SeaSpin Charter

Earl Beede — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 23:01:42 GMT

I - ESTABLISHMENT

The Greater Seattle area chapter of the Software & Systems Process Improvement Network, hereafter referred to as the SeaSpin, was established on 19 September 2005 as a non-profit organization.

II - MISSION

SeaSpin is a forum to promote free and open exchange of software & system process improvement experiences and ideas. The chapter will serve as a source of education and empirical information for its participants of all experience levels. .

III - OBJECTIVES

In carrying out its mission, SeaSpin will act to accomplish the following objectives within the software and system engineering community:

Improve systems and software engineering productivity and quality.
Promote process maturity.
Share process improvement knowledge and innovation among all participants.
Improve the success rate of software and systems engineering projects.
Build relationships to other quality and process improvement organizations.
Encourage individual professional growth of the participants.

IV - MEMBERSHIP

Participation in SeaSpin is open, without discrimination, to all individuals, companies, universities, and government organizations who are interested in furthering SeaSpin's objectives.

V - ORGANIZATION

SeaSpin will consist of a steering committee and various committees as needed. All committee members and officers will receive no remuneration for their services.

A. Steering Committee

The steering committee will consist of a chairperson, a vice chairperson, secretary, webmaster, and the chair of the program committee. The steering committee will meet at least twice a year.

The responsibilities of the steering committee will be, as follows:

Manage the affairs of SeaSpin
Generate the operating budget, if needed
Approve or authorize all expenditures either by individual appropriation or by budget, if needed
Make appointments to vacancies in elected committee positions
Appoint committee chairpersons
Establish and disband committees

1. Responsibilities of Chairperson

The chairperson will preside at regular meetings of SeaSpin and at meetings of the steering committee, will be responsible for the duties of other officers in the event of their absence or incapacity, until they are replaced by the steering committee, and will be the point of contact for other organizations, including SPINs.

2. Responsibilities of Vice Chairperson

The vice chairperson will assist the chairperson in presiding over SeaSpin and will assume the duties of chairperson upon their request, absence, or incapacity.

3. Responsibilities of Secretary

The secretary will be responsible for recording the minutes of all steering committee meetings and disseminating all SeaSpin correspondence. The secretary will send out an email announcing the SeaSpin meetings and will maintain the SeaSpin distribution list.

4. Responsibilities of Treasurer (if needed)

The treasurer will be the custodian of all funds of the SeaSpin under direction from the steering committee. The treasurer will render an annual report within thirty (30) days of the end of the SeaSpin fiscal year, plus any special reports required by the steering committee. The treasurer will monitor all expenditures against the budget.

B. Program Committee

The program committee is responsible for maintaining the calendar of events. Events are not limited to monthly program meetings - the participants may want to plan a picnic, or a holiday party. The program committee will plan the monthly programs, line up speakers, and coordinate materials. The chair will provide information about each meeting's topic, it's speaker's bio, and any handouts to the secretary and the webmaster for distribution to the participants.

B. Other Committees

The steering committee may create other committees and/or chairs as needed to support activities such as libraries and public relations. The chairperson of each committee will be responsible for recruiting all members of his/her committee.

VI - TERMS OF OFFICE

The chair, vice chair and secretary will be elected by SeaSpin participants for a term of one (1) year, or until their successors are elected. The term of office will coincide with the SeaSpin calendar year. Ad hoc committee members will serve only until they have fulfilled their mission.

VII - DUES

All dues related issues will be determined by the steering committee. If dues are collected, a treasurer will be elected to keep track of the SeaSpin funds.

VIII - SEASPIN CALENDAR YEAR

The SeaSpin calendar year will run from July 1 to June 30.

IX - NOMINATIONS & ELECTIONS

A slate of nominations for the following offices will be presented by the steering committee to the participants for vote at the election meeting:

Chairperson
Vice chairperson
Secretary

Additional nominations for these offices will be accepted from the participants both prior to the election meeting and from the floor before the vote. No person may be elected to more than one office at the same time.

The elections will be conducted by secret ballot for contested offices.

The winner of the office will be determined by a simple majority vote among the participants present at the election meeting.

Any elected officials can be removed from office by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the steering committee.

X - MEETINGS

Meetings of the SeaSpin participants will take place regularly at a site that is open and accessible to all participants. An announcement for each meeting will be disseminated to all participants in advance of the meeting.

The election meeting will be the last meeting of the SeaSpin calendar year.

XI - CHARTER REVISIONS

Charter revisions must be approved at membership meetings by a majority vote of the participants in the vote.

XII - DISSOLUTION OF ORGANIZATION

Dissolution of SeaSpin by consent of the remaining participants shall consist of unanimous agreement of all its officers, together with a majority vote at a meeting which has been publicized in advance to all participants of the organization for the purpose of taking this vote.

XIII - LEGAL OBLIGATIONS

This chapter holds no legal obligations for liability to any company, organization, or participating individuals.