In diesem Beitrag soll Ihnen ein kurzer und prägnanter Überblick über die wichtigsten Themen vom Projektstart bis zum Ende der Planung gegeben werden. Zu jedem angeschnittenen Thema werden die häufigsten Fehler herausgestellt sowie Tipps aus der Praxis gegeben. Wenn Sie Einzelheiten über die angesprochenen Themen und die detaillierte Erklärungen zu den Fehlern wissen wollen, downloaden Sie sich die Arbeitshilfen zu jedem Thema.

Im Sommer 2011 lancierte der Suchmaschinenriese seine neue soziale Plattform Google+. Nachdem das Netzwerk Facebook in den letzten Jahren die Konkurrenz wie LinkedIn und Xing klar auf die Plätze verwiesen hat, wurde die Einführung von Google+ von vielen kritisch und mit Spannung beobachtet.

Am Anfang aller Strategieüberlegungen steht die Formulierung einer zielorientierten IT-Strategie. Oft ist festzustellen, dass gerade in Bezug auf den wichtigen Produktionsfaktor 'Information' strategisches Denken, um aus einer reagierenden in eine agierende Rolle zu kommen, eher nicht anzutreffen ist. Klare Strategien, die im Unternehmen abgestimmt sind und in den einzelnen IT-Projekten auch konsequent umgesetzt werden, bleiben die Ausnahme.

Wichtige Entscheidungen müssen immer schneller gefällt werden. Zeit und Ressourcen sind knapp. Eine Online-Konferenz ermöglicht rasche und kostengünstige Kommunikation zwischen Mitarbeitenden, Geschäftspartnern und Investoren.

Der etwas provokative Titel könnte den Verdacht aufkommen lassen, dass hier dem berühmten 'Laisser-faire' das Wort geredet werden soll. In Wirklichkeit geht es darum, zu überprüfen, inwieweit man ein Team anführen kann, ohne die typischen Vorgesetzten-Untergebenen-Konstellationen einzuhalten. Der Beitrag soll aufzeigen, dass dies zumindest in Teilbereichen und unter bestimmten Voraussetzungen mit Einschränkungen durchaus möglich ist. Um es vorwegzunehmen: Je weniger straff der Führungsstil ist, desto mehr kommen die Motivationsaspekte ins Spiel.

In vielen Büros erweist sich Excel als wahrhaftes Organisationsgenie. Das Programm wird nicht nur als reines Kalkulationsprogramm genutzt, sondern auch als .

Vor der Lancierung eines konkreten Projekts muss zunächst abgeklärt werden, welche Projektvarianten für eine anstehende Aufgabe überhaupt in Frage kommen, und welche Projektvariante im Moment als die geeignetste erscheint. Dieser Evaluationsprozess vollzieht sich in fünf klar abgegrenzten Stufen: Situationsanalyse, Zielbestimmung, Evaluation der Lösungswege, Lösungswahl, Entscheid. Der Problemlösungskreislauf erhält seinen zyklischen Charakter dadurch, dass er vor jeder neuen Projektphase - bei jedem kritischen Meilenstein, der über Abbruch oder Weiterführung des Projekts entscheidet - von vorne zu laufen beginnt. Die Bearbeitung wird dabei von Projektstufe zu Projektstufe gründlicher.

DV-gestützte Informationssysteme, die zum Unternehmenserfolg beitragen sollen, basieren heute aus vielerlei Gründen immer weniger auf individuellen Eigenentwicklungen, sondern vielmehr zunehmend auf Standardsoftware. Unbestritten werden betriebliche Abläufe und Problemlösungen von den in der unterstützenden Anwendungssoftware enthaltenen Konzeptionen geprägt. Will die Betriebswirtschaftslehre zu praktischen Problemlösungen beitragen, so sind theoretische betriebswirtschaftliche Ergebnisse in die Anwendungssoftware einzubringen. Bedeutend für die Entscheidungsfindung bei der Auswahl einer Standardsoftware, ist also auch die Frage inwiefern die Unternehmensstrategie und Standardsoftware miteinander harminieren und sich gegenseitig unterstützen.

