SEI Partner Network Newsletter

In this issue:

• SEI Partner News
• SEI Partner Advisory Board News
• CMMI Product Suite News
• Certification News
• TSP Product Suite News
• SEI News

SEI Partner News

Welcome

Effective March 1, 2008, Marsha Pomeroy-Huff joined the SEI Partner Network Team in the Certification Department.   Please join us in welcoming Marsha by sending her email at mph@sei.cmu.edu.

Partner Help Desk

The SEI began operating a Partner help desk on April 1, 2008.  This centralized approach for responding to your inquiries and requests will ensure that you receive accurate answers in a timely manner.  To contact the SEI Partner Network Help Desk, you may call 1-866-757-4702 (with international access) or email partner-info@sei.cmu.edu.  SEI Customer Relations representatives Shane McGraw, Deen Blash, and Ross Chapman will be handling your inquiries. 

10-Year Partner Awards

On Wednesday morning at SEPG North America 2008, SEI Director Paul Nielsen presented the 10-year Partner Awards to the following organizations:

Borland Software Corporation – Michael Evanoo accepting
Software Technology Process & People, Inc. – Daniel Roy accepting Davis Systems – Paul Nielsen accepting on behalf of Darryl Davis

We would like to congratulate these Partners and thank them for all their work and dedication to the transition of SEI technologies.

SEPG North America 2008

For the second year in a row, the Partner Network shared SEPG North America Conference events with the Membership team, and it proved to be more successful than the first year.  The events began with a well-attended VIP Social held on the afternoon of Sunday, March 16.  Partners and Members enjoyed a one-man band, delicious food, and great networking opportunities at the reception held on Monday evening.

The Partner Network hosted 247 attendees at the luncheon meeting held on Wednesday.

Richard Cox was thanked for his time as Partner Network Manager, and Lisa Masciantonio was introduced as the new manager.  Lisa then provided updates on the latest work being done in the Partner Network.

Partner Network Activity Statistics:
March 2007-March 2008

We are beginning a new effort to keep you informed about statistics related to our work. Updated and expanded statistics will be available in future newsletters. Following are the latest statistics for the period from March 2007 through March 2008.

SEI-Certified SCAMPI High Maturity Lead Appraiser:
3 de-certifications

Authorized SCAMPI Lead Appraiser: 3 de-authorizations

Copyright Releases Granted
SEI Partners: 53
Non-Partners: 146

 

SEI Partner Advisory Board News

During the Partner luncheon meeting at SEPG North America, the outgoing Partner Advisory Board members were presented with framed letters of thanks and SEI plates. 

Those members were John Maher, Daniel Roy, Terry Rout, and William Bolander.

Lisa Masciantonio & John Maher

Lisa Masciantonio & Dan Roy

Lisa Masciantonio & Terry Rout

Lisa Masciantonio & William Bolander

John Maher then spoke about the work done over the year by the Partner Advisory Board and thanked everyone for their support during his time as president of the Board.  He introduced Joseph Morin as the president for the 2008–2009 term.

CMMI Product Suite News

Continuing Educational Units (CEUs)

Effective April 1, 2008, Continuing Educational Units (CEUs) will be shown on certificates of completion.  These new versions are available on the Partner Resource Center.  Provided that the instructor completes the attendee list ensuring that the individual did attend the full course, the attendee will receive the full amount of CEUs.

6th Annual CMMI Workshop

We are pleased to announce the Sixth Annual CMMI Workshop to be held at the Hilton Vancouver Washington in Vancouver, Washington the week of October 27-30, 2008.  All authorized and candidate SCAMPI Lead Appraisers, SCAMPI B&C Team Leaders, CMMI Instructors, and CMMI Business Points of Contact are invited to attend.  More information, including a preliminary agenda, can be found at http://www.sei.cmu.edu/appraisal-program/workshop.

Level 4 & 5 SCAMPI Appraisal Audits

The CMMI Appraisal Team is planning to audit all level 4 and 5 appraisals.  If you are planning to conduct a high maturity appraisal, we ask that you set it up in SAS as soon as possible for our auditing purposes.  For further information, please contact appraisal-info@sei.cmu.edu.

Certification Exam Workshop

There will be a workshop held May 6-8, 2008 at the SEI's Pittsburgh office for the purpose of training teams to write questions for the upcoming SCAMPI Lead Appraiser certification exam.  The exam is scheduled to be released this coming October at the Sixth Annual CMMI Workshop, and it will be available for up to a year afterwards.  We are hoping to make it available worldwide through testing centers in many cities.  All SCAMPI LAs must take and pass the exam in order to transition their authorization to certification.   More information will be available on the SEI's Certification Web pages at http://www.sei.cmu.edu/certification/scampila.html

Certification News

SEI CMMI-Six Sigma Partner and Certifications Development Opportunity!

The SEI is currently developing a new program to expand its licensing and certification opportunities to those companies and professionals wanting to improve their organizational and project performance using quantitative analytical methods.

