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Subject: The Software Industry Coalition
The Software Industry Coalition
Building quality relationships, processes and products
Organization Background, June 1993
Purpose and Mission
-----------------------------------
The Software Industry Coalition (SoftCo) is a not-for-profit membership
organization dedicated to improving the quality of the software industry's
relationships, processes and products. The mission of SoftCo is to identify
specific projects and build collaborative relationships within the software
industry to actively address issues common to the industry.
Goals
----------------
- Create a software industry voice by joining forces with existing
organizations
to
foster credibility, strength and stability on matters of common interest in
industrial,
regulatory and intellectual property policies
- Advance the state-of-the-art of software technology through
industry-academia-government collaborations in software engineering process
development, software quality, and management/executive leadership
development
- Develop an information resource for and strategic working alliances among
executives, companies, associations, academia and government to define and
enhance the role and impact of software on the global community.
Overview
--------------------
The Software Industry Coalition originated from ideas presented to the Joint
Venture: Silicon Valley Software Working Group in the fall of 1992. The
working group identified lack of leadership and collaboration as major
problem areas of the software industry. There are many associations and
organizations, both locally and nationally, that focus on specific issues and
concerns of the software industry. Some of these organizations are aware
of each other and have even developed cooperative relationships. However,
all the existing organizations combined are not covering the issues and
goals identified as priorities by the Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Software
Working Group. The major tasks of the Software Industry Coalition are to
address these unmet priorities, while in a sprit of cooperation, we identify
and empower existing organizations to achieve mutual goals and expand
horizons within the software communities.
During the spring of 1993 a Steering Committee representing the
commercial software industry, academia and government was organized to
form the framework for a non-profit corporation. The Committee identified
three project focus areas that corresponded to the stated goals of the
Coalition and would meet the needs identified by the Joint Venture:
Software Working Group. On May 28, 1993, the Software Industry Coalition
was incorporated as a California non-profit corporation.
The Coalition has moved forward rapidly with its projects. In May 1993, we
held our first mini-symposium involving several universities and businesses
discussing the education of software professionals. Those discussions led
to Santa Clara University setting up an electronic forum for continuing the
dialog and the planning of the next educational mini-symposium in July '93.
Additionally, the policy project set its first workshop, dealing with
software licensing and taxation for late June '93. Over the next few months
SoftCo will reach out to software organizations and associations across the
US to build consensus on issues of common interest.
Our Members
------------------------
The members of the Software Industry Coalition reflect the diversity of the
software industry. They represent Independent Software Vendors that
create and produce software products for sale, as well as Information
Technology or MIS departments of companies, government labs and
colleges that develop software for internal use. Other members are
companies that design and manufacture computers, networks and systems
and those who design software for use internal to the products they sell.
Finally, our members come from many different professional and trade
associations, consortia, and consulting services companies. Serving the
interests of
this diverse and disparate membership requires new and unique organizational
agreements and an extremely competent staff in building and managing
relationships and projects.
Our Organization
--------------------------
The Software Industry Coalition is led by its Board of Directors which is
composed of representatives from its membership. SoftCo is managed by a
small executive staff. The Board, executive staff, and general membership
select specific projects to be undertaken annually. These projects include
regulatory actions, educational programs, and assistance to other member
organizations. The executive staff, working with "on loan" executives from
member companies, manages the on-going activities of these projects and
reports progress to the Board. The SoftCo newsletter keeps all of our
membership current with the activities of the coalition.
Benefits to Our Members
------------------------------------
While there are many benefits included in a SoftCo membership, the most
directly measurable are the financial and influential leverages obtained by
investing with other members in projects that directly advance software
development technology.
