SEI Partner Network Newsletter

In this issue:

• CMMI News
• Save the Date!
• TSP News
• Conference News

CMMI News

CMMI for Acquisition Primer, Version 1.2 Available

The CMMI for Acquisition Primer, Version 1.2 provides those who acquire products and services an introduction to CMMI best practices that can help them. Replacing the CMMI Acquisition Module, the primer (57 pages) is based on the best practices of the CMMI for Acquisition (CMMI-ACQ), Version 1.2 model (441 pages) and can be used by projects that acquire products or services in government and non-government organizations.

Best practices in the primer cover activities such as monitoring and controlling contractors and suppliers that develop products and services and deliver services. The practices in this primer provide a foundation for acquisition process discipline and rigor that enables product and service development and service delivery to be repeatedly executed for ultimate acquisition success.

Since the primer does not include the rich detail of the informative material found in the CMMI-ACQ model, most organizations will, after using this primer, implement the CMMI-ACQ model. The informative material of a CMMI model helps model users and appraisers correctly and consistently interpret CMMI goals and practices. Also not covered in the primer are the process areas that address organization-wide processes, which govern the activities of multiple projects.

The CMMI-ACQ Primer is a stand-alone guide that prepares users for implementing the CMMI-ACQ model for process improvement. The primer focuses on efficient and effective acquisition processes and practices that are implemented by first-level acquisition projects.

To download a copy of the primer, see the CMMI for Acquisition Primer, Version 1.2 entry in the Publications area of the SEI website.

CMMI-ACQ Kit Now Available for authorized SCAMPI LAs and B&C Team Leaders for Acquisition

The CMMI-ACQ Kit, a new addition to the SCAMPI LA Kit, is now available on the Partner Resource Center (https://partner-resources.sei.cmu.edu/) for use by authorized SCAMPI LAs and B&C Team Leaders for Acquisition.  This is meant to be used as a supplement to the original SCAMPI LA Kit for Acquisition appraisals.

As with your SCAMPI authorization, you must be affiliated with an SEI Partner licensed to provide the CMMI for Acquisition.  If you currently do not have the ACQ authorization and are interested in learning more about it, send email to partner-info@sei.cmu.edu.   For information on the requirements for SCAMPI LA for Acquisition, visit http://www.sei.cmu.edu/
partners/cmmiv1.2/scampila/ acq-authorize.html.

Please contact Michele Falce (mbaker@sei.cmu.edu) if you have any questions about the ACQ Kit files or its use.

Save the Date!

TSP Symposium 2008

September 22-24, 2008
Invitation-only workshop
September 25, 2008
Phoenix, AZ

The agenda for the TSP Symposium 2008 is now available online at http://www.sei.cmu.edu/tsp/symposium/agenda.html .  Begin the registration process by visiting http://www.regmaster.com/conf/tsp2008.html.

TSP News 

Resources Update

The videos for the Leading a Development Team course are now available on the SEI Partner Resource Center (PRC).  The Web address for the PRC is https://partner-resources.sei.cmu.edu/; If you are having trouble with your password, please use the Forgot your password? link for assistance.

You can also find an updated version of the PSP Body of Knowledge at http://www.sei.cmu.edu/publications/ documents/05.reports/
05sr003.html; There was a minor clean-up of the text but no major content changes have been made to the document.

PSP Advanced Blended Learning Course Soon Available

The SEI has just completed the development of the new PSP Advanced course to be released for delivery through the SEI Blended Learning System soon!

This five-day course covers advanced topics of Personal Software Process (PSP), expands on Team Software Process (TSP) concepts and picks up where PSP Fundamentals left off.  Successful completion of both PSP Fundamentals and PSP Advanced is a prerequisite to both PSP Instructor Training and TSP Coach Training. Together the two PSP courses cover a significant subset of the PSP Body of Knowledge and help to prepare students for the PSP Developer Certification exam, which is also a prerequisite to both the PSP Instructor Training and TSP Coach Training courses.

This is a blended learning course, which is a blend of real-time instruction and work that is performed at a pace that is convenient and comfortable for students (asynchronous learning).  Asynchronous learning includes access to course materials, submission of assignments, and feedback from the instructors - all provided online by the SEI Blended Learning system.

Watch your email for an update from the SEI for the availability to teach this exciting new course.  If you are not already an SEI Blended Learning Instructor, but would like to use this new delivery method, see the PSP Instructor Introduction to the SEI Blended Learning System - this complimentary course gives you the necessary understanding to deliver courses via the BL System.

Conference News

Call for Workshop Participation: Service-Oriented Architectures and Software Product Lines- Putting Both Together (SOAPL 2008)

The SEI is seeking participants for a Service-Oriented Architectures and Software Product Lines- Putting Both Together (SOAPL 2008) workshop that will be held September 8, 2008.