Building on the concepts and practices of CMMI-based organizational improvement and Six Sigma, the program will be designed to advance growth and standardization of professionals in the field. Audiences may include consultants, SEI Partners, and professionals who are planning to implement the constellations of CMMI for Development, Acquisition, and Services using Six Sigma techniques and tools.

Based upon industry leading best practices taught in the CMMI and SEI measurement and analysis courses, these certifications will take a hands-on approach to problem-solving and data analysis. Planned specialization levels that advance expertise could include Yellow, Green, Black, and Master Black Belt professionals.

Current SEI Partners are invited to join in the development effort.  These Partners must have sponsored professionals who have taken or are scheduled to complete SEI courses in Implementing Goal-Driven Measurement, Improving Process Performance Using Six Sigma, and Designing Products and Processes Using Six Sigma.   Additionally, participating individuals will need to have a current Green Belt, Black Belt, or Master Black Belt in Six Sigma.

If your Partner organization is interested in participating in this unique opportunity, please send email to Jefferson Welch, SEI Certification Manager, at CMMISixSigmaCertification-Info@sei.cmu.edu.

Because these opportunities are in the development stages, more detailed information
will be available at a later time.

TSP Product Suite News

TSP Symposium 2008 - "High Performance Process"

The Software Engineering Institute and Carnegie Mellon University are pleased to announce that registration is now open for the third Team Software Process (TSP) Symposium that will be held in Phoenix, Arizona from September 22-24 , 2008. An invitation-only workshop will be held September 25th in Phoenix.

The TSP Symposium is the event where all of the yearly TSP activities will occur. The purpose of the conference is to bring together the users, adopters, and developers of the TSP, those involved in its development and transition, and those who are new to the technology and eager to learn more. The attendees will have the opportunity to exchange ideas, concepts, and lessons learned concerning the experiences, best practices, and suggested introduction strategy for the TSP methods and practices.

To find out more about the TSP Symposium visit http://www.sei.cmu.edu/tsp/symposium.html.  Registration is available at http://www.sei.cmu.edu/tsp/registration.html.  The Early Bird deadline for registration is June 30, 2008.  See you in Phoenix!

TSP Executive Strategy Seminar in Munich

Watts Humphrey, U.S. National Medal of Technology winner, and Jim Over, leader of the Team Software Process (TSP) initiative at the SEI, will teach the TSP Executive Strategy Seminar on June 9 as one of several events kicking off the SEPG Europe Conference, which will be held June 10-13 at the Hilton Munich Park in Munich, Germany.

This one-day seminar targets software executives and middle managers and delves into the key concepts of the TSP and Personal Software Process (PSP) methodologies. Both were developed by Humphrey, a senior fellow at the SEI, as an approach to help teams and individuals incorporate CMMI® principles and practices at the team level in their organizations.

TSP provides both strategies and procedures for teams which want to track progress against their project plans. PSP, a more individualized methodology, illustrates to managers and engineers the value of planning and tracking projects as well as the value of effective quality management and the importance of involving engineers in process measurement, management, and improvement.

The TSP Executive Strategy Seminar is open to the public and includes a fee separate from the cost of SEPG Europe registration. After registering for the seminar, attendees will receive a copy of Winning with Software: An Executive Strategy by Watts Humphrey as well as an accompanying letter detailing pre-course reading assignments.

For more information, visit www.sei.cmu.edu/products/courses/tsp-exsem.html or email customer-relations@sei.cmu.edu.

Humphrey will also offer a keynote presentation at the SEPG Europe Conference. For more information about his keynote address, or to read his complete biography, visit www.sei.cmu.edu/sepgeurope/2008/program_speakers.html.

For more information about SEPG Europe, please visit www.sei.cmu.edu/sepgeurope/2008.

SEI News

Register for SEPG Europe by May 2 for $200 Early-Bird Discount

Register now for the SEPG^SM Europe 2008 Conference, which will be held at the Hilton Munich Park in Munich, Germany on June 10-13, 2008.

If you register by the early-bird discount deadline of May 2, you'll save $200. Groups of 10 or more from the same organization may be eligible for a 10 percent discount.

SEPG Europe is an annual event that focuses on performance improvement through process capability. SEPG Europe draws attendees from across Europe and the rest of the world with a strong technical program, exciting keynotes, two in-depth symposia, and much, much more. SEPG Europe 2008 will focus on multi-model improvement, acquisition, high maturity, maintenance, measurement, and management specifically geared to the European community.

The conference will include presentations, tutorials, workshops, and panels as well as two-day symposia on "Getting Started in Process Improvement" and "Measurement and Analysis."

You can download a PDF file of the preliminary program of the conference as well as PDF files showing the schedule for each conference day.

Opportunities to exhibit at and sponsor the conference are still available, but they are limited. To find out more, visit http://www.sei.cmu.edu/sepgeurope/2008/exhibits.html and http://www.sei.cmu.edu/sepgeurope/2008/sponsors.html.

For more information about SEPG Europe 2008, registration, and group discounts, visit http://www.sei.cmu.edu/sepgeurope/2008.