Donald J. Bagert

Licensing and Certification of Software Professionals

Abstract For many years, software organizations have needed to hire developers with a wide range of academic and professional qualifications, due to the ongoing shortage of individuals qualified to create and maintain the products required to satisfy marketplace demand. Many of these companies have used the certification credentials of such individuals to help judge whether they have the proper background for the development requirements of their particular software organization. Certification is a voluntary process intended to document the achievement of some level of skill or capability. Such certification can be awarded through a variety of organizations. To date, company-based certification programs have been dominant in the software field. These programs have been created and run by a particular company, and are usually centered on determining an individuals qualification to use a particular type of software that is marketed by that business. However, these programs are often limited in scope, and sometimes make it possible to acquire certification with little practical software development background or formal training. However, there have recently been a growing number of efforts to provide more comprehensive certification programs for software professionals through professional societies and independent organizations. Some of such certificates are offered as a specialization in areas that in a number of fields are a part of the product development process, e.g., quality assurance and project management. In other cases, there are programs intended to certify individuals for having general knowledge and abilities across a wide range of software development areas. In some countries, such certification of software engineering professionals is done on a nationwide basis by an engineering professional society. There has also been an increased interest in the licensing of software engineering professionals. Licensing is a more formal version of certification that involves a government-sanctioned or government-specified process, with the health, safety and welfare of the public in mind. Since engineering is a field where licensing is commonplace in many countries, most of this effort has focused on the licensing of software engineers. However, while licensing is commonplace in professions such as law and medicine, it has until recently been virtually unknown in the information technology field. A number of IT professionals have raised a variety of concerns about the licensing of software engineers, including issues related to liability and the body of knowledge upon which to base such licensing programs. This chapter will examine the various licensing and certification initiatives, including the history of its development, the process and content of such programs, and the arguments both for and against licensing and certification.

Using a web-based project process throughout the software engineering curriculum

In order to facilitate the study and use of software process, which is essential to the education of future software professionals, a standard and tailorable project process has been developed over the last five years at Texas Tech University for use in both undergraduate and graduate curricula, with a total 12 courses involved The process is entirely web-based, and includes a complete set of HTML document templates in order to facilitate the creation of project artifacts which are posted to the course web page. This method enhances communication between team members, including distance education students, and between the project team and client. The project process has received positive feedback from all stakeholders involved This paper discusses the benefits of the web-based project process, its relation to curriculum models, and plans for a more formal assessment of the process. The portability of process to other institutions is also discussed, with an example provided.

SEER: charting a roadmap for software engineering education

This past decade has seen a number of innovative, pioneering projects related to the development of software engineering both as a profession and as an academic discipline. However, most of these projects either are complete or projected for completion by 2004, and it is unclear as to what the software engineering education community should be doing next to build on this work. This half-day workshop will bring together stakeholders in software engineering education (both academic and industry) to discuss this topic and to outline a Software Engineering Education Roadmap (SEER) which could potentially provide needed direction for this community over the next several years. A website and email list for SEER was created in order to start the discussion before the workshop, will be used both to disseminate the roadmap formulated by the participants and continue the dialog after it.

Software engineering baccalaureate programs in the United States: an overview

There are currently over 20 bachelor of science in software engineering degree programs in the United States. The first accredited software engineering programs in the US are likely in the 2002-03 cycle, and it is expected that the total number of such programs will continue to see steady growth for several years to come. The authors have provided a comparison of programs in order to determine what trends are emerging, which will benefit both current software engineering undergraduate programs, as well as those institutions which are thinking of creating new degrees of this type. The curriculum content of these programs are broken down by subject area and compared with curriculum models and accreditation criteria. The results of a survey of undergraduate software engineering programs worldwide that was conducted by the authors is used both to provide additional data about the U.S. programs and to compare them as a group to their counterparts in other countries.

Texas licensing of software engineers: all's quiet, for now

The notion of licensing software engineers has been weighed and argued on global, national, and statewide platforms for many years. Here, we go to the frontlines---Texas and Canada---where the practice of licensing is in fact well under way. Sentiments may not have mellowed regarding this subject, but the perspectives we present here are based on real experiences.

Guest Editors' Introduction: Software Engineering Curriculum Development

The first software engineering programs were at the graduate level, primarily as terminal masters degrees for those already developing commercial and industrial software. By the early 1990s, educators began to consider software engineerings role at the undergraduate level. This special issues articles reflect the common foundations of both baccalaureate and masters programs as well as diverse approaches to teaching software engineering. This article is part of a special issue on Software Engineering Curriculum Development.

Current State of Software Engineering Master’s Degree Programs In the United States

To date, most graduate software engineering degree programs in the United States have used the model of a professional degree similar to that of a Master of Business Administration; that is, a terminal degree where graduates are going into industry rather than academia. In particular, the software engineering Masters degrees have often focused on students who are already software developers in the workplace and also have either a bachelors degree in another computing discipline or have completed sufficient undergraduate prerequisites in order to do the graduate coursework. This paper provides the most comprehensive list in recent years of those programs in the United States that offer a Masters degree with a major of Software Engineering, along with information concerning online education, capstone requirements, required background and courses offered

Developing and using a web-based project process throughout the software engineering curriculum

In order to facilitate the study and use of software process, which is essential to the education of future software professionals, a standard and tailorable project process has been developed over the last five years at Texas Tech University for use in both undergraduate and graduate curricula, with a total 12 courses involved. The process is entirely web-based, and includes a complete set of HTML document templates in order to facilitate the creation of project artifacts which are posted to the course web page. This method enhances communication between team members, including distance education students, and between the project team and client. The project process has received positive feedback from all stakeholders involved.This paper discusses the benefits of the web-based project process, its relation to curriculum models, and plans for a more formal assessment of the process. The portability of process to other institutions is also discussed, with an example provided.

E-COACH: a paradigm shift for efficient advising

The College of Engineering has become a leader at Texas Tech University in the development of software tools to help students succeed in college and to make the advising process more efficient and effective. The process has a web-based focus and is quickly evolving into an electronic coach, E-COACH. Access is free. E-COACH serves three primary education functions: general education assessment and management, quick advising, and programs assessment. The first function is especially useful to high school students, perspective students visiting a college campus, and students on campus who are undecided about a major or who struggle in their academic work. This tool and related work is causing a paradigm shift in the advising process on campus, especially in the College of Engineering. Both advising quality and efficiency are improving. This work seems to be increasing both recruitment and retention of students. Work to date has focused on undergraduate engineering education.

Norm's legacy: a perspective from the next generation

The leaps and bounds that software engineering education has made over the last severalyears has been greatly influenced by the pioneering work of Norman Gibbs, especially duringhis tenure as director of the Education Program of the Software Engineering Institute - cited byin 1999 by FASE as one of the Top Ten Contributions in software engineering education,training and professional issues of the 20th century - during the Programs first five years ofexistence. Virtually everyone working in the software engineering education field today hasbeen touched either directly or indirectly by the legacy Norm Gibbs left us. This talk willexamine the influence that Norm and the Education Program have had on the currentgeneration of the software engineering education community, including the authors personalexperiences.