Past Presentation | Software Excellence Alliance

Team Process Integration: Half-Day Course

Learning Materials, Past Presentation

Watch the Recording on YouTube

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Read the Full Meeting Minutes

Abstract:

This half-day course covers all aspects of the Team Process Integration (TPI) framework. The TPI methodology integrates disciplined project practices that can be applied by many product teams (e.g., software, systems, and test). It is a framework that provides fundamental engineering processes for the following areas: planning, tracking, quality, measurement and metrics, as well as communicating team status. The TPI method is used at the project level and is applied by individual members of a team to guide daily work.

This course includes the following topics (each individually available on YouTube):

About the Presenters

Dr. Brad Hodgins is a computer scientist and has been supporting Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) for 36 years. He has over 20 years of experience in developing simulation and avionics software. He has spent the last 16 years as a project planning and tracking coach and instructor for the Performance Resource Team (PRT), actively coaching project teams in the development of high-quality products for on-time, on-budget delivery to the fleet.

Brad views the SEA as an incredible venue to share best practices for planning and tracking software projects and to brainstorm solutions to problems currently affecting the Software Community. He is currently serving as the SEA Membership Coordinator and a member of the SEA Executive Team; he is also a member of the Next-Gen Tooling standing committee.

Jeff Schwalb is a computer scientist and has been supporting Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) since 1984. He has over 20 years of experience developing and acquiring real-time embedded software systems for avionics, weapons, and range instrumentation systems. He also began collaborating with the Software Engineering Institute (SEI), learning and applying CMM key practices, becoming a certified Personal Software Process℠ (PSP℠) instructor and then a certified Team Software Process℠ (TSP℠) coach. Over the last 25 years, he has taught and consulted with hundreds of scientists and engineers in various forms of personal engineering processes and has coached dozens of projects in the launch and operations of team project planning and tracking.

In 2017, Jeff connected with the SEI on the establishment of the organization we know today as the Software Excellence Alliance (SEA). Today, Jeff continues to work within the SEA to identify and establish pragmatic, value-added solutions to problems currently affecting the software community. He is currently serving as a member of the SEA Executive Team and as a supporting member of SEA working groups in areas such as Membership, Agile Community Networking, and Knowledge Transfer.

David Saint-Amand is a Performance improvement coach with the Process Resource Team of the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). His previous positions include DCS Corporation Section Manager, Naval Operations Research Analyst, Engineering Geologist, and Seismic Safety Consultant.

He holds a B.A. in Geology from the University of California at Santa Barbara with a secondary emphasis in Computer Science. He is a Defense Acquisition University Certified Level III Life Cycle Logistician, a Software Engineering Institute (SEI) Certified Personal Software Process (PSP) Developer, an SEI-Authorized PSP Instructor, and a NAVAIR Internal Team Software Process Coach.

Kristianne Aberer has been working for the Performance Resource Team (PRT) of the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) as a Performance Improvement Coach for the past 3 years. She has helped multiple engineering project teams to plan and track their work so they could deliver high-quality products on cost and on schedule while maintaining a healthy work/life balance. Her previous positions include Electronics Design Engineer, Flight Test Engineer, and Stay-At-Home-Parent. Kristianne holds a B.S. in Mechatronic Engineering from California State University, Chico. Kristianne grew up being very involved in youth sports and had many wonderful coaches. She enjoys paying it forward by coaching youth soccer teams, teaching physical education at a small Montessori school, and coaching elementary students in track and field.

How to Increase Team Performance : A Tale of Two Teams

Past Presentation

The June 2022 tech talk was presented by Seemin Suleri

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Abstract:

This is a story of two software teams: one in a large blue-chip corporate environment and another in a small company. This is a tale of how people came together to face challenges and show incredible results and achievement. It will also show how we managed to create an environment with our limitations to foster creativity by creating strong foundations. For people who are in established software teams or just about to start their journey, there is a little bit to take away in their own journey to mastery.

About the Presenter

Seemin Suleri

Seemin is an ambassador of iterative and continuous delivery practices. She has a real passion for Agile and continuous improvement. Currently working as Head of Engineering at 288 Group, she is leading the company’s systems transformation effort to meet the demands of the ever-evolving and competitive digital landscape.

Seemin is a software engineer at heart, with experience in both software development and project management. She is an advocate of enabling a culture that allows autonomous teams to succeed in delivery.

