Take Control Over Your Project’s Cost and Schedule – A Complimentary Webinar

Many organizations implement Earned Value Management (EVM) to achieve greater project control over cost and schedule. Some organizations have even mandated the use of EVM in project management as part of complying with their customer requirements. Although EVM has many benefits, applying it effectively can present several challenges. This 1-hour complimentary webinar, Earned Value Management - An Overview , presents the fundamentals of EVM and its implementation.  It addresses strengths and weaknesses of the EVM method and briefly introduces techniques that make EVM more responsive in today’s project environments.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m. EDT

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About this webinar:

The purpose of this webinar is to provide a foundation in EVM and introduce techniques that enhance EVM in today’s project environments.

Who Should Attend:

The intended audience for this webinar includes Program/Project Managers, Engineering Managers, and Technical Leads. It is also ideal for staff involved in project planning and tracking who want to learn about EVM and its implementation. Process developers, process improvement, and measurement personnel may also find this webinar beneficial.

To learn more about EVM or any other SSCI product or service, please contact us at ask-ssci@systemsandsoftware.org.

How CMMI Improves Performance and Prepares Businesses to Compete for Government Contracts – Complimentary Webinar

Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) can open up a world of new customers to you and can improve your efficiencies.  But before making an investment in CMMI, we encourage you to listen to our 1-hour Webinar to find if CMMI is right for your organization. 

This webinar is ideal for companies who plan to pursue small business government contracts.  Government agencies are increasingly mandating CMMI certification for many of its contracts.   Learn how SSCI has cost-effectively helped your competitors prepare for this new requirement.

There is no cost for this opportunity.

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What is CMMI?

CMMI is a process improvement approach that provides organizations with the essential elements of effective discipline-specific processes that improve performance.  A CMMI rating is necessary for most Government contracts.

Benefits of CMMI

CMMI can be used to guide process improvement across a project, a program, a division, or an entire organization. It helps integrate traditionally separate organizational functions, establish process improvement goals and priorities, provide guidance for quality processes, and provide a point of reference for measuring current performance against industry best practices.

About the Webinar

This Webinar is designed for all levels of executive, technical, and program leadership.  This online overview presents the critical aspects of CMMI and related information necessary to decide if CMMI is an appropriate improvement path.  Additionally, sufficient details are presented to begin to plan a CMMI-based improvement initiative. 

Presenter: Michael S. Evanoo, Certified High Maturity Lead Appraiser for CMMI, Certified Instructor for Introduction to CMMI, Certified Scrum Master, Six Sigma Black Belt, Principal Member Technical Staff, Systems and Software Consortium, Herndon, VA

Sponsors: Systems and Software Consortium, Herndon, VA. 

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For more information regarding CMMI, please contact us at ask_ssci@systemsandsoftware.org.

SSCI Posts Webinar Series on Model Driven Engineering

Whether your organization is new to Model Driven Engineering (MDE) or is looking to extend its existing MDE practices, you are probably encountering obstacles that prevent you from achieving all of the expected benefits. SSCI’s recent MDE Webinar series will help you understand the current MDE state-of-the-practice and how other organizations have been able to successfully implement MDE.  It also shares critical insights and provides information for helping members understand how to adopt and use MDE practices with commercially available, standards-based modeling tools.

Members are encouraged to download all five webinar sessions as several of the sessions build on the previous one.  The webinars included in this series are listed below and can be accessed from our Webinar Series Archive page. 

• Webinar 1: Model Driven Engineering (MDE): System-Level Modeling of Customer-Needed Capabilities

This webinar provides perspectives on how to use MDE to formalize complex systems information required by customers, system engineers, and software groups to improve lifecycle analysis, development, and verification and validation (V&V). It also provides an overall context for the remainder of the webinars and provides guidance for the creation of system of systems (SoS) and systems level architectural models.

• Webinar 2: Model Driven Engineering (MDE): Leveraging System-Level Models

This webinar describes how to develop Systems Modeling Language (SysML) architectural views and how to leverage modeling information for the purpose of planning and performing verification and validation (V&V). It also introduces the need for developing methods and practices to address ways to represent system engineering information not formalized by the modeling standards and tools such as tradeoff and hazard analysis.

