|
feature
IEEE-USA Offers
Study Guide for Software Engineering Licensure Exam
By Phil Laplante, CSDP, P.E., Ph.D., IEEE Fellow, Chair, Software Engineering PE Exam Development Committee
After several years of planning,
consensus building, research and development and
many hundreds of hours of work by dedicated
volunteer engineers, the path for licensure of
software engineers in the United States is now a
reality. The last step in the path, the
Principles & Practice of Software Engineering
Examination (also known as the “Software PE
Exam”), was recently completed and will be
offered in at least 10 states in April 2013.
IEEE-USA is offering an exam preparation guide
to help individuals prepare for the exam. This
article provides important background
information on this exam.
Development of the Exam
The process that has led to the
development of the exam began several years ago
when the IEEE-USA Licensure and Registration
Committee (LRC) surveyed IEEE membership to
determine if there was a perceived need for
licensure of software engineers working on
software systems that affect the “health, safety
and welfare” of the public. The result of the
survey indicated that such a need existed. Next,
the LRC, in conjunction with the IEEE Computer
Society, the National Society of Professional
Engineers (NSPE), the Texas Board of Professional
Engineers, and the National Council for
Examiners of Engineers and Surveyors (NCEES)
began exploring states’ interest in licensing
software engineers. When the licensure boards of
10 states, Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Michigan,
Missouri, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina,
Texas, and Virginia, agreed to make the exam
available, the NCEES began the exam development
process.
An exam development committee of
more than 30 PEs working in software critical
systems was formed. All are licensed in one or
more states in electrical, computer or another
engineering discipline or in software
engineering from Texas, which had licensed a
number of software engineers by portfolio
examination several years ago. Most members of
the committee have 20 or more years’ experience
specifying, building or testing software in such
critical industries as power generation and
distribution, transportation, and avionics.
The committee designed and
conducted a Professional Activity and Knowledge
Skill Study (PAKS) of IEEE and NSPE members.
The detailed analysis of more than 300 responses
resulted in an exam specification, that is, a
body of knowledge specifically pertaining to
critical software. The specification lists
requisite knowledge in requirements engineering,
design, construction, testing, quality
assurance, maintenance and more and stipulates
the proportion of questions to be expected in
each area. This document can be found at
www.ncees.org.
After developing the exam
specification, the committee spent two years
writing and reviewing exam questions. The
rigorous review and post test results analysis
process is designed to insure that all exam
items are reliable and valid. The P&P test is a
one day, multiple choice exam consisting of 80
questions taken during two four hour sessions.
In order to have sufficient diversity of
questions and backup items and to produce the
sample exam, more than 200 questions needed to
be written and reviewed.
Licensure Requirements and
Process
Only software professionals
working on software that can affect health,
safety and welfare, and who are offering their
services directly to the public (and not through
a corporate or government entity, which may be
exempted) will need to be licensed in those
states that require it. How many engineers will
be affected, is unknown, but it is likely that
it will be a very small number, say <2-5% of
software professionals.
As with the other engineering
disciplines, the requirements consist of earning
an ABET accredited bachelor’s degree in Software
Engineering, passing the Fundamentals of
Engineering Exam, having at least four years of
demonstrably relevant experience, and passing
the Software PE Exam.
Overcoming Challenges
Some professionals working on
critical software do not have undergraduate
degrees in Software Engineering, but have
degrees in related disciplines such as Computer
Science or Computer Engineering. These
professionals may still have a path to licensure
— most states will recognize a closely related
degree if additional years of relevant
experience are evidenced. Often, graduate
education in software engineering can be counted
towards the additional experience and has the
benefit of helping to prepare for the Software
PE Exam. It is important to note that the exam
is designed to test minimum competency, not
expertise. The exam is not to act as a barrier
to practice, but rather, to insure that
professionals conduct their practice so that the
safety of the public is protected.
For many software professionals
though, the most daunting obstacle to licensure
is the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE)
Examination. This full day examination covers a
broad range of topics that all engineers are
expected to know such as mathematics, chemistry,
physics, computers, economics and ethics. Review
courses and diligent study, however, can help
candidates pass the FE exam, whatever their
background.
Sample Exam Book
 To help prospective
examinees to prepare, the exam committee also created
a study guide. The guide includes the test
specification, 40 representative questions with
solutions and a suggested reference list. All
code used in the questions are in a generic,
pseudo-language, and the description of this
language is also included in the book. The exam
preparation book is available from the
IEEE-USA
E-Book catalog. The IEEE member
price is $39.99 and the non-member price is
$49.99.
Being a licensed professional
software engineer is an important credential,
and even if not required for the work you do,
can distinguish you from other professionals and
unlock job opportunities. If you think you might
need to become licensed or would like to become
licensed as a software engineer, start by
checking with your state board of professional
licensure for eligibility and requirements. You
may also check the following for more
information:
Phillip Laplante, Ph.D.,
P.E., CSDP, is a professor of software
engineering at Penn State University’s School of
Graduate Professional Studies in Malvern,
Pennsylvania. He currently serves as chair of
the software engineering licensure examination
development committee and is a member of the
IEEE-USA Licensure and Registration Committee.
Comments may be submitted to
todaysengineer@ieee.org.
home
|
