SPICE Assessor Training Course

The workshop is designed for:

• Software managers and practitioners interested in Software Process Improvement using SPICE (Software Process Improvement and Capability dEtermination).
• Software engineering process group (SEPG) members who are doing software process improvement.
• quality managers
• project managers
• division managers

To become an ISO/IEC 15504 (SPICE) Assessor, you should be familiar with software development and maintenance issues including various life cycle models. Effective written and verbal communication and experience from delivering presentations are some of the recommended personal attributes.
Delegates with little or no software process assessment knowledge, skills and experience will learn how to be able to perform assessments according to the requirements of ISO/IEC 15504 in the software sector. Delegates with previous experience of software process assessment techniques will have the opportunity to test and improve their skills through interaction with experienced and competent assessors under controlled conditions.

Workshop Content

The 5-day SPICE Assessor Training Course is designed specifically for providing IT professionals with the knowledge and skills needed to conduct software process assessments according to ISO/IEC 15504 - Software Process Assessment. As a result of attending the course, delegates will be able to:

• Navigate the nine parts of ISO/IEC 15504
• Understand and explain the use of software process assessment
• Develop a procedure for conduction 15504-conformant assessments
• Assemble and brief an assessment team
• Plan and conduct assessments using the assessment model in ISO/IEC 15504-5
• Present the results of assessment to the assessed organisation

This course is approved by the International Assessor Certification Scheme and meets the training requirements for individuals seeking recognition as an ISO/IEC 15504 Provisional Assessor or ISO/IEC 15504 Assessor under the Scheme.

The course includes the latest revisions to the ISO/IEC 15504 measurement framework.

Delegates who demonstrate satisfactory performance throughout the course and pass the final examination are awarded a Certificate of Achievement. This certificate demonstrates the necessary training requirement has been met such that delegates are eligible to submit an application for recognition as a ISO/IEC 15504 Provisional Assessor or Assessor. The certificate cost an extra amount of 100 Euro per participant.

Workshop Agenda

A typical course programme is described below. The course is practical based with 12 exercises and a detailed case study performed from Wednesday onwards. All approved training courses must have course content with at least 55% practical exercises/case studies to develop assessment skills.

training day 1 - 2.9.2003
Time		Trainers		Content
10.00 - 18.00		Alec Dorling, Richard Messnarz		Process Assessment Concepts ISO/IEC 15504 Architecture: Components and Relationships The Capability Dimension: Capability Levels and Process Attributes The Measurement Framework: Process Profiles and Capability Level ratings
training day 2 - 3.9.2003
09.00 - 17.00		Alec Dorling, Richard Messnarz		The Process Dimension Models and Indicators Applying Assessment Results: Contexts of Use
training day 3 - 4.9.2003
09.00 - 17.00		Alec Dorling, Richard Messnarz		Performing an Assessment: Meeting the Requirements The Assessment Model Initiating an Assessment: Assembling the Inputs Performing an Assessment: Planning Assessor Competence: Establishing and Verifying Competence The International Assessor Certification Scheme
training day 4 - 5.9.2003
09.00 - 17.00		Alec Dorling, Richard Messnarz		Data Collection: Document Reviews Data Collection: Interviews Examination Briefing Organising the Data: Instruments and Tools Performing an Assessment: Validation and Rating
training day 5 - 6.9.2003
09.00 - 14.00		Alec Dorling, Richard Messnarz		Case study feedback Verifying Conformance Validating the Framework: The SPICE Trials Examination

The Trainers

Alec Dorling is an internationally recognized expert in the field of Software Quality Management, Process Assessment and Improvement. He has held key posts at international research institutes that include the Centre for Software Engineering in Sweden, the European Software Institute in Spain and the National Computing Centre in the UK. He is a chartered engineer with over 30 years experience in the IT industry gained both in real-time and commercial systems environments. He has been involved with most of the key UK government's initiatives in software engineering and software quality. Alec Dorling is the international project leader of the SPICE (Software Process Improvement and Capability dEtermination) project and convener of the ISO group developing ISO/IEC 15504. He is currently actively involved in leading world-wide assessments of suppliers in the Space and Automotive sectors. Alec is also a Director of The Procurement Forum and is involved in key European projects in IT procurement process assessment, best practice, benchmarking and improvement. During the last four years Alec has been the project leader of the European PULSE and PROBE IT procurement process assessment, benchmarking and improvement projects and has participated in the procurement best practice projects ASSIST and VALIDATE.

Dr. Richard Messnarz (rmess@iscn.com) is the Executive Director of ISCN LTD. He studied at the University of Technology Graz and he worked as a researcher and lecturer at this University from 1991 - 1996. In 2 European mobility projects (1993 and 1994) he was involved in the foundation of ISCN, and he became the director of ISCN in 1997. He is/has been the technical director of many European projects: PICO - Process Improvement Combined Approach 1995 - 1998, Bestregit - Best RegionalTechnology Transfer, 1996 - 1999, TEAMWORK - Strategic Eworking Platform Development and Trial, 2001-2002, MediaISF - Eworking of media organisation for strategic collaboration on EU integration, 2001-2002 He is the editor of a book "Better Software Practice for Business Benefit", which has been published by IEEE (www.ieee.org) in 1999 (the leading research publisher in the USA). He is the chairman of the EuroSPI initiative and chair of the programme committee of the EuroSPI conference series. He is author of many publications in e-working and new methods of work in conferences of the European Commission (E-2001 in Venice, E-2002 in Prague), and in the magazine for software quality (Software Quality Professional) of the ASQ (Ameri-can Society for Quality). He is co-founder of ISCN LTD (Dublin, 1994), founder of ISCN Regionalstelle (Graz, 1997), and owner of the ISCN GesmbH (Graz, 2001). He is a lead BOOTSTRAP and SPICE assessor. He has worked as a consultant for many automotive firms, such as BOSCH, ZF TE, ZF Bus, Audi/VW, as well as audits at Siemens VDO, Magneti Marelli. Editor of Better Software Practice for Business Benefit EuroSPI 99 Proceedings EuroSPI 2000 Proceedings EuroSPI 2001 Proceedings EuroSPI 2002 Proceedings

