Method Park RSS-Feed

Product release of Stages 5.1 – optimised process management

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 16:22:00 +0100

With 5.1, the new version of Stages, Method Park Software AG has extended its range of web-based process management tools by a number of vital functions.

The handling of process changes is the main improvement. Modified processes are now easier to trace, dependencies can be better analysed and tailoring concepts that are more flexible can be put into practice more easily. "End users are to be in a position to understand the program immediately. The process graphics are now even clearer and simpler to use thanks to new visualisation concepts", says Dr. Erich Meier, Method Park Software AG CTO, in naming another Stages 5.1 advantage.

The newly integrated skill database makes it possible to find the right employee with the right knowledge within the company for each project.

And Stages has also been integrated into RPlan, the project management software program from Method Park partner Actano. This helps users save valuable time in their project planning and also ensures that project processes are planned and implemented in conformity with defined quality standards.

The software company from Erlangen in Germany has already made the new version available to its regular customers in an "Early Access" program. Stages 5.1 is now also generally available for new customers.

About Method Park

Our web-based process management portal "Stages" allows you to model your process. It assures the compliance of processes to standards (e.g. CMMI, SPICE) and communicates process descriptions to teams. Stages can be integrated with your configuration management system to manage project documents in accordance with the defined process.

Method Park, which was founded in 2001 in Erlangen, Germany, currently has about 100 employees. Method Park has subsidiaries in Erlangen and Munich in Germany, as well as in Detroit and Miami/USA.

For further information please contact:
Ines Torka, Public Relations
Method Park Software AG, Wetterkreuz 19a, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
Tel. +49 (0) 9131 9 72 06-3361, Fax +49 (0) 9131 9 72 06-280
Ines.Torka(at)methodpark(dot)com
www.methodpark.com

Method Park now offers services around the new CMMI® Version 1.3

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 15:38:00 +0100

The Method Park web-based process management system "Stages" also supports the new standard in the 1.3 version. With the reproduction of development processes in CMMI, "Stages" now ensures that the processes can be carried out in conformity with standards. The availability of version 1.3 as a reference model thus paves the way for all users to be able to implement the CMMI standard reliably, fast and cost-effectively.

The model is used worldwide in organisations and projects. Version 1.3 was completely redesigned and comprises three constellations: CMMI® for Acquisition, CMMI® for Development und CMMI® for Services. They can all be downloaded free of charge on the SEI homepage (see http://www.sei.cmu.edu/cmmi/tools/).

About Method Park

For many years now Method Park has operated a successful consulting service for software used in safety-critical systems in the automobile industry and medical technology. Method Park develops its own software solutions here, bringing in considerable know-how in areas in which the highest standards of quality and safety need to be met. Method Park uses this expertise to offer its customers diverse solutions all from a single source, thus contributing to the success of all its customer companies.
Method Park is the competent enterprise to contact for consulting, coaching, training, engineering services and products related to software development processes. The web- based process management portal "Stages", developed by Method Park, supports users in the practical implementation of development processes. Stages ensures that defined standards of quality are met (e.g. CMMI and SPICE) and that procedure models are implemented (e.g. XT V-model), enabling well-distributed, global cooperation beyond corporate borders.
Founded in Erlangen, Germany, in 2001, Method Park has around 100 employees at its locations in Erlangen and Munich as well as in Detroit and Miami in the USA.

For more information please contact:

Ines Torka, Public Relations
Method Park Software AG, Wetterkreuz 19a, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
Tel. +49 (0) 9131 9 72 06-336, Fax +49 (0) 9131 9 72 06-280
Ines.Torka@methodpark.de
www.methodpark.de

Method Park and Mecel team up for AUTOSAR Take Off

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 10:12:00 +0200

An important building block for the partnership is the integration of Method Park’s process and AUTOSAR experience with Mecel’s AUTOSAR application expertise and products. Mecel’s development tool “Mecel Picea Workbench” provides for the configuration and generation of AUTOSAR-compliant software. Method Park’s extensive engineering knowledge supplies customers with methods and processes – supported by the product “Stages™” – which facilitates a safe and efficient switch to AUTOSAR technology. In this way both companies are equipped to deliver comprehensive, best-in-class products and services.

