You say it’s easy to get right – but very few publishers find themselves in the position of being able to build from the ground up to suit the current environment; more often we’re trying to make legacy systems perform tricks they were never designed to cope with. And I love my IT colleagues who get this, and who engage with me on the strategy as well as the substructure.

By: Anthony Bouch

Anthony Bouch — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 04:40:33 +0000

Hi Sarah – when it comes to systems there are several important themes I think, but the overriding one – which you’ve hinted at – is the systems paradox. Publishers (like so many other industries) need systems – but do not (strictly speaking) understand how they work, or are built. I think being able to build awareness and understanding at least in terms of principles, best practises, current trends etc. including some of the nuts and bolts, is one of the most important roles that IT can play. Helping to bridge the gap should also help businesses to set strategy and make informed commercial decisions. The good news is that the industry is maturing, and I think the thought leaders in the IT industries are slowly getting through (thanks of course to the blogosphere and other corners of the Web).

By: Sara Lloyd

Sara Lloyd — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 13:22:43 +0000

Anthony – Would love to hear more re what you mean by this. I think publishers often find systems rater irritating and boring – getting in the way of the real work, the creative work! But I agree getting them right can make or break so many processes.

By: Anthony Bouch

Anthony Bouch — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 11:52:12 +0000

+1 for understanding systems better – especially distributed systems, security and architectural best practices. It’s not that difficult to get right – but it’s very easy to get wrong – leaving an organization and its strategy hobbled in the process.

By: Suzanne Axtell

Suzanne Axtell — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 17:20:44 +0000

Thanks for these overarching thoughts about TOC, particularly the “horizontal connections” you note–that’s very exciting.