SWPM Pre Session

Thank you for your interest in the SWPM program. A browser test and information about the program follow. Before taking the test, please review the technical requirements

The Software Project Management Certificate Program (SWPM) was initiated in 1993 by The University of Texas at Austin's Software Quality Institute (SQI) to meet the needs of the growing software industry. Some of SWPM's benefits are illustrated in this narrated powerpoint presentation. Some of the online lessons use narrated .ppt for information exchange, so we want to be sure that you can see and hear it OK.

On the third and last slide of the presentation, you saw a glimpse of the 34 Competencies that every project manager needs to know. Those competencies are repeated, with a brief description for each, in an MS Word document. Please click on this link to see if you can read it properly, as such documents are frequently exchanged during the SWPM course.

The Software Product Competencies #1. Assessing processes, #2. Awareness of process standards and #9. Tailoring processes, all rely on knowledge of the Software Engineering Institute's Capability Maturity Model (CMM). Please click on the link to this MS Excel worksheet containing an example of questions on the CMM v1.1 assessment instrument. The purpose of asking you to do so is to make sure that we can exchange .xls files should you register for the SWPM course.

The Software Project Competencies #16. Managing Risks, #17. Monitoring Development, and #22. Tracking project progress are examples of those that rely on a Project Status Report. A partial example is provided here, in a .pdf file Please view this file to make sure that we can exchange Adobe Acrobat files.

Almost all of the Software People Competencies rely on being able to communicate effectively - with your managers, peers, staff and customers. Understanding Extraverted versus Introverted approaches to learning (Sesame Street versus Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, for example) is important.
   
Please view this clip for an illustration. We want to be sure that you can see and hear the course material that is provided on streaming video. Have you ever watched Sesame Street or Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood on U.S. public television? Did you know these two programs illustrate Extraverted and Introverted approaches to learning? View this clip

Have you been able to view the narrated powerpoint slides, the word document, the excel spreadsheet, the pdf document, and the streaming video? Great! Now, test your browser for the shockwave plugin.

SWPM online is designed to be firewall friendly and use a standard set of software. However, there may still be technical difficulties. Viewing all the material on this page will allow us to determine difficulties you may have in order that they be eliminated before you begin the course. If you have had difficulty accessing any material, please contact us so that we can help you fix the problems.