Different from other mature fields of engineering, such as civil engineering and electrical engineering, the field of software engineering lacks established ways to help developing professional’s credentials. What does it means to be a professionally qualified software engineer? How do you get there? In recent years, a number of software engineering certification programs comes to address these issues. IEEE Computer Society Certified Software Development Professional (CSDP) Program is among them and provides a solid path to software engineering certification.

One requirement for CSDP certification is that applicants have to demonstrate mastery of a body of knowledge by passing the CSDP examination. The 3.5-hours examination consists of 180 multiple-choice questions drawn from a number of knowledge areas in software engineering. The following is an outline of the CSDP Examination Specifications.

Certified Software Development Professional

I. Business Practices and Engineering Economics
II. Software Requirements
III. Software Design
IV. Software Construction
V. Software Testing
VI. Software Maintenance
VII. Software Configuration Management
VIII. Software Engineering Management
IX. Software Engineering Process
X. Software Engineering Tools and Methods
XI. Software Quality