This article is a placeholder for content to be included in [Transforming knowledge and vision into action] ''The ideas below will be developed much further.'' Focus on areas of emphasis which have high value; explore alternative ways of achieving that focus. Address: *Real-time information on goals and progress *Facilities to enable seamless flow of information on a 'pull' basis. *Enable work distribution regardless of where the talent is Tools can help improve communications & information flow, automate mundane calculations, perform transformations and rule checking on data, and synthesize, track, and manage information and relationships. Tools are particularly useful when they help to avoid errors (example: syntax-directed editing of source code; digital pre-assembly of parts. Both share ability to avoid propogating certain kinds of errors 'down-stream'. Also need to reference article on [It's not the tool, it's how you use it: a new business model for delivery of information systems], or incorporate content in here. Explain how tools can promote experimentation, ie configuration management features with rollback. Explain how risk management tracking can allow periodic updates of status without burdensome polling of people. When analyzing the benefits of tools, be sure to analyze the costs as well. Tools need to be kept up to date and supported, and people need to be taught to use them. Once you've used the tool for a long time, you may end up with considerable intellectual property 'built' into the infrastructure of a particular tool, and find it difficult to change tools if the provider of that tool raises their price or drops their support.