Mission

Mission & Charter

I. ESTABLISHMENT
The Albuquerque Software Process Improvement Network (SPIN) was established in April 1994 as a forum for the exchange of software process improvement experiences and ideas. SPINs are organized regionally under the auspices of the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. The Albuquerque SPIN serves the greater Albuquerque, New Mexico area.

II. MISSION
The Albuquerque SPIN (ABQ SPIN) exists to promote software process improvement and software quality by providing a forum for discussions and sharing of software improvement experiences and ideas. Meetings and membership are open to all people interested in furthering software process improvement and software quality. Our goal is to enhance skills, promote awareness of quality methods and best practices, and support technology transition through an active program of networking and education. To help accomplish this mission, the Albuquerque SPIN is being re-established as a peer group of the NMTC (New Mexico Technology Council, formerly NMITSA). Some of the common goals that NMTC and SPIN share include:

To serve as a liaison with other similar organizations on technology issues
To promote expanded an advanced academic opportunities within technology fields
To sponsor special programs of interest to the technology community
To undertake other activities deemed beneficial to the New Mexico technology community

Having NMTC as a partner will help to facilitate the missions of both organizations and their objectives. Having access to each other's networks and resources will provide opportunities that will promote communication and foster relationships among the members. As more NMTC peer groups are established, these opportunities will increase and broaden.

III. OBJECTIVES
In carrying out its mission, the Albuquerque SPIN organization will act to accomplish the following objectives within the software community:

Advance the quality and reliability of software.
Improve and promote quality awareness throughout the software community.
Improve software productivity.
Promote software process maturity.
Transfer software improvement and quality knowledge and innovation to all participants.
Share lessons learned, experiences and best practices among participants, other software and systems organizations and other SPIN organizations.
Promote cooperation between industry, academia, and government with respect to software process improvement and quality technology.

IV - MEMBERSHIP
Membership in the Albuquerque SPIN is open, without discrimination, to all individuals, companies, universities, and government organizations that are interested in furthering the objectives of the Albuquerque SPIN. A company, university, or government organization may designate a member of the Albuquerque SPIN as its point of contact. An individual, company, university, or government organization becomes a member of the Albuquerque SPIN by enrolling in the organization and paying any required dues. The membership committee will designate any dues or fees and will determine whether NMITSA membership may be required to fully participate in Albuquerque SPIN or if membership in SPIN confers NMITSA membership privileges. Until such time as the membership committee has made any such determinations, no dues are required to join Albuquerque SPIN.

V � ORGANIZATION

The Albuquerque SPIN Leadership Team will consist of a steering committee (board members), three standing committees, and up to four at-large members. The Leadership Team members will receive no remuneration for their services.

The Leadership Team will consist of the following:

Steering Committee (Board Members):

Chairperson
Vice Chairperson
Secretary
Treasurer
Up to four (4) At Large Members

Standing Committees:

Program Committee
Membership Committee
Website Committee

A. Steering Committee

General Responsibilities:

Oversee and manage the affairs of the Albuquerque SPIN.
Establish and maintain the Mission & Charter statement.
Generate operating budget.
Approve or authorize all expenditures either by individual appropriation or by budget.
Coordinate with NMITSA and NMITSA peer groups.
Coordinate with SPIN groups and other organizations.
Approve programs for SPIN meetings.
Appoint members to fill vacancies in elected positions.

1. Chairperson (elected position)

Responsibilities:

Preside at regular Albuquerque SPIN meetings.
Preside at steering committee (Board) meetings.
Preside at SPIN sponsored events.
Delegate to Vice Chairperson.
Delegate duties of other officers in the event of their absence or incapacity, until they are replaced by the steering committee.
Serve as point of contact for other organizations, including SEI SPINs.
Work with NMITSA leadership on partnership and joint initiatives.
Work with other organizations on joint initiatives.
Formulate SPIN growth strategy with assistance from steering committee.
Formulate SPIN quality performance measures with assistance from steering committee.
Generate and distribute periodic SPIN status information as necessary.
Submit general SPIN information for posting to the web site.

2. Vice Chairperson (elected position)

Responsibilities:

Assist chairperson in presiding over Albuquerque SPIN meetings.
Perform duties as delegated by Chairperson.
Assume duties of chairperson upon the latter�s request, absence, or incapacity.

