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Center for Software Engineering

Presents 

Los Angeles Software Process Improvement Network

Wednesday October 27, 2000 5:30 P.M. - 8:30 P.M.

 
"Towards Estimating Software Value"
"Relating and Understanding CMMI, ARC, SCAMPI and ISO/IEC 15504"
Speaker: Speaker:
  •  Howard Baetjer, Jr
  • David H. Kitson 
Abstract  Abstract
This talk develops general recommendations about how to estimate the value of software and software development projects.  Economic value is subjective; hence different parties will value the same software differently.  Because software is a kind of capital good, its value depends on its place in the evolving “ecosystem of production,” in which various capital goods are used together to provide value for consumers, the ultimate source of capital value.  A software project’s value to customers, plus the value it adds to its developer’s capital, must exceed its total cost for the project to be profitable. 

Capital goods are essentially embodied knowledge of how to accomplish production.  Much of the knowledge they embody is often inarticulate or latent; it is usually widely dispersed and incomplete at the beginning of a design project.

The purpose of this presentation is to provide a clear and concise understanding of how key elements of the CMMI product suite relate to one another with an emphasis on the assessment-related aspects of the product suite. Each of the product elements will be described and characterized. In-depth discussion of the assessment-related product elements will be provided with an emphasis on understanding how they relate to one another and what their significance and import is expected to be. The current CMMI developmental status and expected directions will be discussed along with a brief description of SEI provided CMMI products and support.
Biography Biography
Howard Baetjer Jr. is a Lecturer in the department of economics at Towson University in Towson, Maryland.  His main research interest is the role of capital structure evolution in economic growth.  He focuses in particular on the evolution of software development.  His book, Software as Capital, an Economic Perspective on Software Engineering, was published in 1998 by IEEE Computer Society.  Other research interests include analyzing public policy from the standpoint of market processes, and the use of hypertext in teaching.  Baetjer earned his B.A. in psychology from Princeton in 1974.  From 1974 to 1978, and again in the academic year of 1980-81, he taught English and coached the football team at St. George's School in Newport, Rhode Island.  David H. Kitson has served in a senior leadership capacity in the software process area since joining the SEI in early 1987. Kitson started the Software Process Assessment Project in 1987 and was its project manager through January 1991. He is currently engaged in leading process standards efforts in the Capability Maturity Models Project. He is an active participant in the ISO/IEC international effort to produce a software process assessment standard and is the leader of Task Group 10 within the U.S. Technical Advisory Group to SC7 and co-editor of 15504-3. He is an SEI instructor for the Introduction to CMM course and an authorized Lead Assessor for the SEI CBA-IPI assessment method. He is also a member of the CMM Integration Product Development Team and co-chair of the Assessment Methodology Team. He has authored several key SEI technical reports, including reports on the state of the practice in software engineering. 
Location:  University of Southern California – University Park Campus
Hedco Neuroscience Building (HNB),  3614 Watt Way (K-6) Campus Map Location
    5:00-7:00  Refreshments and Cost Modeling Tools Fair, Salvatori 322 (SAL)
7:00-8:00 Baetjer
Presentation HEDCO Auditorium
8:15-9:00 Kitson
Presentation HEDCO Auditorium

**Reservations are required for this meeting, to obtain a free parking permit, rsvp to LaDonna no later than 3:00 p.m. on October 25 for permission to park in a nearby lot.
LaDonna Pierce, CSE Administrator, at (213) 740-5703 or via email: ladonna@sunset.usc.edu