Evidence Guidance for CSMS Packet Submission

Download Evidence Guidance for CSMS Packet Submission (PDF)

The quality of the evidence provided is solely the responsibility of the candidate. Three attributes of submitted evidence are expected:

	Concise – everything that is requested below and nothing more.
	Relevant – clearly ordered and marked such that its relationship to points claimed in the five categories is obvious.
	Validated – Either through a letter of reference or a certificate, each activity claimed has independent objective confirmation that the evidence presented is that of the candidate's.

Reminders

• Cross-reference identifiers from Credit Summary Table to evidence pages to letters of reference that objectively validate your credits
• Dates of activities must be within three years of packet submission, except for Measurement Related Publishing (MP) which has no expiration.
• No double dipping (same activity or results; example: working on a committee and result of work (publication) is doubling dipping)
• Sequence and index evidence as it appears on the Credit Summary Table
• Explain any combining of activities (planned, designed, sustained, etc.)
• Describe derived numbers; example: (two books reviews of 30 credits each = 60 credits)
• Each credit summary table row has both evidence (to clearly attribute the activity to the candidate) AND a letter of reference to validate activity.
• “Cross out” or “black out” sensitive material on evidence, but work products must be submitted as evidence.
• Submit a copy of your packet, keep original.
• Packets will be destroyed unless an SASE is included.
• Hand carry packets to the workshop or conference if registered for the CSMS exam (or if the exam was satisfactorily completed previously) for immediate results and feedback.

Final Reminder: Submit all eligible activities and credits

How Credits are Used to Determine the CSMS Level
The two steps for obtaining a Certified Software Measurement Specialist (CSMS) are:

1. Successful completion of the CSMS exam, and then
2. Submission of a completed and qualifying CSMS Submission Summary Sheet with accompanying evidence.

Notification from IFPUG regarding the successful completion of the first step is prerequisite to the second step. This notification could occur within eight business hours for a workshop or conference.

Note: Submissions received from interested candidates who have not passed the CSMS exam will not be considered and will be returned to the sender at the sender’s cost or discarded.

Three Levels of the CSMS are Awarded to Qualified Candidates

The Maximum Number of Credits for the Level 1 Practitioner, by Category

Category	Abbreviation	Maximum Credits	Minimum Credits
Work Experience	WE	400	40
Education	ED	250	40
Professional Participation	PP	150	40
Measurement Related Publishing	MP	100	40
Teaching	TE	100	40

Note: Once the Level 1 credit requirements are satisfied, the credit limits are waived for the Categories. The number of Categories required for Level 1 (at least three), Level 2 (at least four), and Level 3 (at least five) remain in effect.

Category and Evidence Explanations

Category	Evidence	Explanation
WE	Work Product AND… Letter(s) of reference	Work product examples that verify that the candidate performed the work for each cell in which credit is claimed. The names of confidential parties should be replaced or deleted before any work products are sent to IFPUG. Some relationship between the candidate and the piece of evidence should be apparent (name on a presentation, work experience validation by third party) If for any reason the evidence of the work product cannot be submitted, the candidate must submit a written description that identifies the description, contributions, challenges, measures collected, measurement usage, and stakeholder types for the activity.
		Letter(s) of reference that verifies that the candidate performed the work for each cell in which credit is claimed. The letter of reference may refer to more than one cell, BUT, each cell must be referenced in the letter or letters for credit to be granted. The letter(s) of reference must contain the contact name, telephone, and e-mail.
ED	Certificate of Completion	Photocopies are encouraged. A contact and contact phone number are needed to validate that the candidate received the training.
PP	Letter of reference from hosting organization	This “letter” may be in the form of a brief e-mail that confirms each of the events for which credit is claimed.
MP	Copies of article, parts of article, or parts of book. See explanation.		Articles of less than 10 pages – a copy of the article, a copy of the front page of the journal
			Articles greater than 10 pages – first and last pages of an article longer than 10 pages, a copy of the front page of the journal
			Books – copies of the cover, copyright page, and table of contents, and pages that evidence the credits claimed for books with the candidate's name highlighted (for instance in a list of editors/reviewers)
TE	Course announcement, table of contents, syllabus		For courses taught – copy of the course announcement, syllabus/table of contents, and confirmation that the course was taught
			For presentation – copy of the presentation, copy of the announcement for the presentation as in a conference brochure, and confirmation that the presentation was delivered

CSMS Submission Summary Sheet

Submit this form with your documented evidence to IFPUG only after receiving notification that a passing score was obtained on the exam. Refer to the Category descriptions for examples of activities available for credit.

⁰ Item number to be used to cross-reference this item with its associated evidence
¹ WE, ED, PP, MP, or TE
² Enter the row and column description for the cell in which credits are being sought
³ Enter the number of credits sought using the Categories matrices and descriptions
⁴ Enter the type of evidence: work products, certificates, and letters of reference. Letters of reference must be included in the packet to validate work experience.
⁵ Enter when the event took place or over what period of time the activity occurred
⁶ Do not enter anything into this column

CSMS Submission Summary Sheet – Example

Submit this form with your documented evidence to IFPUG only after receiving notification that a passing score was obtained on the exam. Refer to the Category descriptions for examples of activities available for credit. Download a Sample Submission Summary Sheet Word document.

Credit Summary Table

⁰ Item number to be used to cross-reference this item with its associated evidence
¹ WE, ED, PP, MP, or TE
² Enter the row and column description for the cell in which credits are being sought
³ Enter the number of credits sought using the Categories matrices and descriptions
⁴ Enter the type of evidence: work products, certificates, and letters of reference. Letters of reference must be included in the packet to validate work experience.
⁵ Enter when the event took place or over what period of time the activity occurred
⁶ Do not enter anything into this column