1. 1 The Pressure on Information Technology (IT) "In today's environment, the ability to react quickly to change by reducing the devel­ opment life cycle in order to be first to market will give a company an important com­ petitive edge. " -James Martin The market conditions of the 21 st century put business under continual pressure. The most successful companies are those who are able to reduce their time to market, to launch initiatives before their competitors, to respond very rapidly to opportunities in the marketplace or to change direction in response to a move by the competition or a change in circumstances. All of these business initiatives rely on support from Infor­ mation Technology (IT). For a business to launch a new product in three months time, the supporting IT processes must be available and working in that three month time frame. In this fast moving environment, late IT delivery is not acceptable and may pose a major risk to the business. The marketplace of 21 st century business measures timescales in months, whereas in the past, timescales of two to three years were more typical. Internet related and e­ business projects frequently require even tighter timescales, measured in days rather than months. This need for speed puts tremendous pressure on IT departments. Pressure does not just come from the need for speed. There is also an ever-increasing rate of change within business.