“AUTOSAR is rapidly changing the automotive supplier landscape. It’s an exciting time”, says Kent Eric Lång, Managing Director at Mecel. “The partnership strengthens both companies’ positions and opens new doors. We make our product available for more clients by teaming up with a strong German supplier of quality software, enabling them to provide AUTOSAR solutions with Mecel Picea“, Kent Eric Lång continues.

“The combined competencies of Mecel and Method Park ensure proven and commercially ready AUTOSAR software and solutions that customers will benefit from”, says Bernhard Sechser, Head of Automotive Business Development at Method Park Software AG. “We have joined forces to improve our service offering by supporting our clients in total process development using AUTOSAR technology and Stages™”, he continues.

Both partners see the future in the flexible use of automotive-specific functions and functionalities, and this is made possible by Mecel’s AUTOSAR-compliant development tool. This is based on standard compliant development processes which take functional safety into consideration – such as those which Method Park has been successfully providing to its customers for many years.

In addition to offering the AUTOSAR products, Method Park and Mecel will also jointly offer consultation and training services. This includes a wide range of seminars on AUTOSAR, functional safety and safety related development, process and project management, requirements engineering and architecture, testing, as well as SPICE and CMMI. Mecel and Method Park have not exhausted all of their collaborative options, yet. In the future these will be expanded to additional technologies, applications and markets.

About Mecel AB

Mecel is a systems and software development company with more than 25 years of experience in developing solutions for the automotive industry. We specialize in in-car communication technologies, user interface development and consumer device interaction.

Our products and solutions are designed to make driving a comfortable, media-rich experience. Not only do they increase usability and user comfort, for manufacturers they reduce software development time, reduce costs and improve time to market. In a world that only spins faster you get a competitive edge by introducing new technology faster in a dependable and cost-effective way.

As engineering consultants, we are pioneering state-of-the-art technology to produce innovative and efficient solutions. Mecel also offers a wide range of training in the scope of automotive system and software development. Our instructors have several years of experience working as software architects and system engineers within the automotive domain.

Mecel is a subsidiary of Delphi Corporation.

About Method Park

Method Park’s engineers and consultants are experts in the field of software development for automotive and medical systems, especially where high demands on quality and safety are made. We are your experienced partner for engineering services, coaching, training and consulting in software development processes and process maturity models.

Our web-based process management portal "Stages" allows you to model your process. It assures the compliance of processes to standards (e.g. CMMI, SPICE) and communicates process descriptions to teams. Stages can be integrated with your configuration management system to manage project documents in accordance with the defined process.

Method Park, which was founded in 2001 in Erlangen, Germany, currently has about 100 employees. Method Park has subsidiaries in Erlangen and Munich in Germany, as well as Detroit and Miami/USA.

For further information please contact:

Kent Eric Lång, Managing Director
Mecel AB , Box 14044, SE-400 20 Gothenburg, Sweden
Phone +46 (0)31 720 44 00 Fax +46 (0)31 720 44 90
Kent-Eric.Lang@mecel.se
www.mecel.se

Ines Torka, Public Relations
Method Park Software AG, Wetterkreuz 19a, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
Tel. +49 (0) 9131 9 72 06-3361, Fax +49 (0) 9131 9 72 06-280
Ines.Torka@methodpark.com
www.methodpark.com

Process Management System “Stages“ from Method Park now launched as a service

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:42:00 +0200

This new product is to support small and medium sized organizations or project teams which would like to used Stages for development and technical business processes to quickly model and translate into real life. This provides a simple step to make proven development processes accessible.