For More Information Contact:
John Moran
Software Industry Coalition
2369 Gianera Street Voice: 408-980-8294 Fax: 408-980-8295
Santa Clara, CA 95054 e-mail: Compuserve 72163,3274
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------------------------
Software Industry Coalition Policy Project Overview
Project Purpose and Mission
-----------------------------------------
The purpose of the Policy Project is to facilitate consensus within the
software industry on issues of industrial, regulatory, and intellectual
property
rights policies and to present a coordinated software industry voice on
issues affecting the software industry. The mission of the project is to
sponsor an annual summit meeting in Silicon Valley with participants
composed of members of the Executive branch staff, Congressional staff,
and members of the Software Industry Coalition. A goal of the summit will
be to present the Administration and Congress with specific proposed
legislation needed in each target area. A working group will monitor and
facilitate progress during the interim between summits. Initial efforts of the
project will include sponsoring mini-conferences on various issues of
concern to the software industry in order to further industry knowledge of
the issues and to facilitate consensus on the issues.
Goals
--------------
- Work with Congress and the Administration to address software industry
issues.
- Foster recognition of software as an important industry in its own
right,
separate from hardware or education.
- Gain understanding of the software industry's role in job
creation, it's
growing contribution to GDP, and it's place as part of our
infrastructure
investment.
- Clarify the role of the software industry in the government's
technology
policy on issues of technology transfer programs, national R & D labs
restructuring, defense conversion, and the National Data Network
relative
to
software licensing and distribution.
- Present software industry consensus on intellectual property rights issues.
- Copyrightability of aspects of user interfaces -
- Software Patents
- Multimedia (software-audio-video) licensing issues
- Industry-wide standard license
- Alternatives to copyright and patents for protecting software
- Strengthen the U.S. Software Industry
- Foster government programs which provide incentives and reduce
external (foreign Government) legislative and regulatory barriers
to foreign
markets.
- Facilitate Entrepreneurism by resolving legislative and regulatory issues.
- Reduce internal (U.S. Government) legislative and regulatory
barriers to
foreign markets
- Reverse the proposed FASB ruling on stock options
- Halt the IRS campaign to slash the number of self-employed Americans,
especially self-employed technology experts
Measurements of Success
--------------------------------------
- The degree of consensus reached on key topics within the software industry
prior
to the summit.
- Implementation and success of proposed legislation.
- Improved communications between the Clinton administration, Congress and
the
Software Industry.
- Recognition of the software industry's importance to the national economy.
For further information contact: Kaye Caldwell, Project Director,
510-799-0153 e-mail: Compuserve 72260,2414
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---------------------------------
Software Industry Coalition Education/Quality Project Overview
Project Purpose and Mission
-----------------------------------------
The purpose is to advance the state-of-the-art of software technology
through industry-academia-government collaboration in software
engineering, software process development, software quality, software
econometrics, and management/leadership development. The mission of
this project is to raise the level of awareness of issues impacting the quality
and productivity of the software creation process and to start identifying
ways of improving the processes. The first efforts will include mini-
symposiums, workshops and papers on the subject. These efforts are
intended to demonstrate the advantages of quality design in the control and
reduction of costs and the improvements of time to market and usability. A
major national symposium will be the culmination of a series of papers and
conversations orchestrated by the E/Q project.
Goals
--------------
- Establish collaborative relationships between the software industry,
government,
and academia.
- Identify and validate major issues and barriers that are currently
impacting the
quality and productivity of the software creation process. Some of these issues
are:
- College graduates are not well prepared to produce quality software
- There are few effective economic measures being used in the
production of software.
- Software quality isn't well defined and is often determined by
testing
- Company executives and administrators are not aware of the issues
facing software developers
- Identify researchers and specific areas of research that could assist in
overcoming
some of the barriers to higher quality and productivity.
- Develop action plans to collaboratively improve the quality and
productivity of
software creation processes.
- Identify specific courses and curricula to assist in the conversion of
defense
workers to commercial software developers.
- Identify specific alternative means of financing to assist universities and
businesses to meet their respective needs
Measurements of Success
--------------------------------------
- Good participation at three to five "mini-symposiums" from the software
industry,
academia, and government agencies. Each symposium having identified follow
on
work to be undertaken.
- Strong participation and successful completion of the "major symposium" with
action plans for various groups to start improving software process quality and
productivity.
- Creation of Mini-coalitions for educators and business to address the core
issues
on an ongoing basis.
