In my first post on the IS blog, I was claiming that “Search was Yesterday”. In my view, this is a true statement, but I think that also the opposite is true – at least with regard to retrieval engines.

Let’s have a look at contemporary, modern retrieval engines. They present a very solid and proven technology, they can handle a high volume of (textual) data and there are ways to solve the challenge around change both from the angle of data (new data comes in very quickly) as well as from the angle of the user (different users want different things and one user also evolves over time).

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People who know me, will probably describe me as being analytical and pragmatic. And I fully agree with that assessment – most of the time. But every now and then something happens, which touches my emotional side and if my analytical part also agrees, I can get rather passionate. Exactly that happened in the previous months, when a vision became reality. I am talking about Jurion – an innovative and new kind of software and knowledge platform for the legal market, covering all the different aspects that really create added value to our customers’ professional processes. Read further >

I was one of the many participants at the Clinical Solutions Innovation Lab webinar, held on November 22. In his last post, Howard Strasberg has already given a great overview about the project and the solution. I would like to review two of the various remarkable aspects I saw in that presentation. Read further >

You probably wonder: what is the relationship between apps and organizational changes?

Technology transforms how we work
Undoubtedly over the past fifty years, the rapid evolution of ICT has been accompanied by a deep transformation that has affected and changed aspects of our lives profoundly. Organizations are no exception: technological change has led to some of the most significant innovations in organizational structures and processes in recent decades. Technologies spread, are adopted, and used in organizations in ways often unforeseen. Sometimes they do not generate the expected effects, while other times they are associated with totally unexpected effects. Read further >

Raymond Blijd recently wrote about customers in his post Did You Just Call Me a ‘Customer’? This got me thinking about customers and the value we provide to them. Customer Value Add (CVA) is defined as any activity in a process that is essential to deliver a service to the customer and adds value to the customer. Read further >

Software Testing: “The process of analyzing a software item to detect the differences between existing and required conditions (that is, bugs), and to evaluate the features of the software item.” (Ref. IEEE Std 829)

What does that mean?
It means testers execute an application with the intent of finding defects or bugs. We execute the application in an environment that is set as close as possible to how the customers or end users will be using the system. This was easier when the application was installed in a local and controlled environment. Software testers could control the variables within these systems to replicate customer environments and test the application. Now, with the cloud comes challenges that are somewhat different from traditional software testing.

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Everyone knows how ubiquitous smart phones have become. You can’t walk down any street without seeing the majority of the people – young and old – talking, texting, or in some way connecting with their mobile device. The proliferation of phones and the demand for immediate accessibility will continue to grow, as will demand for connectivity in our daily lives. And given the personal nature of mobile devices, the design and functionality of apps must meet the ever changing and more demanding nature of user expectations even when the users themselves don’t yet know what they are demanding. Mobile apps need to always innovate and always be ‘better’ than the last version. Read further >

As in all industries, the “new normal” in the legal economy requires that we do more with less. A recent report from the global law firm Eversheds found that 90% of general counsel were under internal pressure to provide better value, efficiency, and cost reductions, and 60% had already reduced their overall external legal spend. In another sign of the times, the Hildebrandt International Law Department Survey reports that, increasingly, law departments are adopting fee arrangements other than the billable hour to better align the interest of the firm and corporation. Read further >

Using a portable wireless keyboard (connected by Bluetooth) to the iPad has made me learn (and think about) the implications of the “touch” interface. I began using computers in the 1980′s and, of course, interacted with computing devices only through a keyboard and a mouse. In the iPad, I am forced to interact via “touch.” It makes me realize that online research products for tax, legal and regulatory professionals will have to change. “Touch” as an input to a computing device introduces new opportunities for my employer to make professionals’ work more productive. I’m excited about the possibility and eager to hear any ideas you might have about how our products and services should evolve. Any thoughts?