"With Stages as a Service our customers can achieve efficient processes quicker. As all administrative activities are removed, our users can fully concentrate on the definition and the practical implementation of processes. Positive results are visible at once and the risk is always under control." Erich Meier, Method Park CTO

Further Information “Stages as a Service” find a www.StagesasaService.com.

About Method Park

For further information please contact

Margit Brendl, Public Relations
Method Park Software AG, Wetterkreuz 19a, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
Tel. +49 (0) 9131 9 72 06-281, Fax +49 (0) 9131 9 72 06-280
E-Mail: Margit.Brendl(at)methodpark(dot)com
www.methodpark.com

Method Park among “Bavaria’s Best 50” for the 3rd time

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 10:30:00 +0200

Even in 2008, a year overshadowed by the global economic crisis, Method Park Software AG succeeded in continuing its growth. This was due, in particular, to the further development of the process management tool “Stages”. “Stages” was launched in 2008 as the successor to “project kit”. As the first sales of the new software product, “Stages” – originally designed to meet the requirements of software development in the automotive industry – is also penetrating markets beyond the automotive industry. Just a few months after the release of “Stages”, Method Park was able to win new customers in rail as well as finance and insurance industries. Besides the product “Stages”, engineering services also demonstrate strong growth for Method Park Software AG. In the field of medical engineering, Method Park is one of the largest outsourcing partners for software engineering in the region of the company’s headquarters in Erlangen, Germany.

Although the economic climate in 2009 is once again bleak, Prof. Hindel is confident that Method Park will be able to react quickly enough to market demands in order to continue its success.

About Method Park

Method Park, which was founded in 2001 in Erlangen, Germany, currently has more then 120 employees. Method Park has subsidiaries in Erlangen, Freiburg, Munich and Stuttgart in Germany, as well as Detroit and San José/USA.

For further information please contact

Quality Team for Quality Assurance at Automotive Courses

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 11:04:00 +0200

At the same time, the partners have signed a framework agreement with the Quality Management Center of the German Automotive Industry Association (VDA QMC), and have together developed three completely new courses for Automotive SPICE® which are recognized by the VDA QMC. These courses address engineers, group leaders and department heads who require specialist SPICE knowledge for implementation purposes but who do not wish to undertake assessor training themselves. Interested parties can now also attend a range of courses focusing on engineering, management and support processes relating to Automotive SPICE®.

With these new and standardized courses, KUGLER MAAG, Method Park, SQS and SynSpace wish to contribute to the availability of basic and advanced training in automotive software development at the high level required. This is crucial, as the proportion of software used in automotive production is increasing continuously, and the software systems employed there frequently need to fulfill the most stringent safety requirements. The training measures for the employees in this field must therefore reflect these requirements. Prof. Dr. Bernd Hindel, chief executive officer of Method Park Software AG says, “We are convinced that our collaboration with KUGLER MAAG, SQS and SynSpace will make a decisive contribution to assuring the quality of these training measures.”

About Method Park

Method Park has been a successful consultant on issues of software in safety-critical systems in the automotive industry and in medical engineering applications for many years now, and also develops individual software solutions in these fields. Comprehensive know-how is channeled into those areas where the most stringent quality and safety requirements are demanded. With its know-how, Method Park provides its customers with diverse solutions from one source. These solutions contribute to the success of each and every company.
Method Park is a competent partner for consulting, coaching, training, engineering services and products when it comes to software development processes. The web-based process management portal “Stages”, developed by Method Park, provides users with support during the practical implementation of development processes. Stages ensures that specified quality standards (e.g. CMMI, SPICE) and process models (e.g. V-Modell XT) are fulfilled. It facilitates distributed, global collaboration beyond company boundaries.
Method Park, which was founded in 2001 in Erlangen, has a more than 120 employees at sites in Erlangen, Freiburg, Munich and Stuttgart in Germany, as well as in Detroit and San José in the US.

