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SEI Partner Network Newsletter

In this issue:

• SEI Partner News
• Improved SEI Web Site to Launch Next Year
• SEI Partner Advisory Board News
• CMMI Product Suite News
• TSP Product Suite News
• SEI News

SEI Partner News

The SEI will be closed December 24, 25, 31 and Jan 1.   On behalf of the Partner Network Team, we wish all of you Happy Holidays and a very safe and prosperous 2008.

Licensing-In Opportunities

The SEI is interested in working with SEI Partners to license Partner-developed products that can benefit the software community. 

If your organization is interested in collaborating with the SEI to license a product, course, or technology you have developed, please submit a letter of interest.  Please include a brief description of your product along with an acknowledgment of your interest.

Some examples of the licensing-in technologies would be for:
- Successful CMMI implementation using Six Sigma
- Improving Processes in Small Settings
- Unified Process Improvement Approach (UPIA)
- Multi-model integration
- Process metrics for regulatory requirements  

Please submit your Letter of Interest to Lisa Masciantonio (lm@sei.cmu.edu), SEI Partner Relationship Manager.

SEPG North America 2008

A VIP Networking Social, VIP Hospitality Lounge, Reserved Seating, Annual SEI Partner Luncheon and much, much more await you in Tampa, FL at the SEPG North America Conference.  Visit http://www.sei.cmu.edu/sepg/2008/network.html to find out how to register for the conference and join in for all of the networking, exhibiting, and business opportunities.

Improved SEI Web Site to Launch Next Year

In 2008, the SEI will unveil a new and improved Web site. For the past several months, the SEI’s Web Communication Team has been analyzing current Web content, researching content management systems, and creating outlines of a better organized and more informative SEI Web site. The team is now ready to begin the work of the modernization.

As the SEI moves forward with this effort, we will be including Partners in the process by asking for your suggestions and comments, most likely through surveys and user testing. We will also stay in touch with you to keep you informed of changes to SEI Web pages--the new system will bring many changes, including new URLs for many pages. Look for more information in the next Partner Network newsletter.

SEI Partner Advisory Board News

For Business Points of Contact Only

The SEI Partner Advisory Board ("Board") is pleased to announce that it is currently seeking nominations to fill positions for the 2008 Board.  We are seeking nominations to fill four upcoming positions for the Board.  The positions are opening as a result of the completion of their initial terms of the following members: Bill Bolander, John Maher, Terry Rout, Dan Roy and Kathy Smith.

We invite you to nominate individuals who are current SEI Business Point of Contacts and who embody the SEI and Partner Networks commitment to respond to your business performance.  Individuals filling Board positions must also be in good standing and have signed the CoPC.  The primary role of this Board is to represent the SEI Partner community by providing advice to the SEI regarding its direction and activities.  The Board has been founded because the SEI recognizes that the Partners make a significant contribution to fulfilling the SEI Mission.  Please be advised that service on the Board is voluntary and the members are not compensated by the SEI.

Nominations will be accepted from now until 5 January 08.  You are welcome to self-nominate.  The Board will review the submissions and determine eligibility for those individuals with the most nominations and who agree to serve on this Board.  All qualified nominees will be contacted to confirm that they are willing to participate.  If chosen and willing to participate, the nominee should submit a brief biographical sketch, with key experience highlighted.  There will then be a vote among all BPoCs to determine the elected members.

If you want the Board to be effective and representative of your interests, it is important that you participate in the nomination and voting process.  If you have not received a personal email giving you a temporary password to log into the Partner Advisory Board Web site, please send email to partner-info@sei.cmu.edu.

CMMI Product Suite News

CMMI Update

Introduction to CMMI Instructor Authorization Renewal Requirements Due

This is a reminder that Introduction to CMMI instructor authorization renewal requirements are due by December 31, 2007.  Instructor authorizations are renewed in January of every year.

Introduction to CMMI instructors must maintain a log of relevant activities and provide these logs to their sponsoring SEI Partner Business Point of Contact on an annual basis.  SEI Partner organization Business Points of Contact are responsible for maintaining awareness of each Introduction to CMMI instructor being sponsored under their Agreement and for tracking their progress in satisfying the renewal requirements.

Visit http://www.sei.cmu.edu/partners/cmmiv1.2/instructor/authorize.html for details of the instructor authorization requirements.  If you have any questions or comments, send them to cmmi-instructor-program@sei.cmu.edu.

Informative Material Is Important to CMMI Model Interpretation and Implementation

The SEI has been in touch with the CMMI community lately with regard to informative material in CMMI models. The informative material supports the correct interpretation and implementation of CMMI practices, but is neither required nor expected, nor is it to be used as part of a checklist in an appraisal.

Information and announcements about CMMI informative material are available at www.sei.cmu.edu/cmmi/adoption/cmmi-informative.html.

CMMI for Acquisition, Version 1.2 Model Now Available

The SEI recently released its CMMI for Acquisition, version 1.2 model (CMMI-ACQ), which provides guidance to acquisition organizations for initiating and managing the acquisition of products and services.

For more information, visit
CMMI-ACQ announcement:
http://www.sei.cmu.edu/cmmi/models/ACQ-v12-announce.html

CMMI for Acquisition, version 1.2 model: http://www.sei.cmu.edu/publications/documents/07.reports/
07tr017.html. 

If you have questions or comments, send email to cmmi-comments@sei.cmu.edu.