How to Find the Place

The training center is used for all training events of ISCN in central Europe, and it is located in the Schwarzenegger Business Center ., Address: Freiraum Buero Centre, Schwarzenegger Centre, Liebenauer Hauptstrasse 2-6, A-8041 Graz, stairs D, 1st floor

If you come by car

• If you come on the motorway A1 from the South (from Italy) or from the North (from Vienna) you should leave the motorway at the exit Graz Ost . Follow the road and at the first junction. Directly in front of you is the Schwarzenegger Centre (see picture below).
• Turn left and after 100 meters to the right there is the parking sign. Use this car park, and if you attend an ISCN seminar your parking cost will be covered by ISCN. In fact you receive an electronic disc and the amount stored on it will be subtracted from an ISCN account.
• Go to stair case D (here you see the company plate as in the below picture), follow the signs Freiraum Buero Centre , and at the first floor you should see the ISCN company plate. Contact the secretary at the registration desk.

From Graz Airport

• Graz airport is approximately 20 minutes by taxi from this seminar centre in Graz. The taxi price is approx. 18 Euro (Euroe is approx. equal to the US Dollar). It is the most convenient way.
• There is also an airport bus which goes every 30 minutes from Graz airport to Jakomini Platz . Jakomini Platz is a square in the centre of Graz. From here you can take the street car line 4 and the Schwarzenegger Centre is one of its stations.

By Railway

• You arrive at Graz central railway station. When you leave the railway station through the main door you see taxis to the left (costs approx. 12 Euro, and takes approx. 12 minutes, to arrive at the seminar centre), and a street car station at the right.
• Street car lines 3 and 6 go from there to the Jakomini Platz . The journey takes some 15 minutes, the cost are 1 Euro and 60 cent.
• From there follow the guidance which we decribed for "From Graz Airport".

If you plan to find your own accomodation in Graz there is a trip advisor which helps you finding a hotel.

Hotel IBIS Graz Category: *** Europaplatz 12 Graz 8020 Tel: (+43)316/7780 Fax: (+43)316/778300 Price Single per Night: 71 Euro	The hotel IBIS is localted at the main railway station of Graz. It is the recommended place if you arrive by train. Directly at the railway station you take tram line 6 to the Jakomini place and change there to tram line 4 to Liebenau. At the end station of tram line 4 there is the Schwarzenegger center.
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Hotel Johannes Category ** Münzgrabenstrasse 48 Graz 8010 Austria Tel: 43-316-837766 Fax: 43-316-837766 Price Single per Night: 46 Euro	It is the recommended place if you search for a low cost and reasonable quality hotel and if you came by car or plane. If you follow the directions above ("if you come by car") and you take the exit Graz Ost and you come to the first junction then turn right into the Muenzgrabenstrasse. Drive along that road, you will see the tram tracks, then you see left the trade fair area of Graz, and right after that you see a church on the right, and further 150 meters to the left is the Hotel Johannes.
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Hotel Gollner Category **** Schloegelgasse 14 Graz Austria Tel: 0316-82-25-21-0 Fax: 0316-822-52-17 Price Single per Night: 107	It is the recommended place if you search for a good quality hotel and if you came by car or plane. If you follow the directions above ("if you come by car") and you take the exit Graz Ost and you come to the first junction then turn right into the Muenzgrabenstrasse. Drive along that road, you will see the tram tracks, then you see left the trade fair area of Graz, and right after that you see a church on the right, then you come to the junction Steyrergasse/Muenzgrabenstrasse and you drive further along the road, and finally you come to a place called Dietrichsteinplatz. You cross the place and tuern right into the Schloeglgasse, the hotel is to your left. Take care that you first cross the place before you turn right.

About Graz

Graz is the second largest town in Austria with some 300000 inhabitants. It is a city full of history (played an important role in the East-West business relationship during the Austrian empire), and as it was one of the defense nodes against the Turkey invasions in the mid-age. It still hosts the largest knights armoury collection of the world, being able to equip some 30000 knights with the existing armoury. Graz has Austria's largest research company Joanneum Research and it is known for a good climate of cooperation between research and industry. Also ISCN has closely cooperated with the Graz institutes and the technical office is located in the building where some of the institutes were hosted before they moved 2000 into a big new built central university building.

Social Event

Satyam and ISCN invite you for a dinner in Graz on 2.6.2003 in the evening plus a guided city tour through the beautiful city of Graz which became the European cultural capital for the year 2003.

Complementary Present

We will give participants a free account to access an experience library of 170 process improvement reports from European leading industry and research.

The ISCN Training Manager

Mrs Adrienne Clarke, BA, has recently been appointed the position of a training manager. She has studied Media in London and received a BA degree. She has worked as a service manager at a large British organisation and has gathered working experiences also in the Netherlands. She is now located in the ISCN Bray (Ireland) office and manages from there the training and marketing activities of ISCN. Her email is: aclarke@iscn.ie

I.S.C.N. International Software Consulting Network
Florence House, 1 Florence Villas, Bray, Co Wicklow, Ireland

Tel: +353 1 205 0020, Fax: +353 1 205 0021
email: office@iscn.ie

Last modified: 29-Jan-03, designed by © ISCN 2003
URL: http://www.iscn.ie/training/index.html