Pittsburgh, PA , January 5, 2010 - Carnegie Mellon University
has issued an exclusive license to a new spin-off firm, ITSqc, LLC, to continue
and extend work begun at the university to establish best-practice models and
certification procedures for the global sourcing of information technology-based
services.
Since its inception in 2000, the Information Technology Services Qualification
Center (ITSqc), www.itsqc.org, has established standards for companies that
provide services such as IT operations, applications development and management,
back office operations, engineering design, payroll and telemarketing support,
as well as for companies that purchase those services. Its eSourcing Capability
Models — one for service providers and one for client organizations — provide a
means to evaluate and improve service delivery, reduce risks and assess the
value of the services. A research consortium that included major IT sourcing
firms, clients and advisors has played a key role in developing and implementing
the best-practice models.
Certification by the ITSqc has become a means for many providers, such as IBM's
Global Delivery Centers in Brazil and
Argentina and
Infosys BPO in India, to
demonstrate their capabilities to key clients.
"The evolution of the Internet and the growth of the world's telecommunications
infrastructure now enables companies to seek out IT expertise from providers
anywhere on the globe," said Raj Reddy, professor of computer science and
robotics at Carnegie Mellon and chairman of the ITSqc Advisory Board. "But
without a set of commonly accepted best practices, many providers will routinely
fail to deliver on their promises and potential clients will have no basis for
comparing prospective providers. By establishing these best practices, the ITSqc
has helped to bring order to the sourcing marketplace."
Principals in ITSqc, LLC, are Bill Hefley, a former associate teaching professor
in the School of Computer Science's Institute for Software Research (ISR) who is
now on the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh's Katz School of Business;
Jeff Perdue, associate teaching professor in the ISR; and Jane Siegel, senior
systems scientist in the ISR and the Human-Computer Interaction Institute.
Siegel was the director of the ITSqc from its inception at the university.
Hefley and Perdue joined in 2002 and played key roles in ITSqc's development.
"Jane Siegel and her colleagues have done outstanding work to develop
best-practice models for the IT sourcing industry," said Bill Scherlis, ISR
director. "Their work will serve as a template for developing similar
performance evaluation standards for other service industries."
Organizations may be certified by the ITSqc at one of five capability levels,
based on their use of and adherence to the best-practice models. As a spin-off
company, ITSqc, LLC, will support increased organizational certifications by
allowing for new options for small and medium-sized service providers and
clients.
"As an entity independent of the university, ITSqc, LLC, will be able to
increase the speed of certifications, lower operating costs and launch new
strategic partnerships," Siegel said. This month, ITSqc, LLC, will begin
offering executive education and training courses. It also is launching an
expanded sponsors program and offering additional pilot capability assessment
options.
About ITSqcol of Computer Science has a mission to address the emerging need for capability models and qualification methods for organizations involved in the evolving Internet economy. ITSqc's Research Consortium involves leading international corporate, government and academic entities in the development of the Capability Models.
About Carnegie Mellon
Carnegie Mellon is a private research university with a distinctive mix of programs in engineering, computer science, robotics, business, public policy, fine arts, and the humanities. More than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students receive an education characterized by its focus on creating and implementing solutions for real problems, interdisciplinary collaboration, and innovation. Carnegie Mellon has contributed to the development and use of several quality standards, such as eSCM-SP, eSCM-CL, CMMI®, SW-CMM® and People CMM®. For more information, see www.cmu.edu.
® Capability Maturity Model, Carnegie Mellon, CMM and CMMI are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by Carnegie Mellon University.
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