SEI Partner Network Newsletter

In this issue:

• Note from the Editor
• New Faces and Familiar Faces
• Code of Professional Conduct Project
• Software Engineering Process Group Conference (SEPG 2005)
• Availability of the Introduction to CMMI (Staged and Continuous) Teaching Materials
• Secret Service and CERT/CC Press Release
• Permission Form Available Online
• Looking Back

 

Note from the Editor

On behalf of the SEI Partner Network, I would like to extend a welcome to our newest Partners.

A new, ongoing section has been added to the Newsletter titled; "Know Your Agreement." Random sections of the Agreement between a Partner and the SEI will be addressed. It may or may not pertain to your organization's Agreement, so if you are in doubt, please be sure to check your Agreement.

New Faces

Welcome, Paul D. Nielsen, Director and Chief Executive Officer

Paul D. Nielsen is the new director of Carnegie Mellon University's Software Engineering Institute. Paul's leadership of the SEI started on August 1, 2004. Prior to his arrival, he served in the U.S. Air Force and retired as a Major General after 32 years of distinguished service.

Welcome, Jeff Welch

Jeff Welch started at the SEI on November 22. Prior to joining us, he worked for US Airways, Inc. for 15 years in the Flight Training Department. Jeff will be working with the Licensing Team in the development of the Certification Program.

Welcome, Stacey Newton

Stacey Newton joined the Partner Network Licensing Team on November 1 as the team's Administrative Coordinator. Stacey will soon be contacting the SEPM Partners regarding the upcoming meetings and reception that will be held at SEPG 2005 in Seattle, WA.

Familiar Faces, New Positions:

Darlene Moore, formerly of the CMMI Instructor Program, and Stacie (Collins) Blakley, formerly of the Contracts Department, will now be assisting you from the SEI Partner Network Licensing Program. Darlene is an Associate Account Executive working with Gibbie Hart and Tracey Kelly in support of the licensing of SEPM Program products. Stacie is an Account Executive working with NSS and Software Architecture. We greatly appreciate all of their significant contributions and wish them much success in their new positions.

Code of Professional Conduct Project

The deadline for signing the Code of Professional Conduct online commitment form has passed. The cancellation process of Agreements and revocation of authorizations for those who have not committed to the Code will soon begin. If you are one of these people or organizations, you will be notified through email, then through formal letter. If you are an authorized or certified individual or a business point-of-contact for an SEI Partner organization, and have not signed the Code and still want to continue your Agreement or authorization, please do so immediately by visiting the SEI Web site at http://www.sei.cmu.edu/partners/#code and following the directions as given below.

All individuals who are authorized or certified, or a candidate for a track, need to visit the SEI Web site at http://www.sei.cmu.edu/partners/#code, follow the instructions (PDF), and type the necessary information directly online on the interactive hard copy form (PDF) before being permitted into an advanced training class or before an authorization or certification will be given.

All business points-of-contact for organizations that are in the process to sign an Agreement to become a licensed Partner or are already a Partner need to visit the SEI Web site at http://www.sei.cmu.edu/partners/#code, follow the instructions (PDF), and type the necessary information directly online on the interactive hard copy form (PDF) before the final Agreement will be signed by the SEI.

If you have any questions, please refer to the Partner Network FAQs or send email to copc-info@sei.cmu.edu.

CMMI Product Suite Pricing
The current pricing for licensing the CMMI Product Suite components will remain unchanged through June 30, 2005.

Software Engineering Process Group Conference (SEPG 2005)

The SEI SEPG 2005 will be held March 7-10, 2005 in Seattle, Washington. A preliminary program is now online. Receive $100 off your regular conference fee if you register and send full payment by February 9, 2005. Last day for discounted rate is February 9, 2005. SEI Partners that exhibit at the SEPG receive a free full conference registration. For more information, see the SEPG Web site at http://www.sei.cmu.edu/sepg/.

Availability of the Introduction to CMMI (Staged and Continuous) Teaching Materials

The course materials for the new Introduction to CMMI (Staged and Continuous) are now available to those authorized instructors who have attended the upgrade training. These materials have been posted to TPWEB in the download menu and may be accessed using the same process used for other materials. If you haven't used this feature for a while, here is a reminder:

• Log into TPWEB
• Click on your partner name
• Select downloads
• Select service Intro to CMMI (Staged and Continuous)
• Submit

There are five options from which to choose. You may elect to download portions of the materials, or you may choose the last selection "Intro to CMMI (Staged and Continuous) Complete Download" to download all of the materials at one time. There is a PowerPoint file entitled Instructor Teaching Tips 121504.ppt in the Schedules and Other Materials selection. Please review this file, as it contains tips for teaching the new course modules.

