America Discovers the World Delivers - As Daniel Pink tours various software development firms in India, he "hear(s) lots of talk about quality and focus and ISO and CMM certifications and getting the details right. But never - not once - does anybody mention innovation, creativity, or changing the world... And therein lies the opportunity for Americans... After all, before these Indian programmers have something to fabricate, maintain, test, or upgrade, that something first must be imagined and invented." 

New University of Michigan Executive Program - Starts this spring for mid-level and senior project leaders at the University of Michigan. At Menlo, we understand the need for innovation.  That's why we are participating in this new program. The course focuses on the role of leaders in fostering innovation and provides a toolbox of innovation methods that you can start using immediately. The program is titled "Leading Innovation: Putting Creativity to Work Where You Work" and runs May 10-12, 2004. It will be jointly taught by Jeff DeGraff, Clinical Professor of Management of Education, Matthias Martin, Corporate Creativity Consultant, and Richard Sheridan, President of Menlo Innovations. Reserve your place now.  Find out more here.

Outsourcing isn't a Zero-Sum Game - Marc Andreessen, a cofounder of Netscape Communications, comments on outsourcing and says that history has shown time and time again that new jobs and industries always arise when once established jobs are lost to outsourcing or even automation.

Thinking of Outsourcing? - There is evidence to suggest that "all IT outsourcing is likely to cost more than the average in-house delivery if the deal is poorly structured and has inadequate relationship management."

If You Want to Build Killer Software Applications - then you must build an agile software team. Period. No debate. No excuses. Learn how to adapt your software development team to survive and thrive in today’s business environment. Secrets of Software Success: Adapting Projects to an Accelerated Society is a new Menlo white paper that lays the groundwork for how your teams must change. Don’t delay, request your free copy at the bottom of this webpage.  

Don't get Phished! - "Phishing is where unsuspecting users receive emails that attempt to fool them into disclosing online banking passwords, by sending them to a site that mimics the look and feel of their bank's own site." says Munir Kotadia.  This has been going on for some time.  But now the crooks are getting so good at it that they are fooling even savvy computer users.   The Adware worm is another example of how experienced users can get tricked.  If you do get taken in though, don't look for sympathy here. (nytimes registration req'd)  

Art of Design - At Menlo we teach the the concept of High-Tech Anthropology which stresses how to design appropriate user interfaces for specific users of your software.  We enjoy reading about all types of products that are designed well and the process that is followed to create them. Read about how the lowly remote control was taken to a new level. (nytimes registration req'd)

Seven Keys to Building Great Software Products - is a new white paper by Richard Sheridan that describes the High-Tech Anthropology practices that Menlo uses to create great software products.  You should be using all of these practices on every one of your software projects! Don’t delay, request your free copy at the bottom of this webpage.

Spring is Getting Closer! - It's a good time to join us for Menlo Innovations' new "Taste of Success." Focused on High-Tech Anthropology®, the goal of this 90 minute session is to help folks understand how to create great software. The next session will be hosted on Thursday, March 18 at Menlo Innovations in Ann Arbor.

Interview with Grady Booch on various software related topics - Grady Booch, a co-founder of Rational Software, IBM fellow and widely respected authority on software development, met with CRN Senior Editor Elizabeth Montalbano after his keynote recently at EclipseCon in Anaheim, Calif. Their conversation covered a wide variety of topics.  

Finally! The Truth About What Really Contributed to that Massive Blackout Last Summer - "A previously-unknown software flaw in a widely-deployed General Electric energy management system contributed to the devastating scope of the August 14th northeastern U.S. blackout, industry officials revealed [recently]."  Oh, and in case you missed it, remember that picture of the blackout from space that was making the email rounds late last summer?  Well, it was really a fake.