The workshop will be held during the 12th International Product Line Conference in Limerick, Ireland on September 8-12, 2008. For more information about the conference, please visit www.lero.ie/splc2008.

Topics of interest for the workshop include, but are not limited to:

• Practice areas that span both SOA and product lines (e.g., domain analysis, legacy mining, operations/governance, etc.)
• Handling variability through services
• Cost models to justify investment in SOA for product lines
  
• Use of support technology such as: domain specific languages, tools, other
  
• Differences between service-oriented and more conventional product line development approaches
  
• Architectural approaches: static vs. dynamic

Submission Instructions

Prospective participants are required to submit a 3-6 page position paper or experience report pertaining to the workshop topics listed above or describing the software architecture or other artifacts of a SOA-based product line.

All submissions will be reviewed by members of the program committee for quality and relevance. Accepted papers will become part of the workshop proceedings. Three or four papers will be chosen to be presented during the workshop to foment discussion. Submit your paper in PDF form to soa-workshop@sei.cmu.edu or by July 1, 2008. Notifications of paper or experience report acceptance will be sent by July 15, 2008. The camera-ready version of accepted papers is due July 31, 2008.

For more information, please visit www.sei.cmu.edu/productlines/SOAPL2008

Submit Abstracts Now for the CMMI Technology Conference and User Group

NDIA is accepting abstract submissions for presentations and tutorials for the CMMI Technology Conference and User Group. This conference will be held November 17-20, 2008, at the Hyatt Regency Tech Center in Denver, Colorado.

Abstracts should be approximately 250 to 300 words, and are due no later than midnight EDT, May 31, 2008. Visit the NDIA conference site at www.ndia.org/meetings/9110 for more information on abstract requirements and how to submit abstracts online.

Calls for Keynote Nominations and Conference Topics for SEPG North America 2009

The SEPG North America 2009 Conference will be held on March 23-26, 2009, in San Jose, California. We've made it easier than ever to suggest keynote speakers and program topics for the conference. Just go to http://www.sei.cmu.edu/sepg/2008/news_2009.html on the the SEPG North America 2008 Post-Conference site, and click on the links to submit your ideas.

The Program Committee looks forward to hearing from you every year. These two calls will be open through August 1, 2008, but get those ideas in early to have a better chance of influencing the program.

And while you're on the SEPG North America 2008 Post-Conference site (http://www.sei.cmu.edu/sepg/2008/index.html), enjoy the highlights, comments, reviews, our Top 10 Presenters, and more from the 2008 conference in Tampa, Florida.

Fourth Annual SATURN Workshop Attracts International Software Architecture Practitioners a Success!

"Over the last 15 years, the SEI has become a sort of mecca for software architecture---a place where anyone who is doing any work related to software architecture must go."

With those words, keynote speaker Philippe Kruchten spoke to the importance and influence the Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute (SEI) has had in the world of software architecture at the Fourth Annual SEI Software Architecture Technology User Network (SATURN) Workshop held April 30 - May 1, 2008 in Pittsburgh, Pa.

SATURN was launched four years ago as a place for software architects worldwide to exchange best practices in developing and acquiring software architectures and using them to build predictable, high-quality systems. Now, the SATURN Workshop has grown into an important destination for professionals to share how they successfully put SEI and other architecture technologies into practice. This year's workshop boasted keynotes, presentations, and tutorials from leading experts in the field of software architecture and people from over 50 companies from the United Kingdom, Canada, Thailand, South Korea, Argentina, India, Brazil, Belgium, Sweden, Germany, Japan, and the U.S attended this annual event.

According to Linda Northrop, director of the SEI's Product Line Systems Program and host of the SATURN Workshop, "It is vital for the SEI to interact with software architects and for them to learn from each other how SEI technologies can have an effect in the real world. SATURN offers a yearly gathering where that can take place. It's becoming a worldwide network of software architects."

For highlights of the 2008 SATURN workshop, please visit www.sei.cmu.edu/architecture/saturn/2008/.

Thank You to Partners Who Attended the SEPG Europe Conference!

We would like to extend a special thanks to all who attended the SEPG Europe conference in Munich last week.

The conference, held June 10-13 at the Hilton Munich Park, drew nearly 300 attendees from throughout the globe who were exposed to learning, growing, and sharing in their process improvement and process management practices. From the keynote speakers to each session and tutorial leader, SEPG Europe 2008 provided attendees with the knowledge and practices to design the future of software development, software-intensive systems development, acquisition, and IT services delivery.

SEI Partners were well represented with more than 75 attendees from Partner organizations.

For highlights of the conference, please visit www.sei.cmu.edu/sepgeurope/2008. Check out the press room to see copies of the SEPG Europe newsletter.