Die Internationalität des Internet-Systems schafft eine Menge von Rechtsproblemen, die noch nicht gelöst sind. Das Internet berührt so unterschiedliche Gebiete wie Vertragsrecht, Urheberrecht, Datenschutz, Wettbewerbsrecht und Strafrecht, die je nach Situation zusammenhängen. Wer über Internet Geschäfte machen und Verträge abschliessen will, kann sich nicht darauf beschränken, das Schweizer Recht zu berücksichtigen. Der Beitrag informiert Sie über die wesentlichen Knacknüsse beim Vertragsabschluss im Internet.

Die Mehrzahl der IT-Projekte kann nicht zum geplanten Zeitpunkt, im geplanten Budget und mit der spezifizierten Qualität abgeschlossen werden. Dies führt zu vermeidbaren und teilweise erheblichen Zusatzkosten und kann sogar das wirtschaftliche Schicksal des Unternehmens gefährden, das von einer bestimmten Anwendung und/oder einem bestimmten Anbieter abhängig ist.

Das Management hat die Pflicht, das Unternehmen logisch und überschaubar zu strukturieren sowie die Organisation auf deren Funktionsfähigkeit zu kontrollieren. Dazu gehört auch die Sicherstellung der rechtskonformen Aufbewahrung von geschäftsrelevanten Informationen. Wie die Realität aussieht und welche rechtlichen Anforderungen bestehen, erfahren Sie hier im Beitrag.

Für die Aufbewahrung von geschäftsrelevanten Dokumenten, zu denen auch E-Mails zählen können, finden sich wichtige rechtliche Vorgaben in einer Vielzahl schweizerischer Erlasse, im ausländischen und internationalen Recht, in Normen und branchenspezifischen Vorgaben, in Vereinbarungen mit Geschäftspartnern sowie in internen Richtlinien.

Die Schweizer Melde- und Analysestelle Informationssicherung (MELANI) stellte fest, dass im ersten Halbjahr 2010 weltweit vermehrt Fälle von Spionage und gestohlenen Daten aufgetreten sind. Oft werden dazu Webseiten oder Netzwerke gehackt.

Mit Hilfe einer Kooperationsvereinbarung bringen zwei Partnerfirmen ihre unterschiedlichen Software-Applikationen zusammen auf den Markt. Dabei ist das Ziel eine langfristige und erfolgreiche Zusammenarbeit.

Mit dem Ziel, ahnungslose Internetbenutzer zu schädigen, werden Webauftritte manipuliert und mit Schadsoftware infiziert. Dazu werden meistens die FTP-Zugangsdaten wie Passwort und Login gestohlen und damit auf den Webserver zugegriffen oder es werden Sicherheitslücken von Websoftware ausgenützt.

bobwrit writes with news about how the monetary damages in the Google v. Oracle case might shake out. On Thursday, Judge Alsup told Oracle the most it could expect for statutory damages was a flat $150,000, a far cry from the $6.1 billion Oracle wanted in 2011, or even the $2.8 million offered by Google as a settlement. However, Oracle still thinks it can go after infringed profits, even though Judge Alsup specifically warned its lawyers they were making a mistake. He said, "It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions." Groklaw has a detailed post about today's events.

astroengine writes "Vesta, the second largest object in the main asteroid belt, has an iron core, a varied surface, layers of rock and possibly a magnetic field — all signs of a planet in the making, not an asteroid (abstract). This is the conclusion of an international team of scientists treated to a virtual front row seat at Vesta for the past 10 months, courtesy of NASA's Dawn robotic probe. Their findings were presented during a NASA press conference on Thursday. As to why Vesta never made it to full planethood, scientists point to Jupiter. When the giant gas planet formed, nearby bodies such as Vesta found their orbits perturbed. 'Jupiter started to act like a spoon in a pot, stirring up the asteroid belt and the asteroids started bumping into one another,' said Dawn lead scientist Christopher Russell. 'If they're just out there gently orbiting and everything is going smoothly, then without Jupiter in the picture, they would gather mass and get bigger and bigger and bigger. But with Jupiter there, stirring the pot, then the asteroids start bumping into one another and breaking apart, so nothing grew in that region, but started to shrink.'"

