Software Project Management Certificate Program Advances Career Development for Software Engineers

Austin, Texas -- October 16, 2007 -- The University of Texas today announced the Software Project Management Certificate Program (SWPM), which has had more than 278 software engineers complete the program, heightens the impact of career success for its participants. SWPM is changing the traditional format of education with online learning tools and combines teams to enhance learning and interaction. Software professionals become self-directed learners, working with fellow team members on real-world projects.

The SWPM Certificate Program is comprised of six courses, with multiple sessions per course including Foundations of Software Project Management, Essentials of Software Engineering, Principles of Software Testing, Management of Software Project Teams, Software Quality Assurance and Business Context and Legal Considerations for Software Projects. Each of the courses may be taken as a stand-alone course, but all six courses are required for certification and may be taken in any order.

The SWPM curriculum has been structured to align the course materials with internationally recognized certification programs offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI) and the American Society of Quality (ASQ), along with the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) bodies of knowledge. SWPM courses are formulated with an advisory group which is composed of software industry professionals as well as instructors to leverage real-world examples and industry best practices.

Graduate Curtis Coffey, who was unsure about the value of a certification commented, "After taking the first class I realized there was much more to learning the development process which fueled my commitment to completing the course work for the certification." Coffey's impression of participating in the program is the importance of increased value to his employer. Coffey asserted, "The certification has greatly expanded my ability to fulfill my current position and has enabled me to take on more responsibility for development efforts."

Carmen Rain, a 2007 graduate, who entered the program as a technical lead and was promoted to development manager after graduating from the program comments, "It has been a very pleasant experience for me. I have learned a great deal about what works and what doesn't in regards to management processes, time management, and working with different personality types."

As a busy professional, Rain reflected, "The best thing about the program is that it covers a lot of areas concisely without wasting time unnecessarily; it gives the essentials and points you to where you can find more information if you are interested in doing in-depth research."

"The SWPM Certificate Program was custom built to prepare graduates for all critical areas of software development management: people, process and products," commented Cath Polito, Executive Director of the Cockrell School of Engineering's Center for Lifelong Engineering Education at The University of Texas at Austin. "Our program blends 34 skills and core competencies which can be applied by participants for immediate improvement in the workplace."

SWPM was initiated in 1993 by The University of Texas at Austin's Software Quality Institute to meet the needs of the growing software industry. For more information about the program, visit http://www.UTswpm.com.

About CLEE

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