For further information please contact

About KUGLER MAAG CIE GmbH

KUGLER MAAG CIE GmbH is an international consulting company and provides support to its customers primarily in the area of process improvement. Using recognized standards such as CMMI®, SPICE (ISO IS 15504), Automotive SPICE®, Safety (IEC 61508, ISO CD 26262), ITIL, Lean Six Sigma and COBIT, tangible improvements in terms of cost, quality and time may be achieved. These process improvements enable our customers to implement their industry-specific requirements. Our employees are experts with many years' experience in implementing improvement programs.
KUGLER MAAG CIE is among the rapid-growth consulting companies with a focus on successful management of product development processes and services both nationally and internationally. Renowned customers from the automotive, financial, healthcare and railway sectors have already benefited from our consulting services, operative support as well as practical, individual training measures for the further development of their companies.
KUGLER MAAG CIE GmbH now has almost 80 employees. These are based both at the company headquarters in Kornwestheim near Stuttgart, in the subsidiary in Troy (North America), as well as in Asia, Eastern Europe, Italy and Austria.

For further information please contact

Eva Contzen, Marketing
KUGLER MAAG CIE GmbH, Leibnizstr. 11, 70806 Kornwestheim
Tel. +49 (0) 7154 17 96-100, Fax +49 (0) 7154 17 96-480
E-Mail: Eva.Contzen@kuglermaag.com
www.kuglermaag.de

About SQS Software Quality Systems

The SQS Group is the largest independent provider of quality management services and software testing. Headquartered in Cologne, SQS now has around 1,450 employees worldwide. Besides a strong presence in Germany and the UK, SQS has further subsidiaries in Egypt, Finland, India, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Sweden, Switzerland, South Africa and the US. SQS also holds a minor stake in an operation in Portugal and has a partnership operation in Spain. In 2008, SQS achieved a turnover of 142.9 million euros.
SQS is the first German company that is listed on the AIM (Alternative Investment Market) of the London Stock Exchange. Beyond that it is represented with a second listing on the Open Market on Deutsche Börse, Frankfurt.
With over 5,000 successfully completed projects, SQS has a strong customer base, including half of the DAX 30 companies, 30 percent of the STOXX 50 companies, as well as 36 FTSE 100 companies. Clients include Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Telekom, Deutsche Post, Barclays, Allianz, Meteor, BP, Daimler, JP Morgan, Volkswagen, Daimler as well as companies from other industrial sectors.

For further information please contact

Liliana Preuß, Head of Marketing & PR
SQS Software Quality Systems AG, Stollwerckstr. 11, 51149 Cologne
Tel. +49 (0) 2203 91 54
E-Mail: Liliana.Preuss(at)sqs(dot)de
www.sqs.de

About SynSpace GmbH

SynSpace provides support to its clients to facilitate the optimum design of their IT services (products and services). We achieve this using an integrated and innovative approach that covers everything from IT strategy to support during technical implementation. SynSpace is an independent consulting company headquartered in Basel, Geneva (CH) and Freiburg im Breisgau (D). Since its founding in 1990, the company focus has been on the design and optimization of software engineering and management processes. In this area, SynSpace is among the leading companies in Europe. With our subsidiaries HM&S in Graz (A) and TIOBE in Eindhoven (NL), we are also able to provide our customers with competent services in technical areas such as tools and code analysis.
SynSpace has seen continuous growth since 1990 and today employs over 40 experienced consultants, the majority of whom have an engineering and IT background.