3. Secretary (elected position)

Responsibilities:

Record minutes of Albuquerque SPIN meetings.
Record minutes of steering committee (Board) meetings.
Disseminate and manage Albuquerque SPIN correspondence (including initial and reminder meeting notices).
Arrange meeting postings via electronic and printed publications.
Arrange catering for meetings and special events.
Coordinate meeting and special event facilities, including equipment.
Publish SPIN materials, including brochure, cards, and fliers (as required).
Track and archive SPIN artifacts, including event history and reports.

4. Treasurer (elected position)

Responsibilities:

Track SPIN funds, including revenues and expenditures (exact process for this tracking will be determined by SPIN steering committee).
Serve as point of contact for NMITSA treasurer.
Generate and distribute periodic financial reports to steering committee as necessry.

5. At Large Members (volunteer positions)

Responsibilities:

Up to four (4) At Large members will provide �as-required� support to the SPIN Steering Committee and/or Standing Committees.

B. Standing Committees

The following Standing Committees will support the continuing long-term activities of the Albuquerque SPIN. The chairperson of each standing committee will be responsible for appointing all members of his/her committee and for ensuring meeting minutes are forwarded to the steering committee Secretary for distribution to Steering Committee members. Steering Committee (Board) members may also serve concurrently as committee members or chairpersons of Standing Committees.

1. Program Committee Chairperson (volunteer position)

Responsibilities:

Appoint Program committee members.
Develop speaker program with assistance from steering committee.
Develop and maintain speaker guidelines and surveys.
Recruit speakers with assistance from steering committee.
Plan meetings and other events with assistance from steering committee.
Solicit, gather, and publicize appropriate and relevant course offering, conference, seminar, educational, and networking opportunities with assistance from steering committee.
Process SPIN surveys following each event.
Maintain history of speaker program and other events.
Generate announcement text for meetings and SPIN sponsored events.
Generate meeting attendance lists and provide to Secretary and Membership Committee Chairperson.
Submit relevant SPIN program information for posting to the web site.

2. Membership Committee Chairperson (volunteer position)

Responsibilities:

Appoint Membership committee members.
Develop membership program with assistance from steering committee.
Enroll new members.
Maintain a database of members and non-members.
Maintain SPIN membership list and contact directory.
Perform registration at meetings and SPIN sponsored events.
Generate and distribute periodic membership reports to steering committee (generally no more frequent than one per month).
Submit relevant SPIN membership information for posting to the web site.

3. Website Committee Chairperson (volunteer position)

Responsibilities:
Appoint Website committee members.

Arrange ISP and domain name service.
Develop and maintain the web site, include format and content.
Apply updates and enhancements with input and approval from steering committee.
Solicit recommendations for web site improvements.
Generate and distribute periodic reports to steering committee.

VI. ROLE ASSIGNMENTS AND TERMS
The Steering Committee operates as a consensus-based decision making team. All Steering Committee members have equal voice in the decision making process. Decisions are approved by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the participants in the vote.

The Steering Committee will have a maximum of 8 members. At most 2 people from the same company may be Steering Committee members. All positions on the Steering Committee will be approved for one (1) term, for twelve (12) months, with a maximum of two (2) consecutive terms.

Any SPIN member in good standing may petition the Steering Committee to become a Steering Committee chair. The Steering Committee approves appointment of all Committee Chairs. At most 2 people from the same company may hold a Standing Committee Chair position.

VII - DUES
All dues-related issues will be determined by the steering committee.

VII - MEETINGS
Meetings of the Albuquerque SPIN membership will take place regularly during the year at a site that is open and accessible to all members. An announcement for each membership meeting will be disseminated to all members in advance of the meeting. The election meeting will be the last meeting of the Albuquerque SPIN calendar year. The SPIN year runs from September 1 to August 31. Meetings will be scheduled once per month, unless otherwise decided by the steering committee. Meeting Frequency: Generally one per month and no less than one per quarter.

VIII - DISSOLUTION OF ORGANIZATION
Dissolution of the Albuquerque SPIN organization by consent of the members shall consist of unanimous agreement of all its officers, together with a majority vote at a meeting which has been publicized in advance to all members of the organization for the purpose of taking this vote.

Acknowledgments