CTOs at Work Scott Donaldson Stanley Siegel Gary Donaldson
CTOs at Work Copyright 2011 by Scott Donaldson, Stanley Siegel, Gary Donaldson This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. Exempted from this legal reservation are brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis or material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the Copyright Law of the Publisher's location, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer. Permissions for use may be obtained through RightsLink at the Copyright Clearance Center. Violations are liable to prosecution under the respective Copyright Law. ISBN-13 (pbk): 978-1-4302-3593-4 ISBN-13 (electronic): 978-1-4302-3594-1 Trademarked names, logos, and images may appear in this book. Rather than use a trademark symbol with every occurrence of a trademarked name, logo, or image we use the names, logos, and images only in an editorial fashion and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement of the trademark. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights. While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication, neither the authors nor the editors nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein. President and Publisher: Paul Manning Lead Editor: Jeffrey Pepper Editorial Board: Steve Anglin, Mark Beckner, Ewan Buckingham, Gary Cornell, Morgan Ertel, Jonathan Gennick, Jonathan Hassell, Robert Hutchinson, Michelle Lowman, James Markham, Matthew Moodie, Jeff Olson, Jeffrey Pepper, Douglas Pundick, Ben Renow-Clarke, Dominic Shakeshaft, Gwenan Spearing, Matt Wade, Tom Welsh Coordinating Editor: Rita Fernando Copy Editors: Mary Sudul, Nancy Sixsmith Compositor: Mary Sudul Indexer: BIM Indexing & Proofreading Services Cover Designer: Anna Ishchenko Distributed to the book trade worldwide by Springer Science+Business Media New York, 233 Spring Street, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10013. Phone 1-800-SPRINGER, fax (201) 348-4505, e-mail orders-ny@springer-sbm.com, or visit www.springeronline.com. For information on translations, please e-mail rights@apress.com, or visit www.apress.com. Apress and friends of ED books may be purchased in bulk for academic, corporate, or promotional use. ebook versions and licenses are also available for most titles. For more information, reference our Special Bulk Sales ebook Licensing web page at www.apress.com/bulk-sales.
To my growing family: Shelly, Melanie, Manoli, Nick, Stephanie, David, Laura, and Ashleigh. Scott Donaldson To Bena, my wife, and our grandchildren: Eva, Ezra, Avi, Raffi, Tal, Eli, Zoe, Sarah, and Emma. Stan Siegel To Gail Winston, my wife, for her support, encouragement, and keen wit throughout the process; and my Golden Retriever Colby, who always knew just the right time to take me for a walk. Gary Donaldson To the memory of Susan Marie Donaldson Leddy who was taken too soon from her loving family, Phil, Chris, Andrew and Remy. Gary and Scott
Contents Foreword...vii About the Authors... ix Acknowledgments... xi Introduction... xiii Chapter 1: Amy Alving, SAIC... 1 Chapter 2: Don Ferguson, CTO, CA Technologies...21 Chapter 3: Craig Miller, The MAPA Group...49 Chapter 4: Jerry Krill, CTO, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory...81 Chapter 5: Wesley Kaplow, Polar Star Consulting... 105 Chapter 6: Chapter 7: Chapter 8: Jeff Tolnar, CTO and CIO, BPL Global...127 Marty Garrison, National Public Radio...151 Cherches, Loveland, Mosca, and Natoli, Mind Over Machines...173 Chapter 9: Darko Hrelic, Gartner, Inc....205 Chapter 10: Jan-Erik de Boer, Springer Science+Business Media...219 Chapter 11: Paul Bloore, TinEye/Idée...239 Chapter 12: William Ballard, Gerson Lehrman Group, Inc...261 Chapter 13: David Kuttler, Johnson & Johnson, Vertex...285 Index...307 v
Foreword CTOs at Work is a terrific contribution that breaks the mold for books of its type. There are three traditional structures for harnessing the collected wisdom of CTOs and CIOs. The most scholarly treatments involve interpreting the results of some survey or surveys of CTOs. The resulting numerical data is then crunched through various mysterious but important looking formulae to obtain, purportedly, surprising conclusions. The authors, usually academics then include their own insights and recommendations for the reader. I like these kinds of books the least because they are sterile and devoid of real CTO insight. Surveys can provide some important data for researchers, but generally, when you aggregate the responses of a large number of CTOs, each in a unique situation, no real usable information ensues. For example, so what if the average budget of a CTO is $1million dollars? How can this information really be used? Another approach to CTO mindshare books involves case studies of failed (and sometimes successful) projects, occasionally featuring commentary from the CTOs involved. In many cases, the editors/authors of these texts have never held the role of a CTO. Yet case study books tend to include selfrighteous second guessing by the editors/authors. Or the case studies take information out of context to support some hidden agenda. The reader, then is put in the position of having to decide whose insight is