Southern Maryland SPIN Charter

 

I. Establishment

The Southern Maryland Software Process Improvement Network, hereafter referred to as the Southern

Maryland SPIN, was established on 07 August 2000, through the efforts of software professionals in Southern Maryland (St. Mary's, Charles, and Calvert Counties).

 

II. Mission Statement

The Southern Maryland SPIN envisions Southern Maryland (St. Mary's, Charles, and Calvert Counties) as an opportunity for the collaboration of software engineering professionals known for their pursuit of excellence, efficiency, and reliability in software development. To this end, the Southern Maryland SPIN is a forum for the open exchange of software process improvement experiences and practical ideas. Our goal is to enhance skills and support technology transition and the competitiveness of our membership through an active program of networking, publication, local and national speakers, recognition of excellence, as well as mutual support and the pursuit of formal educational opportunities.

 

III. Goals

In carrying out our goals, the Southern Maryland SPIN acts to accomplish the following objectives in a measurable way:

 

·         Share software process improvement knowledge, lessons learned, and innovation with SPIN members

·         Promote cooperation between industry, academia, and government with respect to software process improvement technology

·         Aid in fostering and sustaining organizational commitment to software process improvement, leading to improved software quality and production

·         Promote and reveal opportunities to SPIN members, as well as local students

 

IV. Membership

 

Membership in the Southern Maryland SPIN is open, without discrimination, to individuals, companies, universities, and government organizations interested in furthering the objectives of the Southern Maryland SPIN. All members must complete a membership form.

 

V. Southern Maryland SPIN Calendar Year

The Southern Maryland calendar year will run from July 1 through June 30.

 

VI. Organization

The Southern Maryland SPIN is organized as the following groups:

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Steering Committee

Working Groups

General and Active Members

Sponsors

None of the above receives any type of remuneration for their services.

 

A. Steering Committee

The Steering Committee consists of those SPIN participants who have committed to actively assume the roles and responsibilities of the various functions necessary to run the Southern Maryland SPIN. The Steering Committee operates as a consensus based decision-making team with the following specific roles: president, vice president, executive secretary, meeting coordinator, publicity coordinator, and webmaster. All roles have an equal voice in the decision-making process. The Steering Committee meets within the two weeks preceding the general SPIN meeting and at other times as required.

 

The responsibilities of the Steering Committee are:

 

·         Manage the affairs of the Southern Maryland SPIN

·         Approve programs (e.g., topics, speakers, panels) for SPIN meetings

·         Establish, charter, and disband working groups (standing and/or ad hoc) as required to address specific issues

·         Nominate and select working group chairs

·         Maintain coordination and facilitate cooperation with industry, academia, and federal, state, and local governments, as well as sponsors and other SPINs

·         Make appointments to vacancies in elected positions when terms cannot be completed (for any reason)

·         Review minutes and publicity items prior to dissemination.

 

     1. President's Responsibilities (Bruce)

 

     The president will:

 

·         Preside over all Steering Committee meetings and all Southern Maryland SPIN meetings

·         Maintain a list of Steering Committee role assignments

·         Perform or delegate the responsibilities of the vice president and executive secretary in their absence

·         Act as proxy for Steering Committee members in their absence

·         Act as point of contact for the SEI, Maryland SwIC, government agencies, academic institutions, other SPINs, and professional organizations (e.g., IEEE, ACM, and INCOSE)

·         Coordinate with these organizations to transfer information and disseminate information to Steering Committee Members

 

2. Vice President's Responsibilities (Dale)

 

The vice president will:

 

·         Assist the president in presiding over the Steering Committee meetings and general Southern Maryland SPIN meetings

·         Assume or delegate the leadership responsibilities in the absence of the president

 

3. Executive Secretary's Responsibilities (Liz)

 

The executive secretary will:

 

·         Record and submit draft meeting minutes to the steering committee, via the President, for review prior to dissemination.

