About my Magma consulting activities

I mentioned earlier the Architecture Journal n°15 from Microsoft, where the monthly focus is on the role and definition of what's an architect (in software development, in business roles or in systems). And a good initiative has been taken by the IASA ( International association for Software Architects ) for trying to streamline the profiles, the core competencies that are needed etc. I believe they are right with that kind of exercise, because every job category needs some basic foundations - which are currently lacking in the software architecture world.

MS Office SharePoint Server 2007 standalone training made available! Microsoft has had a good idea with proposing standalone courses around web development, presenting the whole course track with Knowledge Management topics. Clearly, this means that the education material has been made available with a human readable lingo, with clear concepts like "Collaboration", "Enterprise Content Management" or "Search". There is also a good mix between readings and video sessions, just to see theory in practice. You can download the MS SharePoint Server 2007 standalone training version right here

Top ten Architecture articles and tutorials - December 2007 A good selection of technical articles and some documentation about the important software development shifts that are happening with Agile and SOA concepts. Check this out on the IBM side: http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/architecture/topten/ar-toptendec2007.html Check also a special edition of the Architecture journal on the Microsoft side, with the edition 15 "The role of an architect" ( http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/arcjournal/default.aspx ) Happy reading!

As KM finally grown up ? is the title of an interesting article you can read on the Knowledgeboard (check http://www.knowledgeboard.com/item/2874 ) where Jane McKenzie analyzes 4 major trends of evolution: 1. The globalization and the partnership structure (involving more stakeholders in your business value chain) has a dual side. Being more flexible and acquiring knowledge on demand has a price: adding a partner is adding a layer of complexity and cultural perceptions. This is a real challenge; 2. The customer is always right: increased expectation on the customer side requires more innovative ideas and approaches. That is why innovation is a real KM topic and why knowledge managers and workers have to take care of it; 3. Knowledge on the move: The HR challenge resides in the knowledge expertise and knowledge retention. All companies in the world need to identify, share and acquire available and experienced knowledge before it leaves the company (on retirements for example);

I mentioned earlier on this Blog the MIT (Sloan Management School) resources that were very interesting and helpful in a life long education track. Check also regularly the Podcast the school proposes, where you will have hundred of good listening session (listen to the Intellectual Capital series from Intellectual Capital: Alan White's World View ).