------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What is SEA-SPIN (Software Process Improvement Network)

SEA is a professional society of researchers and practitioners of software
engineers established in late 1985. We have now about 700 members. Some of
them have a deep interest in software process. We held domestic software
process workshops twice (in 1989 and 1990). Those were the predecessor of
workshop series now conducted by Japan Society of Software Science and
Technology.

In February 1995, we saw an article in the newsgroup "comp.software-eng"
telling about SPINs all over the world and noticed that there is no such
an organization in Japan. So, we started an informal mailing list of
members who are interested, and held a BOF meeting at our Annual Software
Symposium in June 1995 to kick off SEA-SPIN.

The first formal kick-off meeting was held in October 1995. Since then,
SEA-SPIN has been organizing following series of events:

   1st SPIN Workshop:			95/11 in Gotenba (The foot of Mt.Fuji)
   Public Forum:			96/2  in Tokyo
   International Forum w/MCC:		96/3  in Tokyo
   Public Forum:			96/4  in Fukuoka City
   2nd SPIN Workshop:			96/4  on Tsushima Island (Kyushu)
   1st Discussion Meeting:		96/5  in Tokyo
   3rd SPIN Workshop:			96/6  at Hamakako lake side
   2nd Discussion Meeting:		96/8  in Kawasaki City
   2nd International Forum w/MCC:	96/9  in Austin, Texas
   Software Engineering workshop w/SEI:	96/9  in Pittsburgh, Pen.
   3rd Discussion Meeting:		97/1  in Tokyo
   Ad-hoc Meeting with Dr.Kitson SEI:	97/11 in Tokyo w/ISO-SPA forum
   Asia-Pacific SPIN workshop:		97/12 in HongKong  w/APSEC'97
   Ad-hoc SPIN meeting w/G.Yamamura:	98/04 in Kyoto w/ICSE'98
   SPIN Forum w/G.Yamamura of Boeing:	98/08 in Tokyo
   1st Intl.SPIN workshop w/G.Yamamura: 98/08 in Gotenba
   Regular monthly SPIN meeting starts: 98/07 mostly in Tokyo area
   Official release of CMMv1.1 japanese 99/05/10 in Tokyo
   Official meeting w/Pen. Governer & CISE 99/05/17 in Tokyo
   2nd Intl.SPIN workshop w/G.Yamamura: 2000/06 in Kyoto
   1st Asia-Pacific SEPG Conference:	2000/12 in HongKong
   2nd SPI Symposium w/Bill Curtis:     2001/10 in Tokyo
   2nd Asia-Pacific SEPG Conference:	2001/11 in HongKong

At the 1st International Forum in 96/3 with MCC Strategic Technology
Survey Team, we got acquainted with two CMU/SEI staffs (Mike Konrad and
Bud Weaver). And after the 2nd Forum in Austin when our group visited
SEI, We were informally asked to do some volunteer work to promote CMM[R]
concept in Japan. So, we have started a project within SEA-SPIN and
began research work of TR24 & 25 into Japanese. At present, we have
finished the translation then publicly released CMM[R] v1.1 SEI authorized
official japanese documents.

We also have been investigating Japanese translation of CMMI[SM] v1.02
targeting CMMI v1.1 finaly under acknowledgement of CMMI steering committee
and with financial support by JASPIC (Japan SPI Consortium) last October 2000.

We had a one day regional (Asia-Pacific) SPIN workshop as a
co-located event of APSEC'97 (Asia Pacific Software Engineering
Conference) early December (12/2-5) 1997 in HongKong.
Also, SEA-SPIN member participated the first Asia-Pacific SEPG Conference
in HongKong held by HK-SPIN in Dec. 2000.

Coming October the 1st 2001, we will held the SPI Symposium featuring
the special guest speaker Dr. Bill Curtis at TeraQuest Corporation.
Dr.Curtis is well-known as a co-author of CMM for Software (TR-24) and
also as the author of People CMM.
His idea of "People, Process and Organization" takes an important role
in the SPI frameworks.

Starting July 1998, Regular SEA-SPIN meeting have been held in Tokyo
every month. Please ask more info. at sea-spin-request@sea.or.jp. 
Or please visit http://www.sea.jp/SPIN.
Visitors are welcome. ATTENTION: Our official language is Japanese.
---------------------------------------------- originally:1999.05.10 ------