better the real CTO, or some professor assessing the situation from the bleachers, and with the benefit of hindsight. Until I discovered CTOs at Work, my favored template for CTO wisdom type books involved collecting essays from CTOs themselves. This third approach has the advantage of presenting information in the CTO s own voice, relatively unfiltered. I co-edited a book using this approach and I was pleased with the results. The downside to this structure, however, is that contributions can be uneven and sometimes haphazard, making it hard to discern any thematic content. Now there is a fourth and vastly superior framework for harvesting the wisdom of CTOs. This book, CTOs at Work uses a series of in-depth, sit-down interviews with active CTOs. Editors/interviewers, Scott Donaldson, Stanley Siegel, and Gary Donaldson ask all the questions that you would want to ask vii
if you had access to these CTOs. But the questioning is not formulaic, like some telephone survey. It s lively, informal, and the interviewers adapt each question to the previous response, giving the dialogue a much more conversational feel. It s like watching Inside The Actor s Studio hosted by James Lipton. By virtue of this informal style, the CTOs open up and provide raw, unfiltered insights. You learn about their organization, role, and most challenging projects and colleagues. You also get to know the CTOs themselves, as human beings, not executives in gray flannel suits. For ten years I led a community of practice of CIOs/CTOs in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, and the dialogues you will see in CTOs at Work replicate the honest, intimate discussions we had in these community of practice meetings. CTOs at Work contains valuable information for experienced CTOs, in their own words, unfiltered, and uninterpreted not spun to fit the agenda of some researcher or consultant pedaling the panacea du jour. This book is fascinating, inspiring, sometimes surprising and an invaluable resource for CTOs, CIOs, anyone working for these executives or anyone who wants to be a CTO or CIO one day. CTOs at Work is not a text book, yet I think it is as valuable as any CTO/CIO text book that professors use in their courses. In fact, it probably should be supplemental reading for any technology management course. Phillip A. Laplante Professor of Software Engineering Pennsylvania State University viii
About the Authors Scott Donaldson has more than 30 years of experience managing complex programs (ranging from 10 s of millions to 100 s of millions); expertise in systems development, process improvement, and technical cultural change. He is a Senior Vice President for Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for its multi-billion dollar Health, Energy and Civilian Solutions Group. He teaches graduate courses in software engineering, software process improvement, and information technology at Johns Hopkins University, Whiting School of Engineering. Johns Hopkins honored him in 2009 with an Excellence in Teaching Award. He has a B.S., Operations Research from the United States Naval Academy and a M.S., Systems Management from the University of Southern California. Mr. Donaldson co-authored the software engineering books Successful Software Development: Making It Happen, Prentice Hall PTR, 2nd Edition; Successful Software Development: Study Guide, Prentice Hall PTR; and Cultivating Successful Software Development: A Practitioner s View, Prentice Hall PTR. He has contributed to the Encyclopedia of Software Engineering: Project Management Success Factors, CRC Press and the Handbook of Software Quality Assurance: Software Configuration Management A Practical Look, 3rd Edition. Dr. Stanley Siegel has more than 35 years of progressive experience as a systems engineer, mathematician and computer specialist. He started his career with the U.S. Government in the Department of Commerce and then the Department of Defense. After his government service, he was with Grumman for 15 years and Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) for 20 years. He helped SAIC grow to a $11 Billion leader in scientific, engineering ix
and technical solutions by helping win hundreds of millions of dollars of new business. He earned a nuclear physics doctorate from Rutgers University. Physicists solve problems. He has served as a senior technical advisor and director on a wide spectrum of projects in areas such as software engineering methodology assessment, software requirements analysis, software testing and quality assurance, mathematical support for software-algorithm development, and technology assessment. He has taught graduate courses since the mid 1990s. He teaches both inclass and online software systems engineering courses at the Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering. Johns Hopkins honored him in 2009 with an Excellence in Teaching Award. Dr. Siegel has co-authored four software engineering books including the seminal software engineering textbook Software Configuration Management: An Investment in Product Integrity, Prentice Hall PTR. He has contributed to a number of books including the Encyclopedia of Software Engineering: Project Management Success Factors, CRC