She is a mum of two toddlers, and is passionate about flexibility and inclusion in software teams to allow people from all backgrounds to succeed. She has led a number of initiatives to increase the representation of women in software, and is always interested in the human element in organizational success.

Rules and Submissions for the Watts Humphrey Process Achievement Award

Past Presentation

The August 2022 tech talk was presented by Isabel Margarido.

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Abstract

Watts Humphrey was a practitioner and advocate of Software Engineering good practices, also known as the “Father of Software Quality”. His work “laid ground for” CMM, CMMI and he proved the entire practices through PSP and TSP. In this talk, I will give an overview of the IEEE Computer Society/SEI Watts S. Humphrey Software Process Achievement Award, along with the criteria for you, your workgroup, or your company to submit an application for this award in 2023. Since the submission and selection criteria are rigorous, the application process for people who implement process improvements that are a great benefit to others (their department, other business areas or companies) does require preparation and data gathering. As a member of the voting committee, my intent in this presentation is to help you to better understand the award nomination procedures and to entice you to apply or to nominate people/groups of people that you know are eligible to win this year’s award. Last but not least, I will also present a previous award winner to give you a better picture.

About the Presenter

Isabel Margarido

Isabel Margarido has over 20 years of experience in systems engineering. Since April, she is Key Account Manager at Capgemini Engineering, where she is responsible for many accounts, including one with representation in 190 countries and is in the top 3 in the field of its competitors. Before that, Isabel was Senior Project Manager at Sonae, one of the biggest retail companies in Portugal. At Critical Software (CSW), Isabel worked as Programme Manager in the UK and Product Manager in a USA company that had customers such as YUM! Brand Foods (KFC, Pizza Hut, and Burger King). During that period, she helped Mindera start its business since the very start. Isabel’s other accomplishments at CSW include working as a project manager, Scrum Master, quality manager, founder of the testing department, and serving on the appraisal team that helped CSW to achieve CMMI ML5, making CSW the first company in Portugal to receive that certification. She started her professional career as Quality Manager at Milénio 3.

Isabel holds a PhD in Informatics Engineering, regarding quantitative process improvements and quantitative project management, and is an Electronics and Computers Engineer. Both of her degrees were awarded by the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto.

Designing and Launching Secure Software Development Degree Apprenticeships Partnering with Historically Black Colleges and Universities – Panel Session

Past Presentation

The May 2022 tech talk was presented by Diana Elliott, Girish Seshagiri, and Nikunja Swain

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About the Session

Currently, in the U.S. over one million software developer positions and 600,000 cybersecurity occupations are unfilled due to the lack of available skilled job seekers. At the same time, the percentage of women, minorities and veterans in technology professions continues to be low. In this panel discussion, we describe how a consortium of South Carolina Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) is partnering with SC employers to design and launch IT and cybersecurity degree apprenticeship cohorts in fall 2022. The panelists will provide a status update of the exemplar government/industry/academic collaboration which will result in career pathways to technology jobs for cyber security and computer science graduates of HBCUs. The panelists will discuss the requirements of DOL Registered Apprenticeship Program which is a high-quality vocational training model with standard work process including 2,000 hours of on-the-job training and 61 academic credit hours. The panelists will present how the HBCU consortium colleges mapped cybersecurity and computer science degree curricula to National Initiative Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Framework competencies for developing software which is secure from cyber-attacks.

About the Presenters

Diana Elliott is a senior fellow in the Center on Labor, Human Services, and Population at the Urban Institute. Her work focuses on families’ financial security and economic mobility and the programs and policies that support them, including apprenticeships. Elliott is the director of several apprenticeship projects at Urban, including the Apprenticeship Expansion and Modernization Fund, which launched over 1500 apprentices into tech occupations. Prior to Urban, Elliott was a research manager at the Pew Charitable Trusts and a family demographer at the US Census Bureau. Elliott holds a PhD in sociology from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Girish Seshagiri Founder/CEO of Nonprofit Apprenticeship Implementation Solutions, Inc is an early adopter of the apprenticeship dual model. Under his leadership, the Community Initiative Center of Excellence for Secure Software (CICESS) was launched in Peoria, Illinois in 2015. CICESS received the 2018 Innovation in Cybersecurity Education Award given by the National Cyberwatch Center. Girish is currently focused on government/industry/academic collaboration partnering with Historically Black Colleges and Universities to design and launch IT and Cybersecurity degree apprenticeship cohorts. Girish is the immediate past co-chair of the NICE Apprenticeship Working Group. Girish has an MBA from Michigan State University.