For further information please contact

Sabine Vogel, Marketing
SynSpace GmbH,>Die Prozessmanufaktur, Kartäuserstr. 49, 79102 Freiburg
Tel. +49 (0) 761 4 76 45-65
E-Mail: Sabine.Vogel(at)synspace(dot)com www.synspace.com

Method Park awarded as one of 100 top employers in Germany

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 11:14:00 +0100

257 companies participated this year in Germany in the world's largest employer benchmark study. In the Great Place to Work® Model©, a special index was used to log the assessment of the workplace provided by employees regarding the relationship to the management, to colleagues and to the individual employee's area of responsibility. The unique model of the Great Place to Work® Institute has long been recognized worldwide as a clear and comprehensive representation of just how decisive trust between management and employees is when it comes to securing the success of a company. The Great Place to Work® study is carried out annually in over 30 countries.

Method Park is characterized by a company culture in which the employees experience continuous communication and a high level of transparency from day one. “Openness in every way” is the credo of the company management. “Openness creates trust and is a source of our sustained company success,” says chief executive officer Prof. Dr. Bernd Hindel. Just how important an intact company culture is, particularly in the current economic climate, was underlined by the German Federal Secretary of Labor, Olaf Scholz, in his speech during the awards ceremony in Berlin: “Company culture is not a fair weather activity. Rather, the quality of an employer needs to prove itself particularly in times of crisis, such as those we are experiencing now.”

The Method Park culture is upheld via numerous communication platforms. These include the weekly “pizza meeting” of the entire company with live transmission to other locations, as well as the monthly birthday brunch with board members. The annual company Olympics, which is organized by a highly dedicated employee committee, is another element contributing to the open company culture. Regular discussions with managers and the use of “balanced scorecards” provide each and every employee with feedback and orientation with respect to their particular position in the company. Objectives and approaches for achieving these goals are developed together with the employees, with individual goals being derived from the current business plan. During the annual summer and winter workshops, the employees are informed about important performance figures as well as the strategic objectives of the company. They are also able to clarify any open questions during discussions.

About Method Park

For further information please contact

Cooperation between Method Park and Anywhere.24

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 11:22:00 +0100

The goal is to achieve close and active collaboration in all matters relating to process improvement according to SPICE and CMMI. The two companies wish to support each other particularly in their area of courses and training. “With our cooperation partner Anywhere.24, we will be well-equipped for the future when it comes to providing our customers with detailed and comprehensive know-how regarding all CMMI constellations (development, acquisition, services, people), both in the area of consultation as well as assessment,” says Prof. Dr. Bernd Hindel, chief executive officer of Method Park.

“Joint trade fair booths will enable us to demonstrate to our customers the even greater competence we have now gained through Method Park in matters relating to process improvement, process modeling and SPICE,” says Christian Hertneck, managing director of Anywhere.24 GmbH.

Within the framework of the cooperation, Dr. Jürgen Schmied, co-founder of Method Park Holding AG, moved from Method Park Software AG to Anywhere.24 GmbH with effect from January 1, 2009. As a SEI-authorized CMMI instructor, a trainer for project management, an ISO/IEC 15504 principal assessor, and successful author of books (»Mit CMMI Prozesse verbessern« [Improving processes with CMMI], »Basiswissen Software-Projektmanagement« [Fundamentals of Software Project Management], »Embedded Systems - qualitätsorientierte Entwicklung« [Embedded Systems – quality-oriented development]), Dr. Schmied represented the areas of process improvement and project management at Method Park. In future, he will be responsible for helping to generate common activities and thus for creating synergies for the customers of both companies.

In addition to the cooperation between Method Park and Anywhere.24 a merger is also planned.

About Anywhere.24

Anywhere.24 supports organizations worldwide in optimizing processes. Focus are three business fields:
>> PROCESS - Developing in Time / Cost / Quality
>> PEOPLE - Enabling People Excellence
>> CRM - Managing your Customer Relations

Our credo “Creating Impact” stresses adequate and lean processes for our customers to ensure a visible benefit for the business objectives and employees. Lean perfection instead of perfectionism are key for implementing process and quality models as well as tools.
Anywhere.24 offers holistic consulting for the whole lifecycle of products development, projects, customer contact management as well as for service engineering and management.

