Honorary Fellows

Kriste Lawrence

Announcement October 22, 2024

As an IFPUG Past President and former Treasurer, Kriste has continues to serve IFPUG as an external manager of IFPUG’s investment account. Kriste’s husband, Al, also supports IFPUG by providing investment advice which has helped IFPUG continue to grow the investment portfolio.

Kriste joined IFPUG in 1994 and started attending conferences and workshops. In 1997, she achieved her CFPS designation. She was a member of the Certification Committee, holding many internal roles including Committee Chair from 1998 until 2009. During this period, the Certification committee created the first automated CFPS exam and developed the CEP Program. She achieved the CFPS Fellow designation 2017.

Kriste started her eleven years on the Board in 2009 by filling the role of Director of Conference & Education by supporting the first conference outside of North America which was held in 2010 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. She filled the role as Treasurer in 2010 and again in 2017 through 2020. As President, Kriste focused on increasing membership and reducing expenses. She was pivotal in supporting the changes of automated exam vendors and increasing communication throughout the organization.

Kriste’s work in Function Point Analysis allowed her and her local Electronic Data Systems (EDS) team members to receive a U.S. Patent #6,938,007 for “Method of Pricing Application Software”(using FPs). The Patent was awarded in 2005.

Kriste has also been heavily involved in the implementation and usage of the Capability Maturity Model Integrated (CMMI) and its predecessor, CMM. Her main focus has always been on sizing and measurement. She has supported fifteen programs in their achievement of CMMI Level 5. She is also a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.

Since leaving her formal employment in 2022, Kriste has provided process improvement consulting throughout the US as a Certified CMMI Associate, and most recently a Certified CMMI Practitioner.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, he is known as a wife, mother, and grandmother.

Mr. Joe Schofield

Announcement October 16, 2023

As a IFPUG Past President, Joe serves as the Editor of IFPUG’s semi-annual MetricViews journal. During his seven years on the Board, he enthusiastically supported conferences outside of North America. Working with fellow Board members, ISMA Cinco was held in 2010 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. IFPUG engagements in Poland, Spain, and Brazil followed and memberships experienced modest increases. As President he focused on triaging objectives to prioritize the needs of our membership. Prior to his Board election, Joe joined the Management Reporting Committee in 2001 and contributed to IFPUG’s first book IT Measurement. In 2005 he was appointed Chair of the MRC. With an outstanding team of IFPUG colleagues, the MRC established the Certified Software Measurement Specialist. He played significant roles in the development of the books the IFPUG Guide to IT and Software Measurement (2012), the Certified Function Point Specialist Exam Guide, and The Economics of Software Quality. His seminal work in the statistical analysis of variation in the development of lines of code is still cited by the National Institute for Science and Technology. His software measurement, defect, and agile efforts are reflected in over 50 published articles and books, and 70 conference presentations and keynotes,
numerous quality awards including Sandia’s Lean Six Sigma Trainer of the Year, and a SW-CMM® Level 3 for an organization of 400 software engineers.

As a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories, Joe worked with the Departments of Defense, Energy, and Interior leading technical teams on administrative, engineering, and nuclear software systems on mainframes, minis, and client-server platforms spanning four decades. He developed and taught 100 university courses including 70 graduate-level courses in IT Decision Making and Software Engineering.

Since leaving Sandia in 2011, Joe has provided software quality and agile consulting throughout the US as a

• Authorized Training Partner with VMEdu, a Scrum Certified Trainer and Agile Coach with SCRUMstudy attaining nine agile-related certifications and ScrumBOK™ contributions
• Certified instructor for the Software Engineering Institute coaching on the CMMI® across the US
• Facilitator of ~200 teams in software specification, team building, organizational planning, and agile transformation
• Author of Aligning People and Culture for Agile Transformation.

Finally, Joe spent 21 seasons coaching girls’ basketball for Albuquerque Public Schools “retiring” on a 50-game winning streak. He is a USAF veteran. Perhaps most importantly, he is known as a husband, father, and grandfather.

Ms. Carol Dekkers

Announcement October 24, 2022

Ms. Carol Dekkers is the president of Quality Plus Technologies, Inc., and consults with clients who want to succeed in their software endeavors. As one of the world’s foremost experts in software measurement, Ms. Dekkers provides guidance and expertise that enables clients to steer their projects to success. Ms. Dekkers recently completed a challenging contract as the lead author of the Software Cost Estimating Body of Knowledge for which her client, the International Cost Estimating and Analysis Association (ICEAA,) awarded her as the 2022 Educator of the Year.
A track record of success follows Ms. Dekkers’ illustrious career. In addition to excellence as a management consultant, she also boasts achievements as a published author (The IT Measurement Compendium: Estimating and Benchmarking Success with Functional Size Measurement;  Program Management Toolkit for Software and Systems Development; Practical Software Project Estimation, and the two IFPUG textbooks), a keynote speaker (to audiences in over 30 countries) and a thought leader.