Nikunja Swain is a professor, department chair, and executive director of center of excellence in cybersecurity at South Carolina State University. Dr. Swain has over 35 years of college level teaching experience and he is a registered professional engineer in South Carolina. Dr. Swain has over 70 conference/journal publications, and number of grants from NSF, DOE, USDA/NIFA, DOD, and others. Dr. Swain is a life senior member of IEEE, a professional member of ACM, a member of SIGITE, and ASEE.

SEA 2022 Virtual Summit

Past Presentation

Software Excellence Alliance professionals from around the world met to celebrate our accomplishments from 2021 and to set the Alliance’s 2022 direction for changing the world of software engineering.

Jim Over delivered the keynote presentation, sharing his personal views on quality as they relate to the challenges we face.

Watch the Keynote Presentation on YouTube

Watch the Summit Recording on YouTube

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Abstract:

This is your opportunity to collaborate with Software Excellence Alliance professionals from around the world as we celebrate our accomplishments from 2021 and set our Alliance’s 2022 direction for improving the world of software development. SEA members: the meeting URL is in your calendar invitation, there’s no need to register through Eventbrite.

Summit Outputs:

Report of 2021 accomplishments
Seated executive team for 2022
Set of 2022 goals and objectives
Standing committees and working groups with members and chairs
Updated roles and role assignments

Summit Objectives:

Members FEEL re-energized about the mission
Members BELIEVE the Alliance is needed and provides value
Members are motivated to PARTICIPATE in the Alliance by taking on a leadership role or being part of a working group
We conduct a fun and engaging event that everyone REMEMBERS

The Digital Transformation Spiral Model

Past Presentation

The March 2022 tech talk was presented by Dr. Barry Dwolatzky

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Abstract:

Digital transformation has become an imperative for organisations in the 21st Century irrespective of size, sector, or geographic location. Studies have shown that a very high percentage of digital transformation journeys have failed to deliver the desired results. In order to mitigate some of the risks associated with digital transformation and its associated organisational changes, we have proposed a lifecycle model approach. We call the lifecycle the “Digital Transformation Spiral Model”, or DTSM. It is an iterative and incremental model with both a “design and development” cycle and a “governance” cycle. The focus is on continuous innovation via continuous improvement. The DTSM draws on a number of tools and frameworks including the Business Model Canvas (BMC), CMMI, and Kent Beck’s 3X model.

About the Presenter

PROFESSOR BARRY DWOLATZKY, BSc(Eng), PhD, FSAIEE, FIITPSA

Barry Dwolatzky is professor emeritus in the School of Electrical & Information Engineering at Wits University. He is the founder and Director of the University’s Joburg Centre for Software Engineering (JCSE). He is also the founder of Wits University’s Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct in Braamfontein, Johannesburg. While he remains the Director of the JCSE, in July 2021 he was appointed as Director of Innovation Strategy in the Office of the Wits Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Innovation.

Barry’s undergraduate (BSc(Eng) ) and postgraduate degree (PhD) are in Electrical Engineering and are from Wits. In 1979, he left South Africa and worked in the UK as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST), Imperial College, London, and at the GEC-Marconi Research Centre. Over this period, he worked on a number of large software research and development projects.

Barry returned to Wits from the UK as a senior lecturer in 1989. He became a full professor in 2000. In December 2017, he officially retired from Wits and was appointed a professor emeritus. His primary focus over the past 30 years has been the growth and development of the South African software engineering sector.

In 2005, Dwolatzky was the major driver in setting up the Joburg Centre for Software Engineering (JCSE) at Wits. The JCSE aims to grow skills, promote the adoption of best practices, and encourage innovation and entrepreneurship in South Africa’s digital economy. In 2007, he became Director and CEO of the JCSE.

In 2013, Dwolatzky spearheaded an initiative at Wits to establish a major digital innovation hub in the Braamfontein area of inner-city Johannesburg. Called the “Tshimologong Precinct,” the project has attracted significant support from government and a range of major local and international companies. IBM Research has established their 12th international laboratory in Braamfontein as an integral part of the precinct.

In recognition of his contribution to the South African IT industry, Barry Dwolatzky was named the “South African IT Personality of the Year” in 2013, and received an award for “Distinguished Service to IT” from the Institute of IT Professionals of South Africa (IITPSA) in 2016. Also in 2016, Wits University presented him with the “Vice Chancellor’s Award for Academic Citizenship.”