New submitter Blug_fred writes "The first ever Culture Freedom Day is happening right now over a two-day period in Lisbon, Portugal. Organized by Flausina with the participation of Creative Commons Portugal, and being celebrated one week earlier that the official date, this event brings an impressive program of concerts, documentary projections, debates and more. For others there is still time to find an event in your area (so far, eleven listed worldwide) or organize one yourself. If you're in Lisbon you definitely don't want to miss out, and if not, you can always hope someone will bring Free Culture celebrations to your doorstep."

Sparrowvsrevolution writes "A DC appeals court has ruled that the National Security Agency doesn't need to either confirm or deny its secret relationship with Google in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and follow-up lawsuit filed by the Electronic Privacy Information Center. The NSA cited a FOIA exemption that covers any documents whose exposure might hinder the NSA's national security mission, and responded to EPIC with a 'no comment.' Beyond merely rejecting the FOIA request, the court has agreed with the NSA that it has the right to simply not respond to the request, as even a rejection of the request might reveal details of a suspected relationship with Google that it has sought to keep secret. Google was reported to have partnered with the NSA to bolster its defenses against hackers after its breach by Chinese cyberspies in early 2010. But to the dismay of privacy advocates who fear the NSA's surveillance measures coupled with Google's trove of data, the company has never explained the details of that partnership."

CowboyRobot writes "A new top-level domain (TLD) in the works for the Internet will bake security in from the outset: The .secure domain will require fully encrypted HTTPS sessions and a comprehensive vetting process for websites and their operators. If the new domain takes off, it could shift the way Web domains are secured. ICANN is expected to sign off on .secure, and for the new TLD to be up and running June or July 2013."

DesScorp writes "The Charleston Gazette is reporting that the state of West Virginia has purchased hundred of enterprise class routers from Cisco at over $22,000 dollars apiece via federal stimulus money. The stimulus cash was intended to spread broadband coverage. The problem is that the routers are overkill, and are being placed in small schools and libraries with just a handful of users. The West Virginia Office of Technology warned that the purchase was 'grossly oversized' for the intended uses, but the purchase went through anyway. Curiously, the project is being headed up not by the state's usual authorities on such matters, but by Jimmy Gianato, West Virginia's Homeland Security Chief. In addition to the $24 million contract signed with Verizon Network Integration to provide the routers and maintenance, Gianato asked for additional equipment and services that tacked an additional $2.26 million to the bill. Perhaps the worst part is that hundreds of the routers are sitting in their boxes, unused, two years after the purchase."

MrSeb writes "Chinese physicists are reporting that they've successfully teleported photonic qubits (quantum bits) over a distance of 97 kilometers (60mi). This means that quantum data has been transmitted from one point to another, without passing through the intervening space. It's important to note that the Chinese researchers haven't actually made a photon disappear and reappear 97 kilometers away; rather, they've used quantum entanglement to recreate the same qubit in a new location, with the same subatomic properties as the original qubit. The previous record for transmitting entangled qubits was 16 kilometers, performed by another Chinese team back in 2010 — and perhaps most excitingly, the researchers seem confident that their system will scale up from 97km to distances capable of reaching orbital satellites, at which point we'll actually be able to build a global quantum network for all of our cryptographic needs."