·         Disseminate approved meeting minutes to the Southern Maryland SPIN membership

·         Serve as membership list custodian, maintaining a current list of the Southern Maryland SPIN participants

·         Disseminate related information that the Steering Committee determines is of general interest to the current SPIN membership

·         Coordinate other types of SPIN correspondence with the liaison and the publicity coordinator, as required

·         Collect meeting attendance for each SPIN meeting

·         Collate information from meeting/speaker evaluation forms and submit to the Steering Committee via the President

 

4. Meeting Coordinator's Responsibilities (Doug)

 

The meeting coordinator will:

 

·         Coordinate sponsorship for monthly meetings.

·         Coordinate reserving the Frank Knox Room 120 for holding SoMdSPIN meetings.

·         Coordinate with Frank Knox facilities to ensure all equipment necessary for presentation is available. Ie. Projector, laptop, microphone.

 

5. Publicity Coordinator's Responsibilities (Dale)

 

The publicity coordinator will:

 

·         Identify and utilize mechanisms to widely distribute meeting announcements, event schedules, and other SPIN publicity materials

·         Organize, produce, and submit advertisements for publication in free periodicals in the Southern Maryland SPIN region

·         Design, develop, and arrange for distribution of materials targeted for potential members

·         Submit all material to the steering committee, via the President, for review prior to dissemination.

 

6. Webmaster’s Responsibilities (Bobby)

 

The Webmaster will:

 

·         Maintain the Southern Maryland SPIN web site by incorporating new materials and changes as approved by the Steering Committee

 

B. Working Groups

Working groups can be chartered by the Steering Committee to address needs and requirements as they arise. An individual nominated and selected by the Steering Committee will chair each working group. Working groups will be disbanded after fulfilling the activities and products identified in each work groups charter.

 

C. General Members, Active Members, and Inactive Members

General members are those who have submitted a completed membership form to the Southern Maryland SPIN. Active members are those members who attend at least two of the regularly scheduled SPIN meetings during a SPIN calendar year. Inactive members are those that have not attended at least one meeting in the last two SPIN calendar years. Inactive member’s information will be backup and deleted from the current database after the second meeting of the third SPIN calendar year.

 

D. Sponsors

Any organization providing ongoing support (e.g., meeting space, administrative support, meeting refreshments, mailings, E-mail, WWW server/development) to the Southern Maryland SPIN will have the option of being identified as a sponsor in various SPIN communication media (e.g., SPIN web pages) and functions (e.g., SPIN meetings). Other than providing various levels and instances of support, sponsors have no other role in the SPIN; nor do they exert any control what-so-ever over SPIN operation.

 

VII. Terms of Service

Any active SPIN member elected to any position identified in this charter will serve a one-year term which will coincide with the SPIN calendar year. Two consecutive terms are allowed with a one-term hiatus required before serving another term for the same position. The exceptions to this maximum are:

Ø  Persons elected during an interim election will not have their partial service counted toward the allowable maximum; rather the time accrues from the start of their next full term.

Ø  Persons currently filling a role may stay past the two year maximum until a successor is elected

Working group members will serve at the discretion of the Steering Committee.

 

VIII. Election and Nominations for Offices

General elections for the Steering Committee will be held the March, April, May or June meeting, at a neutral facility. A slate of nominations will be presented to the membership for vote at the election meeting. A simple majority of the participating active members will determine the winners. Nominations will be accepted from the membership both prior to the election meeting and from the floor before the vote. Only active members may be nominated and elected to fill Steering Committee positions. Any elected officer can be removed from office by a two-thirds majority vote of the active members. Special elections will be held no later than 2 months after recall or resignation of a Steering Committee member.

 

IX. Meetings

Meetings of the Southern Maryland SPIN will be held monthly at sites that are open and accessible to all members. There will be no meetings during the months of July, August, and December. Meetings will be hosted by the sponsors on a rotating basis, as possible. The meeting dates will be determined by the availability of the speaker or the date selected by the attendees at the previous month's meeting. An announcement for each SPIN meeting will be disseminated to all general members in advance of the meeting.

 

X. Charter Revisions

Charter revisions must be submitted to the Steering Committee for review. The Steering Committee will present revisions for approval by the general membership at a SPIN meeting. Acceptance is made by a two-thirds majority vote of the active members present. At least 30% of the Southern Maryland SPIN active members must be present for the vote

 

XI. Parliamentary Authority

The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised shall govern this

Southern Maryland SPIN in all cases in which they are applicable and in which they are not in conflict with this charter.