As best practices, Anywhere.24 uses internationally recognized standards like: CMMI for Development, ITIL / CMMI for Services, CMMI for Acquisition, People CMM, LEAN Thinking, V-Modell XT, PMI.

For more information please contact

Natalie Sajons, Public Relations
Anywhere.24 GmbH, Lindberghstraße 11, 82178 Puchheim bei München
Tel. +49 (0) 89 800849 10, Fax +49 (0) 89 800849 99
E-Mail: n.sajons(at)anywhere24(dot)com
www.anywhere24.com

Dr. Martin Geier Appointed as New Board Member at Method Park

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 11:34:00 +0200

Martin Geier has been part of the team at Method Park Software AG since 2000. As an employee from the company’s inception, he has made a decisive contribution to ensuring the success of Method Park today. Following his roles as a software engineer, consultant and trainer, he soon assumed responsibility as the head of engineering. With the orientation of the "Professional Services" area towards software development in the fields of medical engineering and the automotive industry, Dr. Geier is responsible for systematically expanding his specialist departments. Under his leadership, Method Park continually achieved growth rates of between 25 and 30 percent per annum in the area of services. This outstanding performance is also revealed in long-term customer loyalty. For more than eight years now, Siemens AG Medical Solutions and other important customers such as DELPHI, Continental and ZEISS have been placing their trust in the professional support of Method Park Software AG, headquartered in Erlangen.

“I am committed to achieving successful quality engineering. Our customers can rely on the high level of individual consulting that Method Park provides,” says Dr. Martin Geier. For this reason, he will continue to focus his activities on pushing forward continuous growth in this area in future, too. This will include expanding the other company locations in Munich, Stuttgart and Freiburg.

About Method Park

Method Park’s engineers and consultants are experts in the field of software development for automotive and medical systems, especially where high demands on quality and safety are made. We are your experienced partner for engineering services, coaching, training and consulting in software development processes and process maturity models.
Our web-based process management portal "Stages" allows you to model your process. It assures the compliance of processes to standards (e.g. CMMI, SPICE) and communicates process descriptions to teams. Stages can be integrated with your configuration management system to manage project documents in accordance with the defined process. Method Park, which was founded in 2001 in processes to standards (e.g. CMMI, SPICE) and communicates process descriptions to teams. Stages can be integrated with your configuration management system to manage project documents in accordance with the defined process. Method Park, which was founded in 2001 in Erlangen, Germany, currently has more then 120 employees. Method Park has subsidiaries in Erlangen, Freiburg, Munich and Stuttgart in Germany, as well as Detroit and San José/USA.

For further information please contact

Margit Brendl, Public Relations
Method Park Software AG Wetterkreuz 19a 91058 Erlangen Germany
Tel. +49 (0) 9131 9 72 06-281 Fax +49 (0) 9131 9 72 06-280
E-Mail: Margit.Brendl@methodpark.com
www.methodpark.com

From “project kit” to “Stages” - Method Park Software AG Further Develops Product Family

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:39:00 +0200

In its new version, project kit has been further developed to form the product family, “Stages”. Stages will be released for sale at the end of July and supplied in future in role-specific versions.

Stages will be supplied in role-specific versions in order to provide optimum support to quality assurance managers, project managers and other team members in their respective roles. The tool has been extended by a component that allows the analysis of metrics across projects and that makes it easier for the quality manager, for example, to monitor process quality. With the integrated catalog of tried-and-tested performance figures, analysis programs may be started quickly and easily.

Stages also provides an impressive concept for meeting the increasing demands of the market for industry-specific solutions. “With Stages, we will provide suites for the automotive industry, for the area of medical devices and for various application fields such as CMMI,” says Dr. Erich Meier, the board member of Method Park Software AG who is responsible for development.

In contrast to project kit, it will be possible in future to seamlessly integrate Stages into portal systems such as SAP NetWeaver or Microsoft Sharepoint.

About Method Park

For further information please contact