Certification for software professionals: the IEEE computer society's CSDP program

Panel Summary For more than twenty years, the IEEE Computer Society has played a leading role in improving the professionalism of software engineers. Its activities include development of a large collection of software engineering standards, publication of many seminal software engineering journals, texts, and reference books, co-sponsorship of undergraduate software engineering curriculum and accreditation activities, and co-sponsorship of the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge (SWEBOK) project. In 1999, the Society launched an effort to certify the knowledge of practicing software engineers. This effort led to the development of the Society’s CSDP certification examination, which was given to a test group in 2001. The examination will be offered to the public through test centers around the world in Spring 2003. The Society has also encouraged the development of face-toface and online training opportunities for prospective test-takers. These opportunities will also be available in Spring 2003.