Anyone who’s ever even dabbled in project management knows that it can feel a lot like juggling. But does it ever feel like you’re juggling people, not balls? Resource allocation sits somewhere between project and program management, recognizing that many projects (and most IT projects) rely on specialists, shared resources who get juggled between projects.

Who out there didn’t love playing in the sandbox as a kid? Sure, things can get a little gritty. Messy, even. But so much good happens in there too, including plenty of exploration, creativity, and imagination. So it goes with sandbox testing: What’s good for the playground is good for the IT project team, too.

IT is both the foundation and the lifeblood of most modern businesses. Take away their IT ecosystem and there might not be a business left at all. So why does it feel like so many businesses are built atop an IT ecosystem that’s wobbly, convoluted, and seemingly bolted together with spare parts? As organizations grow, it’s natural for various IT components to get added to the mix. IT infrastructure might have started out neatly organized.