• Webinar 3: Model Driven Engineering (MDE) - Modeling Tool Survey

This webinar describes the results of a modeling tool survey conducted in 2009 and builds on the perspectives given in the first two sessions.

• Webinar 4: Model Driven Engineering (MDE) - Tool Chains for Simulink

This webinar provides a detailed perspective on a specific MDE tool chain implemented using the Mathworks Simulink®/Stateflow® tool suite to illustrate how tool chains can support the entire engineering lifecycle.

• Webinar 5: Model Driven Engineering (MDE) – Modeling Adoption Practices

This webinar builds on perspectives given in the first four sessions of the MDE webinar series by providing a framework for guiding the selection of modeling practices.

For more information regarding MDE, please contact us at ask-ssci@systemsandsoftware.org

Delivering Thought Leadership Focused on Business Value:  SSCI’s 2010 Technical Focus

“We need it now” is the recurring theme we hear from our members and their customers. With this in mind, SSCI’s 2010 technical program will provide the latest practical engineering best practices and process improvement support using an incremental delivery model. This approach will enable a more timely delivery of products and services to our members with continuous improvements from feedback through actual usage.

The following paragraphs describe several recent and future SSCI initiatives that are shaping our 2010 technical focus.

Expanding Partnerships

In 2009, SSCI published a special report with the Software Engineering Institute (SEI), Insights on Program Success, describing the factors other than process-related factors that influence program success. This paper benefited from the extensive program experience of both organizations and strengthened our existing partnership.

SSCI also facilitated a workshop on technologies for rapid fielding in support of a study being conducted by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (OUSD). The workshop participants, consisting of thought leaders from SSCI and its member companies, provided an industry perspective on the methods, practices, and tools in use that show promise in supporting the study’s goal of drastically reducing the cycle time needed to field mission-critical capabilities. OUSD incorporated our workshop recommendations in their final report to the Honorable Zachary Lemnios, Director, Defense Research and Engineering for OUSD. SSCI’s Board of Directors has recommended our continued support as OUSD begins implementing the study’s recommendations.

2010 Delivery Approach

Right now SSCI’s subject matter experts are developing and refining a series of roadmaps that describe the evolution of technologies and solve member challenges. These roadmaps define an approach for delivering proposed solutions in smaller, more targeted segments that provide immediate value to members.  In addition, the resulting solutions will benefit from ongoing feedback and lessons learned.  

SSCI’s roadmaps support member needs in several key technical areas, including eLearning, Process Analysis, Model Driven Engineering, Service Management, Security and Information Assurance, Disciplined Agility, and Concept Engineering.  Throughout 2010, the roadmaps will be updated and the solutions will be reprioritized by the Board of Directors’ Strategy Committee based on the evaluation of feedback received, identification of new opportunities, and in response to changing needs.

New information related to our 2010 technical program will be communicated to our members on an ongoing basis and technology roadmaps approved by the Strategy Committee will be posed to our website.

Contemporary Alternatives Augment Our Knowledge Service Portfolio

As the pace of technology continues to quicken, there is a corresponding need for organizations to stay informed of the latest trends and current changes in everything from standards to implementation practices. Paradoxically, most people today have even less time available to participate in knowledge sharing events such as training, workshops, and technical exchanges. In response to this need, SSCI is shifting many of our traditional knowledge sharing events to modes that utilize contemporary technologies.  For example, in 2009, SSCI reformatted several face-to-face training courses to be available via webinar.  In addition, our most recent technical exchange was presented in a completely virtual format using WebEx.

This year SSCI began a project to pilot on-demand training.  Starting in February, members will be asked to provide feedback on several on-demand training modules as a prelude to augmenting our current training portfolio. SSCI also launched our Facebook page.  Members can now fan our Facebook page as a new way to stay informed. SSCI will continue to identify mechanisms for expanding our ability to effectively provide knowledge sharing to our members. Suggestions and feedback are always welcome.

2010 is shaping up to be a dynamic year full of challenge and promise.