In addition to her professional paid work, Ms. Dekkers’ pro bono contributions span decades and involve thousands of hours of board leadership, international standards development, strategic guidance, and volunteer mentorship. She has served in leadership positions with IFPUG, ICEAA, American Society for Quality (ASQ), Project Management Institute (PMI), Alberta Association of Professional Engineers and Geologists (APEGA), and the U.S. delegation to ISO software and systems engineering standards (ISO/IEC JTC1 SC7.)

In her 25+ years of supporting IFPUG, Ms. Dekkers has served twice on the board of directors (ascending to IFPUG president during her first term, then as the Director of Communications and Marketing, 15 years later.) She currently chairs the Industry Standards Committee and led efforts to the formal recognition of IFPUG function points as the first ISO standard for software sizing. In 2021, through her knowledge of functional size measurement standards and her networks of international colleagues, Ms. Dekkers created a software sizing case study demonstrating early software size estimating methods endorsed by IFPUG, Nesma and COSMIC experts.

Ms. Dekkers holds several credentials including the Project Management Professional, Professional Engineer, Certified Scrum Master and Certified Function Point Specialist (CFPS-Fellow.) Her professional awards include Global Leader in Consulting (Consulting Magazine, 2023), Honorary Fellow (IFPUG, 2022), Educator of the Year (ICEAA, 2022), Special Appreciation award (Brazilian Function Point Users Group, 2016), Leadership award (Korean Software Measurement Association, 2008), and 21 New Faces of Quality for the 21st Century (American Society for Quality,2000.)

Mr. Mauricio Aguiar

Announcement October 4, 2021

Mauricio Aguiar started his journey in April 1999, when participating in the IFPUG Spring Workshops held in New Orleans, USA. Since then, he has given 22 years of dedication to IFPUG! In November 2021, Mauricio said goodbye to the IFPUG Board, after going through the association’s presidential cycle twice (2015-2017 as Vice-President, 2017-2019 as President, and 2019-2021 as Immediate Past President). Yes, twice, as he had previously accepted the challenge of leading the association for the first time in the 2003-2009 cycle!

Mauricio participated in two IFPUG presidential cycles, what would constitute a huge effort per se. But that’s not all: in 1999 he was a member of the CMC (Communication and Marketing Committee), in 2000 he was elected to the Board of Directors, in 2010 he was a member of the Conference Committee, then was elected again to the Board of Directors! Between 2010 and 2015 Mauricio held the position of Director of International & Organizational Affairs, being then elected Vice President for his last presidential cycle. In this cycle, he was responsible for the acquisition of the SiFP (Simple Function Point) method, which brought IFPUG to the same level as other associations that sponsor a similar technique.

Talking about Mauricio is more than talking about a huge IFPUG contributor who raised the association’s level in terms of worldwide recognition – it’s mainly talking about an inspiring leader: how not to be inspired by a person who has total access to industry icons such as David Garmus, Capers Jones, Barry Boehm (creator of COCOMO), and Tom Cagley among many others? He is certainly the inspiration of a good number of volunteers and members who had the pleasure of working with him during these last 22 years!

For all that, Mauricio leaves the IFPUG Board and enters the Honorary Fellows gallery – certainly not enough to reflect the relevance of his contribution, but a very much deserved honor to someone who dedicated half of his career to IFPUG!

Charley Tichenor

Announcement October 4, 2021

Charley Tichenor has been instrumental to the implementation of SNAP and the new Benchmark Report that IFPUG has released.

He started in IFPUG with his first conference in the early 1990s. When the SNAP project started in 2011 it was evident that the project required a strong statistical support from a volunteer. Charles started volunteering in 2012 when he joined the Non-Functional Sizing Standards taskforce to perform the statistician and academic side of the taskforce work. One of his most essential contributions to IFPUG was to document that one of the lessons of the SNAP beta test was that the relationship between SNAP points and work effort was statistically significant.

Charley wanted to join because of the value of SNAP and wanted SNAP to succeed; and there is no doubt that he help achieve that success. Charley has participated in creating articles for MetricViews as well as articles on SNAP for journals outside of IFPUG such as Crosstalk.

Recently Charley has been the lead on the creation of the IFPUG Benchmark Report using ISBSG benchmark data. This report shows the quality of his work within statistics but also his dedication to supporting IFPUG in producing new products for the benefit of IFPUG members and peers.

Charley’s career highlights include the time when he was in the Army and reallocated about 1,000 soldiers and civilians in his Brigade in (then) West Germany based on workload across about 135 sites. This was a much needed cross-leveling of resources at that time.

Charley has a Doctorate in Business and a professional certification in Operations Research (analytics).

In his own words, being part of IFPUG for more than three decades has given him career development and he wanted to both give back and pay forward to at least some extent. There is no doubt that his has done this and he deserve the designation as an Honorary Fellow of IFPUG.