SCAMPI Update

Certified SCAMPI High Maturity Lead Appraisers (HM LAs)

Two event cycles have been created to support the HM LA program: submission of applications and administration of oral exams. Each of these cycles is eight months long. They are off-set by two months to allow for candidates to submit applications and for the SEI to prepare resources before oral exams begin. Each cycle is limited to eight months in order to allow for review and analysis of the previous cycle, new exam development, validation of new exam questions, and examiner training before the next cycle begins.

The latest application submission cycle for SCAMPI HM LA certification opened on August 1, 2007 and will close on March 31, 2008. The next application submission cycle will begin on August 1, 2008 and end on March 31, 2009. This cycle will repeat each year.

The most recent oral examination cycle began at the 5th Annual CMMI Workshop for SCAMPI Lead Appraisers, SCAMPI B&C Team Leaders, and CMMI Instructors in St. Louis, Missouri on October 15, 2007. The open period for examinations will close on May 30, 2008. The next exam cycle will begin on October 1, 2008 and end on May 30, 2009. This cycle will repeat each year.

Renewal of HM LA Certification

The initial cadre of SCAMPI HM LA's received certifications that were due to expire on January 31, 2008. This expiration date has been extended to March 31, 2009. Revised renewal criteria include the following:

• You must maintain your SCAMPI LA authorization.

• You must successfully complete the new SCAMPI LA written exam prior to March 31, 2009.
• Your renewal cycle will then be based on the date of successful completion of the SCAMPI LA written exam.

Authorized SCAMPI Lead Appraisers

The transition from authorization to certification for SCAMPI LAs includes all currently authorized and candidate SCAMPI Lead Appraisers. Quality improvement efforts currently underway include the following:  The SCAMPI Lead Appraiser Body of Knowledge (SLA BOK), developed by the SEI and community experts, has been released to provide professional guidance for all LAs. Development of a new SCAMPI LA written exam based on competencies identified in the SLA BOK is underway, with a release planned for the Summer of 2008.

For more information on the SCAMPI High Maturity Lead Appraiser certification program, please visit
http://www.sei.cmu.edu/certification/scampihmla.html.

TSP Product Suite News

TSP Symposium 2008
"High Performance Process"

September 22-24, 2008
General Session

September 25, 2008
PSP/TSP Instructor/Coach Workshop
Attendance at this workshop is by invitation

We invite abstracts of approximately 300 words, describing papers and presentations relative to experiences in transitioning and supporting TSP teams in commercial, military/government, or academic organizations.  Abstracts are due to the SEI no later than February 29, 2008.

Abstracts should emphasize:
team performance, measurement, improvement, and benefits
how TSP has served as an enabler in your Process Improvement efforts
demonstrate the quality benefits to the project and product
There will be one presentation per day following each morning's keynote address dedicated to BEST IMPLEMENTATION within an organization.  An award will be given to the organization with the BEST IMPLEMENTATION project results.  The winner will be selected by the TSP Symposium Program Committee with input from the SEI TSP Team.

For more information on submitting your abstract please visit http://www.sei.cmu.edu/tsp/participation.html.

SEI News

New SEI Guide to Products and Services Now Available

The SEI Guide to Products and Services is a complete catalog of the SEI's tools and methods, customer engagements, education and training, conferences, credentials, publications, and opportunities to collaborate with the SEI on research. To obtain a hard copy of this document, contact SEI Customer Relations at 1-888-201-4479 or customer-relations@sei.cmu.edu.

Interoperable Acquisition Workshop Offers Insight into Effective Systems-of-Systems Governance

The Carnegie Mellon® Software Engineering Institute (SEI) proudly announces the release of the Interoperable Acquisition Overview. This workshop introduces key concepts for acquisition in the context of systems of systems. The focus is on how to integrate program management activities, development practices, operational activities, and sustainment into a set of practices—collectively referred to as "interoperable acquisition"—for attaining interoperable capability across systems of systems. Through lecture, group exercises, and class discussions, this set of practices is shown to provide the foundation for effective governance in a systems-of-systems environment.

Delivered at the customer's site, Interoperable Acquisition Overview is a 1/2-day workshop, with the option to have an additional 1/2-day consulting session with the instructor. For more information or to arrange delivery of this workshop at your site, please contact Linda Shooer at les@sei.cmu.edu or at 412-268-7622.

This workshop will benefit:

• Individuals who make decisions about systems-of-systems strategy and implementation
• Technical managers, managers, and engineers looking for an explanation of what interoperable acquisition in a systems-of-systems context involves
• Technical managers, managers, and engineers who are working in acquisition programs in a systems-of-systems context
• Individuals tasked with the acquisition, development, or deployment of interoperable systems in a systems-of-systems context

A complete description of the Interoperable Acquisition Overview is available at http://www.sei.cmu.edu/products/courses/s12.html. More information about interoperable acquisition and systems of systems can be found at http://www.sei.cmu.edu/isis/organization.htm.

SEI Begins Educational Collaboration with Leading Indian University BITS Pilani

The SEI has begun a new collaboration in postgraduate, professional education with the Birla Institute of Technology and Science with main campus in Pilani, Rajasthan, India (BITS Pilani). On Monday, representatives from the SEI and BITS Pilani signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate in education and research activities.

This collaboration represents an important educational opportunity to the SEI community. The first offering under this MOU is in postgraduate education: BITS will collaborate with the SEI in delivery of the SEI Certificate in Personal Software Process for CMMI. Organizations participating in selected BITS work-integrated programs—postgraduate degree programs that require students to complete real-world work experience—are invited to nominate outstanding candidates to earn this certificate.

With top rankings among Indian institutions, BITS Pilani offers postgraduate work-integrated programs to more than 8,000 actively participating students working in leading software development companies in India.