SEI Partner Network Newsletter

In this issue:

• Reopened Licensing Opportunity for Introduction to CMMI®
• SEI Partner Program and Authorization Programs Developing a Code of Conduct
• CMMI Adoption Data Available
• Third Annual CMMI Technology Conference and User Group
• Inaugural SCAMPI Lead Appraiser^SM and Introduction to CMMI Instructor Workshops
• CMMI Interpretive Guidance Report Being Released in October
• CERT/CC® Announces Certification Program for Computer Security Incident Handling

 

Reopened Licensing Opportunity for Introduction to CMMI®

The opportunity to license the Introduction to Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) Version 1.1 course for commercial delivery was reopened this summer. On June 1, we began accepting applications from existing SEI Partners only. In the months of June, July, and August, 46 applications were received. Members of the CMMI technical team, our contracts department, and the SEI Partner Program reviewed the applications. Our intention for the review was to accept applications that best reflected the ideal qualities of a SEI Partner, including

• The ability to provide the highest quality training and consulting services using skilled and knowledgeable instructors and appraisers;
• The use of quality assurance measures for training and consulting services;
• Demonstrated ability to transition technology practices in commercial settings, including competence in organizational change management;
• The financial ability to sponsor candidates through the authorization process, to effectively market CMMI services to their target market, and to make other investments that may be necessary to achieve their business plans;
• An interest in providing CMMI services in parts of the world that may currently be underserved or in languages that may be under-represented in our current pool of SEI Partners.

Every application was given full consideration in this process and was reviewed by at least 12 people. The reviewers then met and made a final determination on each application. The 31 applications that were accepted represent a broad range of organizations that

• Range in size from 1 employee to thousands of employees,
• Are based in the US and outside the US,
• Have offered SW-CMM® services and are now upgrading to CMMI or are expanding their product offerings to include CMMI services in addition to other SEI technologies such as TSP^SM.

Applicants who were not accepted will be eligible to reapply in one year. As of October 1, 2003, the opportunity is available to the general public

SEI Partner Program and Authorization Programs Developing a Code of Conduct

In an effort to improve the SEI Partner and Authorization Programs, we have started to develop a code of conduct that will apply to all SEI Partners, authorized individuals, and SEI employees. Our vision for the code is that it will (1) define the minimum acceptable behaviors to which we can hold one another accountable, and (2) define the consequences for violating those standards.

We have engaged John Maher to lead this development. Every SEI Partner and authorized individual will be provided an opportunity to review the code and provide their input. To get started, we are collecting a list of behaviors that are questionable and should perhaps be disallowed by the code of conduct. If you would like to submit any types of behavior that you think are inappropriate for the members of our community (no need to name names), you may send them to quality-group@sei.cmu.edu. Gibbie Hart, Will Hayes, John Maher, and David White will receive the email sent to this alias.

SEI Membership Fee Changes October 1 brought in our new fiscal year and with it came higher fees. The fee for a new membership is $200 for SEI Partners and $350 for all others.

CMMI Adoption Data Available

The SEI has published the first maturity profile for the CMMI Product Suite. The profile presents the latest CMMI adoption trends based on 100 Standard CMMI Appraisal Method for Process Improvement (SCAMPI) V 1.1 appraisals using CMMI V 1.1 models conducted between April 2002 and June 2003.

A maturity profile is a slide presentation that shows how an improvement method (in this case, SCAMPI) is being adopted worldwide based on SEI-authorized appraisal results. Data are presented in a series of graphs and bar charts by organization type, size, location, maturity level, and other variables.

Third Annual CMMI Technology Conference and User Group

The Systems Engineering Division of the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA), in conjunction with the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, is pleased to announce the Third Annual CMMI Technology Conference and User Group. This important conference will be held November 17 - 20, 2003 at the Hyatt Regency Tech Center in Denver, Colorado.

The purpose of the conference is to bring together the users, adopters, and developers of Capability Maturity Models, as well as people involved in process improvement, to exchange ideas, concepts, and lessons learned concerning maturity models and appraisal (assessment and evaluation) methods.

Inaugural SCAMPI Lead Appraiser and Introduction to CMMI Instructor Workshops

The SCAMPI Lead Appraiser Workshop will be held on November 4-5 and the Introduction to CMMI Instructor Workshop will be held on November 6 at the Crystal City Marriott. Candidate lead appraisers and candidate CMMI instructors are also welcome. There will be no registration fees associated with the workshops. For more information on these workshops, please see the 7/14/03 announcement.

Complimentary Registrations for Exhibiting SEI Partners at SEPG 2004 Each SEI Partner organization paying to exhibit at SEPG 2004 is entitled to one free full registration for the conference.

CMMI Interpretive Guidance Report Being Released in October

The CMMI Interpretive Guidance project was formed to help commercial software, information technology (IT), and information systems (IS) organizations adopt CMMI. Project members collected the data to learn more about how CMMI is being accepted by these organizations. This report describes the data collection activities and includes summaries of the data collected through August 2003. The report will be available on the CMMI Interpretive Guidance Web site.

CERT/CC Announces Certification Program for Computer Security Incident Handling

The SEI's CERT Coordination Center (CERT/CC) has developed a program to train and certify individuals in computer security incident handling. The CERT Incident Handler Certification program provides a tangible recognition of skills from the CERT/CC, the Internet's first and best-known computer security incident response team.

The CERT incident handling certification program is designed for incident handlers, managers of computer security incident response teams, system and network administrators with incident handling experience, incident handling trainers and educators, and individuals with some technical training who want to enter the incident handling field.

To become certified, candidates must complete four CERT core courses (from the SEI or a licensed partner), complete one elective course within the program guidelines, and pass an exam. After successful completion of the courses, the applicant is required to pass an SEI-administered evaluation.

To learn more, see the incident handling certification program.