Press and the Handbook of Software Quality Assurance: Software Configuration Management A Practical Look. Gary Donaldson has more than 35 years experience in executive, program, project and consultant leadership positions across federal, state, DoD, commercial, university-affiliated, health care, non-profit, and technology sectors, including 10 years with SAIC. His expertise is strategic organizational change, useradoption, and workforce performance improvement. Mr. Donaldson served as graduate faculty at Johns Hopkins University, School of Professional Studies in Business and Education, and consultant faculty to numerous universities throughout the United States. He holds Masters Degrees from Boston College and American University with a combined focus in organizational behavior, workplace learning, and performance improvement. Mr. Donaldson is author of "Creating and Adding Value: Redefining the Organization", in Quality Performance in Human Services: Leadership, Values and Vision (G. Gardner & S. Nadler, eds.), Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing; Work Programs for Enhancing Cognitive Performance Components, in Work Practice: International Perspectives (Jacobs & Pratt, eds.), Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann; and Toward Supported Employment: A Process Guide for Planned Change (Gardner, J., Chapman, M., Donaldson, G., Jacobson, S), Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing. x
Acknowledgments We thank Jeff Pepper for proposing this project to us. We also thank him for his prodigious efforts down the homestretch of this project. We thank Jessica Belanger, Rita Fernando, and Mary Sudul for helping to produce the book. We thank Joe Craver of Science Applications International Corporation for encouraging us and supporting our work on this project. We thank Leadership Maryland, Leadership Montgomery County Maryland, and William Ballard, President of Location Age Geographic Information and Technology for supporting our efforts to identify key leaders in the local technology community. We thank Jack Speer, newscaster and journalist for National Public Radio (NPR), for providing guidance on effective interviewing strategies and techniques. We thank Mike Starling, Executive Director of NPR Labs, for introducing us to the Vice President of Technology Operations and Broadcast Engineering. We thank David Wright, software engineer, for making our interview possible with the Gerson-Lehrman Group while we were on a journey half-way around the world. We thank Phillip Laplante, Professor of Software Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, for graciously agreeing to write the book s foreword. We thank our family and friends for their encouragement and support. Finally, we thank the interviewees for taking time from their busy schedules to give us insight into their day-job worlds. xi
Introduction CTOs at Work is a series of interviews from many leading Chief Technology Officers from an array of companies. Their perspectives on their roles, and most often the job itself, vary considerably from industry to industry. These candid discussions will give the reader a unique glimpse at how technology plays a role in the company and how the company makes its decisions, investments, and the software that drives every aspect of the business. The interviewees talk about how they tackle their day-to-day CTO work. They explain what their role is in their organization. They provide insight into how they interact with internal business units to assure that the organization leverages: Investments Technologies Teamwork They detail how they help automate, integrate, and drive business growth (and profit) through innovative technologies that align with business needs. They provide insight into how they allocate investments and manage projects. They explain how they assess technologies in the near-term, midterm, and far-term. Finally, you will hear what keeps them up at night. The interview population comes from the following industries: Science and Applied Technology Commercial Software Products Energy Research and Development Defense Research and Development Intelligence Community Consulting Commercial Energy Products Public Broadcasting Information Technology Research and Advisory Consulting Worldwide ebook Publishing Image Search Technology xiii
Investment and Advisory Consulting Pharmaceutical Information Technology. The CTOs interviewed work for companies that span the size spectrum from a dozen employees to thousands of employees. The CTO role varied across industries. One thing they had in common is they all drive their organizations efforts to compete in a competitive, innovative yet cost-effective manner. There is no one way to define the CTO role. They are managers, researchers, visionaries, entrepreneurs, developers, deployers, project leaders, advisors, and administrators all rolled into one. However, there are similarities and overlaps among these characteristics; the primary one being that they are innovators who look to meet the needs of their customers through the use of the technologies they control. Please accept our invitation to meet these CTOs who enable their businesses through technology. xiv