Paul Krill
Editor at Large

BizOps Manifesto urges business-tech alignment

news
Oct 14, 20202 mins

Coalition sets down 14 guiding principles to ensure that digital transformation projects meet business objectives

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A coalition of technologists and executives known as the BizOps Coalition is looking to bridge the gap between technology investments and business outcomes, via a effort called the BizOps Manifesto, presented as a framework to address the issue.

The manifesto, published on the BizOps Coalition website October 13, outlines 14 guiding principles to help organizations achieve business outcomes via a framework that celebrates trust, confidence, and collaboration.

Some of the principles of the BizOps Manifesto include:

  • Business outcomes are the ultimate measure of digital transformation initiatives.
  • Business leaders need to make informed technology investment decisions that drive business growth, improve customer experience, increase employee engagement, and maximize profitability.
  • Requirements should change frequently, based on changing market, customer, and business requirements. Changes are welcome even after software is in production.
  • The way to build trust and respect is through transparency, communication, meaningful measurement, and shared objectives.

The manifesto also covers notions such as augmenting decisions with AI/ML and building in quality at every step of the value stream. Developing tools to integrate data across silos is also a goal of the initiative. Analytics capabilities are sought, also. Some organizations involved already have developed tools in this space.

The coalition, which includes officials from companies such as Tasktop, Broadcom, Appvance.ai, and Business Agility Institute, cited research that found a disconnect between IT and business units that results in significant costs. Too many digital transformation projects do not meet objectives but new projects are started daily without a clear roadmap for success, the coalition argued.

The group aims to provide thought leadership, education, and best practices for software development and operations. More participants are welcome to join by signing up at the project website. Anyone can sign up. In particular, the coalition seeks more software tools vendors including those in the DevSecOps space.

The BizOps Manifesto harks back to the days of the Agile Manifesto, forged in early-2001 as an effort to establish the principles of agile software development. Similar to how agile programming changed software development processes, the BizOps Coalition view BizOps as a culture shift.

Paul Krill

Paul Krill is editor at large at InfoWorld. Paul has been covering computer technology as a news and feature reporter for more than 35 years, including 30 years at InfoWorld. He has specialized in coverage of software development tools and technologies since the 1990s, and he continues to lead InfoWorld’s news coverage of software development platforms including Java and .NET and programming languages including JavaScript, TypeScript, PHP, Python, Ruby, Rust, and Go. Long trusted as a reporter who prioritizes accuracy, integrity, and the best interests of readers, Paul is sought out by technology companies and industry organizations who want to reach InfoWorld’s audience of software developers and other information technology professionals. Paul has won a “Best Technology News Coverage” award from IDG.

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