Editing Software engineering (section)

=== Certification ===
The [[Software Engineering Institute]] offers certifications on specific topics like [[IT security|security]], process improvement and [[software architecture]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sei.cmu.edu/certification/ |title=SEI certification page |publisher=Sei.cmu.edu |access-date=2012-03-25}}</ref> [[Information Technology Architect Certification|IBM]], [[Microsoft Certified Professional|Microsoft]] and other companies also sponsor their own certification examinations. Many [[Information technology|IT]] [[Professional certification (computer technology)|certification]] programs are oriented toward specific technologies, and managed by the vendors of these technologies.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1180991|title=The Top 10 Problems with IT Certification in 2008|last=Wyrostek|first=Warren |date=March 14, 2008|work=InformIT|access-date=2009-03-03}}</ref> These certification programs are tailored to the institutions that would employ people who use these technologies.

Broader certification of general software engineering skills is available through various professional societies. {{As of|2006}}, the [[IEEE]] had certified over 575 software professionals as a [[Certified Software Development Professional]] (CSDP).<ref name="ieee2006">{{cite web |author=[[IEEE Computer Society]]|url=http://www.ifip.org/minutes/GA2006/Tab18b-US-IEEE.pdf|title=2006 IEEE computer society report to the IFIP General Assembly|access-date=2007-04-10}}</ref> In 2008 they added an entry-level certification known as the Certified Software Development Associate (CSDA).<ref>{{cite web |author=IEEE|url=http://www.computer.org/portal/web/certification/csda|title=CSDA|access-date=2010-04-20}}</ref> The [[Association for Computing Machinery|ACM]] had a professional certification program in the early 1980s,{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}} which was discontinued due to lack of interest. The ACM and the [[IEEE Computer Society]] together examined the possibility of licensing of software engineers as Professional Engineers in the 1990s,
but eventually decided that such licensing was inappropriate for the professional industrial practice of software engineering.<ref name=BarbaraSimons> {{cite web |author=Barbara Simons |title=Past ACM Presidents Reflect on Their Service to ACM |series=Celebrating 75 Years of Advancing Computing as a Science & Profession |url=https://www.acm.org/75th-anniversary/past-presidents/barbara-simons |access-date=May 18, 2024 |publisher=[[Association for Computing Machinery]] |quote=After the panels' recommendations were submitted, ACM Council concluded that the framework of a licensed professional engineer, originally developed for civil engineers, does not match the professional industrial practice of software engineering and would preclude many of the most qualified software engineers from becoming licensed.}}</ref> John C. Knight and [[Nancy G. Leveson]] presented a more balanced analysis of the licensing issue in 2002.<ref name=KnightLeveson>
{{cite journal |author1=John C. Knight
|author2=Nancy G. Leveson
|title=Should software engineers be licensed?
|journal=[[Communications of the ACM]]
|volume=45
|issue=11
|pages=87–90
|doi=10.1145/581571.581601
|date=November 1, 2002}}</ref>

In the U.K. the [[British Computer Society]] has developed a legally recognized professional certification called ''Chartered IT Professional (CITP)'', available to fully qualified members (''MBCS''). Software engineers may be eligible for membership of the [[British Computer Society]] or [[Institution of Engineering and Technology]] and so qualify to be considered for [[Chartered Engineer (UK)|Chartered Engineer]] status through either of those institutions. In Canada the [[Canadian Information Processing Society]] has developed a legally recognized professional certification called ''Information Systems Professional (ISP)''.<ref>{{cite web |author=Canadian Information Processing Society|url=http://www.cips.ca/standards/isp|title=I.S.P. Designation|access-date=2007-03-15}}</ref> In Ontario, Canada, Software Engineers who graduate from a ''Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB)'' accredited program, successfully complete PEO's (''Professional Engineers Ontario'') Professional Practice Examination (PPE) and have at least 48 months of acceptable engineering experience are eligible to be licensed through the ''Professional Engineers Ontario'' and can become Professional Engineers P.Eng.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.peo.on.ca |title=Professional Engineers Ontario: Welcome to PEO's website |publisher=Peo.on.ca |access-date=2012-03-25}}</ref> The PEO does not recognize any online or distance education however; and does not consider Computer Science programs to be equivalent to software engineering programs despite the tremendous overlap between the two. This has sparked controversy and a certification war. It has also held the number of P.Eng holders for the profession exceptionally low. The vast majority of working professionals in the field hold a degree in CS, not SE. Given the difficult certification path for holders of non-SE degrees, most never bother to pursue the license.