The Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute is a federally funded research and development center headquartered on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The SEI also has offices in Washington, DC and Los Angeles, California. The SEI operates with major funding from the U.S. Department of Defense. The SEI also works with industry and academia through research collaborations. On November 14, 1984, the U.S. Department of Defense elected Carnegie Mellon University as the host site of the Software Engineering Institute. The institute was founded with an initial allocation of $6 million, with another $97 million to be allocated in the subsequent five years. The SEI's contract with the Department of Defense is subject to review and renewal every five years. The SEI program of work is conducted in several principal areas: cybersecurity, software assurance, software engineering and acquisition, and component capabilities critical to the Department of Defense.
Areas of work
The SEI defines specific initiatives aimed at improving organizations' software engineering capabilities.
Management practices
Organizations need to effectively manage the acquisition, development, and evolution of software-intensive systems. Success in software engineering management practices helps organizations predict and control quality, schedule, cost, cycle time, and productivity. The best-known example of SEI in management practices is the SEI's Capability Maturity Model for Software. The CMMI approach consists of models, appraisal methods, and training courses that have been proven to improve process performance. In 2006, Version 1.2 of the CMMI Product Suite included the release of CMMI for Development. CMMI for Development was the first of three constellations defined in Version 1.2: the others include CMMI for Acquisition and CMMI for Services. The CMMI for Services constellation was released in February 2009. Another management practice developed by CERT, which is part of the SEI, is the Resilience Management Model. The CERT-RMM is a capability model for operational resilience management. Version 1.0 of the Resilience Management Model was released in May 2010.
The SEI is also the home of the CERT/CC, a federally funded computer security organization. The SEI CERT Program's primary goals are to ensure that appropriate technology and systems-management practices are used to resist attacks on networked systems and to limit damage and ensure continuity of critical services in spite of successful attacks, accidents, or failures. The SEI CERT program is working with US-CERT to produce the Build Security In website, which provides guidelines for building security into every phase of the software development lifecycle. The SEI has also conducted research on insider threats and computer forensics. Results of this research and other information now populate the CERT Virtual Training Environment. Carnegie Mellon, Capability Maturity Model, CMM, CMMI, Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method, ATAM, and CERT are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by Carnegie Mellon University.
Special programs
SEI Partner Network
The SEI Partner Network helps the SEI disseminate software engineering best practices. Organizations and individuals in the SEI Partner Network are selected, trained, and licensed by the SEI to deliver authentic SEI services, which include courses, consulting methods, and management processes. The network currently consists of nearly 250 partner organizations worldwide.
Conferences
The SEI sponsors national and international conferences, workshops, and user-group meetings. Other events cover subjects including acquisition of software-intensive systems, commercial off-the-shelf -based systems, network security and survivability, software process research, software product lines, CMMI, and the SEI Team Software Process.
Education and training
SEI courses are currently offered at the SEI's locations in the United States and Europe. In addition, using licensed course materials, SEI Partners train individuals.
Membership program
The SEI Membership Program helps the software engineering community to network. SEI Members include small business owners, software and systems programmers, CEOs, directors, and managers from both Fortune 500 companies and government organizations
Affiliate program
Through the SEI Affiliate Program, organizations place technical experts with the SEI for periods ranging from 12 months to four years. Affiliates currently are working on projects with the SEI to identify, develop, and demonstrate improved software engineering practices.
Software Process Achievement award program
In order to recognize outstanding achievement in improving an organization's ability to create and evolve software-dependent systems, the SEI and IEEE Computer Society created the Software Process Achievement Award program. In addition to rewarding excellence, the purpose of this award is to foster continuous advancement in the practice of software engineering and to disseminate insights, experiences, and proven practices throughout the relevant research and practitioner communities.
Research and publications
The SEI publishes reports that offer new technical information about software engineering topics, whether theoretical or applied. The SEI also publishes books on software engineering for industry, government and military applications and practices. In addition, the SEI offers public courses, workshops, and conferences in process improvement, software architecture and product lines, and security.
Controversies
On November 11, 2015, the head of the Tor Project accused the Software Engineering Institute of aiding Federal Bureau of Investigation in uncovering the identities of users of the Tor network. Later prosecution showed the hack was paid for by the Department of Defense and subpoena by the FBI.