Talmon Ben-Cnaan

Announcement October 5, 2020

Talmon Ben-Cnaan has a long ICT experience dealing with software metrics, quality assurance and testing methodologies. He has been actively part of the Non-Functional Sizing Standards Committee (NFSSC) from the beginning and he is still the chair, contributing to create and evolve the Software Non-Functional Assessment Process (SNAP) method, as the “counter-part” of FPA and find a way to measure and size Non-Functional Requirements (NFRs), moving from the IFPUG 2003 white paper asking to evolve the General System Characteristics (GSC) concept into a separated, measurable concept matching with ISO/IEC 25010, the standard defining the software product quality attributes. One of the goals achieved was to cover a series of scenarios related to the so-called “zero FP” projects, dealing with some maintenance types not impacting on Functional User Requirements (FURs).

Talmon was actively contributing to the creation of the Certified SNAP Practitioner (CSP) exam, beginning in 2013 that’s evolving toward the specialist level, called Certified SNAP Specialist (CSS) in the coming months. Without him, SNAP would not be what it is today: SNAP became an IEEE standard (2430-2019) and is moving also toward the ISO certification. His dedication and leadership have been outstanding. Currently, Talmon is contributing to other IFPUG groups, with the aim to integrate and diffuse SNAP more and more throughout the ICT community.

Tom Cagley

Announcement November 6, 2019

Tom Cagley has the distinction of having served twice as IFPUG President (2007-2009 and 2015-2017). His contribution to IFPUG has been immeasurable. Over the years, Tom has poured time and effort into the IFPUG organization as a committee member, board member and president. His experience as a measurement specialist (CFPS), consultant, speaker, author, coach and agile guide has been instrumental in keeping IFPUG alive and up to date.

As a professional, Tom leads organizations and teams to unlock their inherent greatness. His goal is to help our industry evolve through agile adoption, adaptation and measurement. Tom helps teams and organizations improve cycle time, productivity, quality, morale and customer satisfaction, and then prove it. Tom believes change only occurs when you unlock the power of people and data. He has been an internationally respected blogger and podcaster for more than 15 years focusing on software process and measurement. He co-authored Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and Techniques with Murali K. Chemuturi. Tom also penned the chapter titled “Agile Estimation Using Functional Metrics” in The IFPUG Guide to IT and Software Measurement.

Bonnie Brown

Announcement March 8, 2019

Ms. Bonnie Brown is without a doubt one the people in the industry with the most detailed knowledge about IFPUG Function Points and its usage within the industry. She has been part of the Functional Sizing Standards Committee (FSSC), and its predecessor, the Counting Practices Committee (CPC) for almost two decades. Her outstanding work and dedication have been instrumental in keeping Function Point Analysis relevant for its users. Bonnie has served as author and editor of IFPUG Case Studies 1 – 4, IFPUG Counting Practices Manual (CPM) 4.2, CPM 4.3, and various white papers, iTips and uTips.

Bonnie is one of the rare people who is detail-oriented and committed to the high-quality work of the Functional Sizing Standards Committee (FSSC). Bonnie’s ability to combine hard work, leadership, team work and people skills makes her a highly appreciated volunteer for IFPUG.

In the past Bonnie has served as secretary, program manager, and Vice-Chair of the CPC. Bonnie is the current Vice-Chair of the FSSC and, as always, a dedicated IFPUG volunteer.

Bonnie has over 20 years of experience in Information Technology, supporting clients in automotive, healthcare, and federal, state and local government. She received a B.S. from Ferris State University in Computer Information Systems. Bonnie lives in southeast Michigan with her husband, Brian, and their two dogs. She served on the Board of a local non-profit, which serves the needs of homeless and near homeless in her community. She is also active in her local church, serving in various ways. In her free time, she enjoys reading, baking, walking her dogs and working in the yard.

Jim McCauley

Announcement September 15, 2017

Jim McCauley is a senior software engineer working at the Y-12 National Security Complex, the United States Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration facility. His professional background includes specializations in Software Metrics, Project Management, Software Development Methodologies, Vulnerability Management, Contractor Assurance and Issues Management. Jim received a bachelor’s degree from George Mason University and completed graduate studies at Ohio State University.

Jim has been a CFPS since 1995. He has served as an active member of the IFPUG Certification Committee for more than 20 years. His roles have included Certification Committee vice chair and CFPS Certification Extension Program sub-committee chair. He was instrumental in the development of the CFPS Certification Program, as well as the CFPS Fellow Award. He has actively participated in the development and maintenance of the CFPS Exam and the CFPS Certification Extension Program.

In the words of Kriste Lawrence, past IFPUG president, “Jim has been a relatively un-noticed and active IFPUG volunteer for 20 years (since 1997), led the development of the IFPUG Certification Extension Program (CEP) and managed that program since its inception. Jim’s personal efforts and dedication has been instrumental to more than 95% of all CEP applications that have been submitted since the program’s started.”

Mauricio Aguiar, IFPUG Vice President, adds “Jim McCauley has helped Brazilian IFPUG members for years with their CFPS exams and extensions and his nomination is a great choice.”