- GENERAL DYNAMICS LAND SYSTEMS
ACHIEVES SEI LEVEL III CERTIFICATION-

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. -- General Dynamics Land Systems has achieved Level III certification from the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) at Carnegie Mellon University placing it among the top 15 percent of all assessed software development companies worldwide. Land Systems is also the first ground combat systems manufacturer in the United States to achieve SEI Level III certification.

The Software Engineering Institute developed its SEI software improvement process to address concerns that industry as a whole was generally not producing software as well as it could. The SEI promotes a disciplined approach to software engineering. SEI developed a capability maturity model (CMM) based on the "best practices in industry". The CMM is used to evaluate the maturity of the software processes of an organization and for identifying improvements that are required to increase maturity. The CMM has become a standard for assessing and improving software processes. The CMM is organized into five maturity levels: initial, repeatable, defined, managed, and optimizing. The thoroughness, effectiveness, and control of an organization's software processes are shown to improve as an organization moves up through each level.

At SEI Level III, Land Systems has demonstrated, from both a project and organizational issues standpoint, that it has established an infrastructure that institutionalizes effective software engineering and management processes. "Our software quality and productivity continue to improve the further we advance into the SEI process," said Dennis Bielawski, Land Systems' director of Software and Vetronic Systems Engineering. "By achieving SEI Level III, Land Systems software engineers have substantially increased the probability of delivering products that meet or exceed cost, schedule, and performance requirements."

Achieving SEI Level III certification is a requirement of Land Systems Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAAV) customer, the United States Marine Corps. "It is a very significant achievement and one that is very important to our success on the AAAV program," said Michael D. Bolon, Land Systems' vice president of amphibious operations. "Achieving SEI Level III meets an important contract requirement, and is a clear indication of the readiness of Land Systems to execute the AAAV software development program in a manner which we expect to be the most successful in combat vehicle software development history."

General Dynamics Land Systems, a division of General Dynamics Corporation, is a world leader in the development, production, and support of armored vehicles and electronic systems. Its 3,400 employees operate plants and facilities in seven states and at three international locations. More information about General Dynamics Land Systems can be found on the Internet at www.gdls.com.

###

LS-97-23
10-1-97