Mark Schuler is new President & CEO of the Systems and Software Consortium

The Systems and Software Consortium's (SSCI) Board of Directors has appointed Mark J. Schuler to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer, effective February 1, 2010.  The Consortium’s current President and CEO, Jim Kane, will retire, while continuing to serve on the Consortium’s Board of Directors.   

Schuler joined SSCI in early 2009 as Chief Financial Officer and has led the Consortium’s expansion into new government programs and the recent creation of SSCI Services.    He previously held senior executive positions at Information Management Consultants, Alion Science and Technology, and American Systems Corporation.

“We are delighted to have Mark as the Consortium’s new CEO, and believe he is ideally qualified to continue our traditional role of serving member companies while leveraging our technical capabilities to become more directly supportive of government programs,” says Kane, who led the transformation of what was then the Software Productivity Consortium to SSCI’s contemporary focus on systems and software engineering.  “Mark’s experience and expertise will enable the Consortium to continue to address the key technical and program issues facing member companies and to solve their most critical software and systems engineering challenges.  Our member companies and staff will benefit from Mark’s ability to focus technical solutions on the most pressing challenges facing business and government.”   

“The Consortium’s Board of Directors salutes Jim Kane’s significant contributions over the last six years, and agrees that Mark Schuler is ideally suited to take on the SSCI’s leadership and build upon Jim’s success,” says Wendy Irion-Talbot, Vice President of Business Process Management for CSC North American Public Sector and Chair of the Consortium’s Board of Directors.  “As with other Consortium members, CSC considers the federal defense and civilian sectors core to our business.  Mark’s experience in these sectors will help to ensure SSCI provides the technical knowledge, insights and best industry practices to support our growth and drive performance.” 

Schuler holds his undergraduate degree from Kings College, Wilkes-Barre PA, and completed additional studies in Finance at Virginia Tech.  He is a Certified Public Accountant and resides in Oakton, VA. 

About SSCI

The Systems and Software Consortium is a not-for-profit group of member companies focused on improving the operational performance of their technical organizations to drive business performance. Its members and affiliates include the nation’s leading aerospace and defense providers, systems integrators, and other large information systems companies, as well as government agencies.  

Why Go To CMMI Levels 4 and 5? – SSCI Releases New Paper

SSCI recently released Why Go To CMMI Levels 4 and 5 .  This short paper highlights the publicly reported and anecdotal benefits of organizations that are performing at CMMI maturity levels 4 and 5.  As part of your decision making, discover the range of benefits your organization could achieve by continuing your process improvement maturity trek. 

For more information on CMMI, please contact SSCI at ask-ssci@systemsandsoftware.org .

BAE Systems Unit Achieves CMMI Version 1.2 Maturity Level 5 Rating

The Systems and Software Consortium, Inc. (SSCI) congratulates BAE Systems’ Information Solutions unit on successfully achieving a Maturity Level 5 (Optimizing) rating using the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) - Development, version 1.2. 

Sean Cassell, SSCI’s Software Engineering Institute Certified Standard CMMI Appraisal Method for Process Improvement (SCAMPI) Lead Appraiser, led the appraisal team over a nine day period.  Team members reviewed documented processes and interviewed all levels of systems practitioners, software developers, program managers, and company management.  Several of the appraisal team members had either supported or participated in two previous SSCI-led SCAMPI Class A appraisals.  The experience level of the team enabled the Class A to be run in a very smooth, efficient manner.

“It was a well-staffed appraisal with three lead appraisers and several new appraisal team members participating in a Class A for the first time,” says Sean Cassell.  “All of the team members were very objective in their review of processes and alert to comments in the interviews.  They were an excellent team to lead.”

CMMI was developed by a coalition of industry, government, and the Software Engineering Institute to objectively appraise an organization’s software and systems development capability.  Level 5 is the highest maturity level rating, and indicates that the company is operating at the “optimizing level” in its systems and software development processes.

BAE Systems is a global defense, security, and aerospace company that provides a full range of products and services for air, land, and naval forces, and advanced electronics, security, information technology solutions, and customer support services. With approximately 105,000 employees worldwide, BAE Systems had 2008 sales that exceeded $34.4 billion.