If you have not attended the upgrade training, search this Web site for future offerings: http://www.sei.cmu.edu/appraisal-program/appraiser-communications/upgrade-training.html.

We are currently scheduling additional opportunities and will keep you updated on their availability. If you have questions regarding these materials, additional training opportunities, or your status as an authorized instructor to deliver the combined course, contact Barbara Baldwin at blb@sei.cmu.edu.

Secret Service and CERT/CC Press Release - August 24, 2004

The U.S. Secret Service, a part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute's CERT® Coordination Center (CERT/CC) today announced the findings of the first Insider Threat Study report, a collaborative effort to better understand insider activities affecting information systems and data in critical infrastructure sectors. The report focuses on the people who have had access to and have perpetrated harm using information systems in the banking and finance sector, which includes credit unions and financial institutions. For more information on this article, see http://www.sei.cmu.edu/about/press/insider-threat-release.html.

Permission Form Available Online

Many uses of Carnegie Mellon copyrighted materials require written permission. See http://www.sei.cmu.edu/about/legal-permissions.html for the general guidelines regarding use for use of Carnegie Mellon University trademarks or service marks, the SEI name, or any logo associated with the SEI in connection with any of your organization's goods or services. To request permission, you may now submit your request via the online permission form found at http://www.sei.cmu.edu/partners/
permissionsFORM.html

LOOKING BACK

SCAMPI Lead Appraisers and CMMI Instructors 2nd Annual Workshop and Upgrade Training

On October 26-28, 2004, nearly 300 SCAMPI Lead Appraisers and CMMI instructors gathered in Pittsburgh for training, presentations, and breakout sessions. There was a 117% increase in attendance from the 2003 workshop. Some of the topics covered included the status of CMMI Version 1.2, the SEI Partner Program, and the SCAMPI Version 1.1A update.

Training was conducted for 156 CMMI instructors who will be able to deliver the new Introduction to CMMI (Staged and Continuous) course and for 231 Lead Appraisers who are now authorized to lead SCAMPI B&C appraisals.

Presentations and breakout session reports are now available on TPWeb under the respective Download link. If you experience problems in accessing the materials, please check to make sure that you are added to your sponsoring partner's team in TPWeb or send email to tpweb@sei.cmu.edu.

Team Software Process (TSP) User Group Meeting

The SEI's Second TSP User Group (TUG) Meeting took place on September 27-28, 2004, in Pittsburgh, PA. This year, the conference attracted 90 attendees, doubling last year's attendance. Attendees enjoyed 13 presentations, as well as keynote addresses by Watts Humphrey, developer of the Team Software Process; Paul Nielsen, the new director and CEO of the SEI; and Sham Banerji from Texas Instruments India.

"It was a very successful conference. We doubled in size from last year and had quite a few great presentations. Our attendees were very pleased with what we had at the conference," said the SEI's Dan Burton, who chaired the conference.

For more information about TSP and the TSP User Group meeting, please send email to tsp@sei.cmu.edu

SEPG Australia 2004

The Software Quality Institute, Griffith University and the SEI co-sponsored the SEPG Australia Conference 2004 held at the Stamford Grand hotel in Glenelg from 27th to 29th September 2004. The conference theme for this year was "Learning from Experience". The conference concentrated on gaining lessons learned from improvement experiences and passing these on to other industry practitioners.

There were 107 attendees from four countries; Australia, USA, Thailand, and India. There were eight exhibit booths and the program included two keynotes, six tutorial/workshops and 24 presenters.

SEPG LA 2004

European Software Institute, Bilbao, Spain (ESI) and the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) co-sponsored the first ever Software Engineering Process Group Latin America (SEPG LA) that took place November 8-10, 2004 in Guadalajara, Mexico. The theme of the conference was: Quality software for a competitive enterprise.

The event attracted more than 240 professionals from all parts of Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Chili, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, Uruguay) and others parts of the world (USA, Spain, Canada, UK).

The Exhibition Area had 14 booths (most of the companies form Mexico but also from Argentina, Spain and USA).