Author Archives: John

The Agile Process Showdown at Jama: Scrum versus Crystal or Maybe a Hybrid?

At Jama, we work with a wide range of companies using different software development processes. And, despite all the evangelism by the process gods in our industry, if there is one thing we’ve learned over the years it’s that no single process is the best practice for all companies. What works for one company, [...]

Innovation Design Keynote at Autodesk University – shifting from “What if?” to “What else?”

Earlier this morning, I was among the 10,000+ attendees at the Autodesk University event in Las Vegas and took in the keynote address that included Carl Bass, Autodesk’s CEO, Jeff Kowalski, Autodesk’s CTO and Tom Kelley, the general manager of IDEO, one the world’s premier product design firms.
A couple of key take-aways emerged.

1.  From What [...]

Customer Spotlight: Welcome to GrapeCity.

GrapeCity, an award-winning software development firm, offers a variety of services to help its clients develop new products and achieve their business goals.  GrapeCity’s client list includes global brands such as Microsoft, Accenture, Sony, Procter & Gamble, Intel, Mitsubishi, AT&T and Johnson & Johnson.  

GrapeCity specializes in two kinds of projects. First, they [...]

What’s the value of requirements management in a down economy?

You open a newspaper, turn on the TV, surf the Web – the news is dominated by the economic downturn.  Is it a worldwide financial crisis? Is it a bona fide recession?  How long will it last?  Who knows.  All I know is that you can’t escape it.  In one way or another, it [...]

The 5 Signs You Know You Need Web-based Requirements Management.

If you’re like 80% of companies, you’re still using documents, spreadsheets and email to manage product requirements.  It’s easy enough.  You fire up Microsoft Word, you start writing your Software Requirements Specification (SRS) or the Product Requirements Document (PRD).  When you’re done, you email it to the team, maybe post the content up on [...]

Announcing Jama Contour v2.4: Building great software products just got a little easier.

Each year in the U.S. alone, over $30 billion is wasted on failed software development projects.  And, the major causes for why these projects fail consistently tie back to requirements management.
Jama Software’s mission is to eliminate that failure by enabling companies to take a more collaborative, customer-driven approach to product planning and development.
The latest release [...]

Building the Web 2.0 enterprise - The McKinsey Global Survey Results are out.

Not surprising, companies are using more Web 2.0 tools and technologies now than they were last year. The latest survey results from The McKinsey Quarterly on “Building the Web 2.0 Enterprise” illustrate the growing investments in Web 2.0 technologies.
The shifts that are occurring are in how and where Web 2.0 tools are being applied. [...]

The State of Requirements Management Report - over 1,500 downloads and counting…

What’s the link between requirements management and product innovation? Where are companies getting their next great product ideas? What are the real challenges and barriers to success? Agile, Waterfall, Iterative - which processes are teams really using?
These are a few of the questions we explored in a recent survey with product managers, [...]

Social networking is not innovation management.

There’s been much attention recently given to social networking and collaboration as it applies to the business process of innovation. It’s fueled by a growing crop of companies that are adopting a more open innovation model and inviting their communities of customers, partners and employees to participate in the process of sharing ideas, discussing [...]

Jama Software named Finalist for OEN Awards.

The Oregon Entrepreneurs Network has selected Jama Software as one of four finalists for the 15th Annual 2008 OEN Tom Holce Awards for Entrepreneurship in the Development Category.
Finalists and award winners will be recognized during the event at the Oregon Convention Center on September 18, 2008. This year’s event theme “Rogues and Renegades” honors the [...]