Requirements for Renewing Your SEI-Certified PSP Developer Certification

Your PSP Developer certification is valid for a period of three years. In order to qualify for renewal of your certification, you must demonstrate an ongoing commitment to professional growth and personal development by completing 60 Professional Development Units. Payment of a $75 renewal fee is also necessary to maintain your certification. The SEI will send you a certification renewal notice 180 days prior to your certification expiration date* to remind you of the need to renew.

To renew your PSP Developer Certification, submit the following to the SEI:

• Certification Renewal Log showing 60 PDUs
• Certification Renewal Payment Form and payment

*Your certification expiration date is three years from the last day of the month in which you were awarded your certification. For example, if you received your certification on June 24, 2007, you must renew your certification no later than June 30, 2010.

Professional Development Units (PDUs)
The SEI Certification Program uses PDUs to quantify learning and development activities. PSP Developers must complete 60 PDUs within the three years prior to their certification expiration date.

One PDU can be earned for every one hour spent in a planned, structured experience or activity as approved by the SEI. It is your responsibility to ensure that activities meet renewal criteria. To maintain a balance in renewal activities, some activities have a maximum number of credits that you can count toward the 60 PDU total.

Activities that qualify for PDU credit are divided into four categories:

• professional activities
• continuing education
• presentations and teaching
• authoring activities

You can earn a maximum of 45 PDUs per category per renewal cycle; PDUs do not carry over into the subsequent cycle. Individual category elements may have additional credit restrictions for each renewal cycle.

	Calculation of PDUs	Maximum PDUs
Professional Activities (45 PDUs maximum for this category)
Attendance at approved association or society meetings	1 PDU per hour	20 PDUs per activity
Participation in a PSP/TSP project launch or relaunch	1 PDU per hour	20 PDUs per activity
Participation in a PSP/TSP project postmortem	1 PDU per hour	5 PDUs per activity
Continuing Education (45 PDUs maximum for this category) formal academic or professional education where software development is the primary topic of instruction
Completion of a 1-hour course during a 15-week semester	15 PDUs
Completion of a 1-hour course during an academic quarter	10 PDUs
Completion of 1 CEU	10 PDUs
Completion of in-house software engineering process-improvement-related seminars, training programs	1 PDU per hour
Teaching, Presentations, and Curriculum Development (45 PDUs maximum for this category) providing education through courses and presentations directly related to software development process improvement
Teaching	1 PDU per hour	Teaching credit may be awarded only once for each course taught during the renewal cycle for a maximum of 30 PDUs
Presentation at a conference or seminar	5 PDUs per hour	15 PDUs per activity
Participation in the development of presentations for conferences, seminars, or society meetings	1 PDU per hour	15 PDUs
Authoring Activities (45 PDUs maximum for this category)
Authoring or co-authoring a software development article	10 PDUs per article	30 PDUs
Authoring or co-authoring a software development book that is published within the renewal cycle	20 PDUs per book
Authoring, co-authoring, or serving as contributing editor to a software-development-related online newsletter	10 PDUs per newsletter	30 PDUs

Recordkeeping and Documentation
Each PSP Developer must maintain a Certification Renewal Log that lists PDU activities.

It is important that the log contain specific data to accurately identify the submitted activity. The log and supporting documentation must be sent to certification-pspdeveloperrenewal@sei.cmu.edu 30 days prior to the date your certification expires. The SEI reserves the right to request clarification of renewal log data. Click here to view a sample renewal log.

Audit of Certification Renewal Logs
The Certification Program Manager will randomly audit a percentage of submitted logs each year. This will ensure that the quality of the activities submitted continues to meet program requirements. PSP Developers selected for an audit will be notified by letter and may be asked to supply additional information or supporting documentation.

The SEI may find that items in a submitted renewal log do not fully meet the renewal criteria. For example, PDU credits may need to be adjusted if activities do not meet the criteria in the listing above. If your Certification Renewal Log is rejected, you will be notified and will be given 60 days from the notification date to correct the discrepancy.

Renewal Fee
The renewal fee of $75 must be paid prior to the certification expiration date. Payment can be made by major credit card by completing the Certification Renewal Payment Form. If payment is not received by the due date, you will receive a letter notifying you that your certification benefits will expire in 30 days. Payment not received 30 days after the due date will result in a suspension of your certification. Payment not received within 60 days will result in termination of your certification. If your certification is terminated, you must reapply via the normal application process and pass the PSP Developer examination in order to have your certification reinstated.