This is a placeholder to explore how planning for the war in Iraq might have gone differently had risk management processes been in place. It is intended to draw on material from two sources:
* http://intelligence.senate.gov/iraqreport2.pdf
* http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa335.pdf

*High, middle, and low estimates
*Assumptions of estimates
*Scope of estimates

''This article provides a brief summary of the many efforts within industry and government to wrestle the beast of unprecedented systems and implementing major organizational changes to the ground. We use the word 'beast' in the same sense that Tom Peters, in his latest book ([weblink:595]), reminds us that old maps labeled uncharted territory with notations such as 'There be dragons here', to warn the unwary of the dangers inherent in such situations.'' The current (and popular) quality, cost, and governance initiatives in industry and government typically focus on ways to get efforts off on best possible foot, improve communications, leverage knowledge and learning, and manage cost, schedule, and quality drivers. All of these things are obviously laudable goals. Examples of such approaches that have been introduced over the last 20 years in pursuit of these goals include: *Standards efforts which codify [When best is not good enough|best practices] that are subsequently invoked through procurement practices, government regulations, or company policies and guidelines *Legislation which introduces new governance models, improved management systems, provides for increased senior management accountability, or requires individual accreditation or licensure *Maturity models which are used to benchmark and establish roadmaps for improvements *Assessment programs which are organized to evaluate organizational capabilities, attributes, or assets *Measurement techniques which are used to identify gaps between current and target outcomes, highlight leverage points, and track progess towards goals *Modeling approaches which are used to explore options and stabilize cost drivers early *Alternative business models or relationships (outsourcing, partnerships, acquisitons, etc) *Focused incentive systems with rewards tied closely to performance *Competitive pressures which are applied through supplier management sourcing techniques *Consortia which work across companies to leverage their collective knowledge and experience in tackling commmon challenges *Centers of excellence that provide a showcase for others to emulate and learn from *Organizational, educational, and professional society infrastructure to train and certify practitioners *New methodologies, technologies, and training programs which enable, integrate, and accelerate these approaches in creative and unique ways While all of these initiatives have been successful in some contexts, they have failed in others. Read more »

!(intro to be developed) This section is a placeholder for content to be included in [Transforming knowledge and vision into action] The intent is to introduce a consistent framework that can be considered across each of the case studies.

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. Read more »