For further information contact: Bob D'Orazio, Project Director,
408-439-8556 e-mail: Compuserve 71712, 3703
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------------------------------
Software Industry Coalition Information Resource Project Overview
Project Purpose and Mission
------------------------------------------
The purpose is to develop an information resource for and strategic working
alliances among executives, companies, associations, academia and
government to define and enhance the role and impact of software on the
global community. The mission of this project is to provide the staff and
members of the Software Industry Coalition a set of on-line electronic
exchange and information resources specifically addressing issues common
to the software industry.
Goals
-----------
- Design, develop, and implement an on-line directory of members of the
Software
Industry Coalition with addresses for sending electronic mail.
- Design, develop and implement an on-line directory of associations involved
in
promoting and supporting issues common to the software industry, with
addresses
for sending electronic mail.
- Design, develop, and implement an on-line directory of current issues
relevant to
the software industry, its various associations and the members of the Software
Industry Coalition.
- Design, develop, and implement an on-line newsletter containing a recent
history
and current status of projects or events either sponsored by Software Industry
Coalition or of particular interest to the coalition.
- Design, develop, and implement an on-line forum or conference for topics that
would be of interest to coalition members.
- Design, develop, and implement an on-line software research database for
members of the coalition to investigate reuse, human factors, organizational
design
and other research areas.
Measurements of Success
---------------------------------------
- Successful implementation of each on-line system and use by membership.
For further information contact: John Moran, Project Facilitator,
408-980-8294 e-mail: Compuserve 72163,3274
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---------------------------------
Software Industry Coalition Staff
John Moran, President
---------------------------------
Founder and president of the Software Industry Coalition, John has more
than 25 years experience as a corporate officer, software developer,
marketer, and project manager at Sperry Univac, Control Data Corporation,
Mips Computer Systems, Optical Storage International, and Unisys Corp.
John's expertise has been developed through the organization and
management of the marketing and sales support functions for three high
tech start up companies; as a team leader developing computer systems
products and international markets; and as the founder of Global Gateways,
a consulting services company engaged in business process redesign for
high tech companies.
John's contribution to the Coalition is to focus on building the quality
relationships necessary to create a strong membership dedicated to
common goals specific to the software industry, spanning legislative,
educational, and process issues. John's educational background includes a
BS in Computer Science from UC Berkeley and an MBA from Golden Gate
University.
Kaye Caldwell, Policy Project Director
--------------------------------------------------------
Policy Project Director for the Software Industry Coalition, Kaye has 6 years
of experience working with the California legislature, government agencies
and Congress on issues affecting the computer software industry.
Her expertise has been developed through working on issues involving sales
taxes on software services, tax classification of technical services
consultants, computer hardware and software support policy legislation,
and a variety of other issues for the Software Entrepreneurs' Forum and the
Computer Software Industry Association. Kaye also owns Caldwell Software
Solutions, a 15 year old company which provides property management
software to real estate companies, as well as custom programming
services.
Kaye's contribution to the Software Industry Coalition will be to focus on
facilitating consensus within the software industry on issues of industrial,
regulatory, and intellectual property rights policies, to present a coordinated
software industry voice on issues affecting the industry. Her educational
background includes a BA in Mathematics from Sonoma State University.
Robert D'Orazio, Ph. D. , Education/Quality Project Director
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----------
As co-founder and president of a telecommunications company in Chicago,
Dr. Bob D'Orazio is a senior executive consultant with 30 years of technical,
marketing, operations and staff management experience at IBM, Bell Labs,
AT&T, Plantronics, ISS, AMI and MCT.
His experiences stem from many pivotal strategic positions in development,
marketing, sales, support, program management, and general management
of over 32 new products and services in telecommunications, disk drives,
integrated circuits, and computer systems. He is a partner at Global
Gateways.
Dr. D'Orazio's diversified background provides thought provoking leadership
for the Software Industry Coalition's Education/Quality Project. The goal of
the Project is to improve the quality, process, and products developed in
colleges, universities, and industry. His educational background includes a
B.S.E.E. from Drexel University, M.S.E.E. and Ph.D. from California Institute
of Technology, and an MBA from Pace/Harvard.
Document End June 1993
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