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ESSI
PIE Node
for the Area of
Northern
Germany
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ESPINODE Network
Support for the
European Industry
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SPINODE-NG is a project operating within the
framework of the European Systems and Software Initiative (ESSI) of the
European Commission. ESSI's aim is to promote wide-ranging improvements
in the entire software development process of industry. Companies are encouraged
to put into practice well-founded and established methods and technologies,
so as to achieve greater efficiency, higher quality and savings in the
software development process. In short, ESSI is promoting the adoption
of Software Best Practice (SBP).
Enterprises in all sectors of the economy
- not just the IT sector - are increasingly dependent on quality software-based
IT systems. Therefore, the aim of the initiative is to ensure that European
software developers in both user and vendor organisations continue acquiring
world class skills, the associated technology and the improved practices
necessary to establish the increasing complex and the varied systems demanded
by the marketplace.
In order to achieve these objectives, actions
are supported to:
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Raise awareness of the importance of the software
development process with respect to the competitive position of European
industry.
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Demonstrate what can be done to improve software
development practices through experimentation.
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Create communities of interest in Europe working
towards the common goal of improving software development practices.
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Raise the skill levels of software development
professionals in Europe.
A portfolio of nearly 470 projects which have
been executed since 1993 has been established and these projects are classified
into seven areas. Process Improvement Experiments (PIEs) form the bulk
of the Software Best Practice Initiative.
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Process Improvement Experiments (PIEs):
PIEs are aimed at demonstrating software
process improvement. These will follow a generic model and will demonstrate
the effectiveness of software process improvement experiments on an underlying
baseline project that is tackling a real development need for the proposing
organisation.
All together 52 PIEs have been set up in Germany
since 1995 and about 22 new PIEs are launched in 1998. Average funding
per PIE was 200 KECU.
In order to stimulate, support and coordinate
a set of PIEs by means of experience exchange, dissemination and cooperation
activities, the Commission has established a Network of competent partners,
the so-called ESSI PIE Nodes (ESPINODEs).
The main objectives of the ESPINODE action
line are:
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to provide project assistance, technical and
administrative support to the PIEs in order to ensure the successful and
efficient execution of the PIEs
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to facilitate the exchange of practical information
and experience between the PIEs in order to re-use available experience
and know-how
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to provide a useful interface between the
PIEs and local industry in order to support the efficient dissemination
of the results achieved in the PIEs and ensure added-valued for a wider
community of interest (including the improvement and facilitation of access
to information on PIE results, the raising of interest and awareness in
local companies regarding the technical and business benefits resulting
from SPI conducted in the PIEs)
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to facilitate the exchange of information
between the PIEs and ESPINODEs at the European Level in order to benefit
from the transfer of technology, skills and know-how, thus creating a European
network of PIE communities.
To achieve these objectives ESPINODEs are
providing a set of services and preparing a number of activities. 18 ESPINODEs
distributed throughout Europe and one from Israel started their work in
the Spring of 1998, for a period of 24 months. The ESPINODEs started by
co-operating with PIEs in their local regions, as well as with a series
of actions oriented towards local industry in order to promote best practice
measures in system and software development.
SPINODE-NG, the project which establishes
the ESPINODE responsible for the area of West, North and East Germany,
specifically the states Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg/Vorpommern,
Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Sachsen-Anhalt and Schleswig-Holstein.
SPINDOE-NG offers different services, free
of charge for the PIEs in the SPINODE-NG region and
with respect to local industry it promotes
SPI activities which will lead to the boost and
strengthening of competitiveness, e.g.
by:
- Awareness events and workshops to excahnge
'experience gained' through recent projects.
- Assistance in planning, organising and
the realization of specific training seminars.
- Provision of SPINODE-NG Newsletter to
raise awareness through current articles.
- Provision of regional and European contacts
to facilitate experience exchange.
- Information about European projects
and frameworks.
- Reference lists on Software-Engineering
methods, tools and guidelines.
In the scope of SPINODE-NG-project, ATB
- Institute for Applied System Technology Bremen GmbH is addressing this
challenging cooperative task from May 1st, 1998 up to April 30th, 2000. |