An anonymous reader writes "A legal paper (PDF), commissioned by Google and written by Eugene Volokh and Donald Falk, makes the case that search results should be protected under the First Amendment, thereby making regulation of search results illegal. The authors say a search engine 'uses sophisticated computerized algorithms, but those algorithms themselves inherently incorporate the search engine company engineers' judgments about what material users are likely to find responsive to these queries.' Cory Doctorow's reaction: 'I think that the editorial right to exercise judgment is much more widely understood than the sacred infallibility of robotic sorting. I certainly support it more. But I wonder if Google appreciates that it will now have to confront people who are angry about their search rankings by saying, "I'm sorry, we just don't like you very much" instead of "I'm sorry, our equations put you where you belong." And oy, the libel headaches they're going to face.'"

Phrogman writes "The Conservative government of Steven Harper in Canada has proposed a new bill that would impose a jail term of 10 years for anyone wearing a mask while 'participating in a riot or unlawful assembly.' The conservative backbencher who proposed the bill makes it clear that he intended it to allow police to arrest anyone wearing a mask 'before protests spiral out of control.' Since this is the same government that arrested hundreds of protesters during the G8/G20 summit using a law that didn't actually exist, it raises the question as to how they will define 'unlawful.' The 10-year penalty is more than double the penalty awarded to a person who murdered someone in a fit of 'road-rage' recently."

New submitter IdleThoughts writes "Sometimes it takes a long time to spark a revolution. Long the ugly duckling of programming languages, iOS' Objective-C passed C# in the 'TIOBE Programming Community Index this month and seems on a trajectory to overtake C++ in the next few. It was invented in the early 1980s by Brad Cox and Tom Love, with the idea of creating 'Software Integrated Circuits' and heavily influenced by Smalltalk — yet another legacy from Xerox PARC, along with desktop GUIs, ethernet and laser printers. It was adopted early on by Steve Jobs' NeXTStep, the grand-daddy of all that is now OS X. It had to wait, however, for the mobile device revolution to have its day, being ideally suited to the limited resources on portable devices. It's still being actively developed by Apple and others, sporting the new automatic reference counting and static analysis in the Clang compiler. It turns out it has supported dynamic patching of code in applications all along. What more surprises does this venerable language have up its sleeve?"

sl4shd0rk writes "Apparently the USPS is enacting a ban on the international shipment of all devices containing Lithium Ion batteries. The ban is expected to lift in January of 2013. It seems like this would drive more business away from the already floundering USPS financial situation. The article focuses on the shipment of items out of the U.S., but doesn't mention whether the same ban will apply to purchasing these items on eBay from overseas sources."

An anonymous reader writes with news that the European Space Agency has lost contact with its Envisat environmental satellite mere weeks after celebrating a full decade in orbit. Engineers have spent the last month trying to re-establish contact, and will continue to do so for another two months. "With ten sophisticated sensors, Envisat has observed and monitored Earth’s land, atmosphere, oceans and ice caps during its ten-year lifetime, delivering over a thousand terabytes of data. An estimated 2500 scientific publications so far have been based on this information, furthering our knowledge of the planet." The ESA was hoping Envisat would stay operational for another two years, until Sentinel satellites from the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security initiative became operational.

bonch writes "22 percent of California eighth-graders passed a national science test, ranking California among the worst in the U.S. according to the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress. The test measures knowledge in Earth and space sciences, biology, and basic physics. The states that fared worse than California were Mississippi, Alabama, and a tie between the District of Columbia and Hawaii. 'Nationally, 31 percent of eighth-graders who were tested scored proficient or advanced. Both the national and state scores improved slightly over scores from two years ago, the last time the test was administered.'"

Zothecula writes "SpaceX and Bigelow Aerospace have joined forces in an attempt to woo international customers looking to enjoy some extended periods of microgravity. The joint marketing effort will push trips to orbiting Bigelow habitats on SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft using the Falcon launch vehicle. 'Bigelow's BA 330 space module would be designed to provide 330 cubic meters of usable volume, which is about the size of a two-bedroom apartment. The BA 330 could accommodate up to six astronauts, depending on how cozy they plan to get. Two or more BA 330 modules could be connected together in orbit for lease by national space agencies, companies or universities, according to Bigelow Aerospace.'"