Systems and networks are only as strong as their weakest links. Humans have long been identified as the leading cause of network breaches. With “5 new cyber threat samples being identified every second in Q1 of 2018” (McAfee), the human factor cannot and should not be underestimated…
All companies have a vision, strategy and set of values that define their organisation and their way of working. The differentiating factor, when it comes to customer experience, is whether the values of the organisation are apparent in every interaction you have with them. The beauty of being a smaller consulting firm is that we have a culture that lives and breathes ou
With the traditional Waterfall Development Model, the requirements for software are clear and well-defined in advance. The definition of the product itself is also stable. Developers program the software, after which, the operational teams handle its implementation. But the world of IT is changing fast. Requirements change very often, and software must be developed at an ever-increasing pace…
Coaching and peer coaching are two terms that are often used interchangeably, but incorrectly so. These two concepts are actually very different. Where traditional coaching (or mentoring) involves one person imparting information and skills on to another, peer coaching is defined as a confidential process through which two or more professional colleagues work together to:
To survive and grow in today’s cutthroat business world, innovation, which previously may have felt like just another catchy buzzword, has become an absolute necessity. If you look at start-ups as an example, you’ll find that many manage to grab market attention initially due to an innovative idea, but soon after they find themselves in hot water as competitors, some who have been in the game…
We all know the saying “customer is king”. It’s a motto that was popularised within the retail industry, but today holds water for pretty much any industry you can think of. With this move to a customer-centric world, developing any new product or service without a clear understanding of your customer’s needs is like serving the perfect steak at your dinner party but then….
With a major shift towards agile delivery, there has been some confusion around the role of the project manager within this new world. Agile thinking introduced the concept of a scrum master, which may seem similar to a project manager on the surface, but is in fact distinctly different. The 2 most important things to understand are…
Teams have been around for as long as we all can probably remember. Being a “team player” has become a key requirement in most job specifications and everyone likes to think that they’re getting this whole team dynamic thing right. This may be true to some extent, but there’s a big difference between a team that happens to be co-located and working on similar systems/processes and a high-performing team that…
American businessman, hedge fund manager & billionaire, Paul Tudor Jones, once said: “You adapt, evolve, compete or die”. Very strong words indeed, but in today’s constantly evolving business market, this is a harsh reality that all businesses need to face up to. Organisational agility is defined as a company’s ability to rapidly change or adapt to market changes. The higher your degree of agility, the better your chances…
Virtual teams (otherwise known as distributed, geographically dispersed or remote teams) have become the norm as more and more businesses decide to tap into the many cost, skill and productivity benefits that come with being able to hire the best of the best. An added benefit of virtual teams is the flexibility that they offer to scale up or down, as required by the needs of a project, without having to consider the traditional overhead…