The Government supports the information technology industry in enhancing software engineering practices to produce high-quality software, Director of Information Technology Services Alan Wong says.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Asia Pacific Software Engineering Process Group Conference 2003, Mr Wong said he recognised the importance of software quality as people relied more and more on IT and telecoms services.

The Government fully supported the adoption of quality management systems and accreditation by the IT industry, he said.

$5 million funds grant to improve software development

To assist local software vendors in improving their software development processes through adopting the Capability Maturity Model, he said, the Government has allocated $5 million to launch a Capability Maturity Model Assessment Grant through the Innovation & Technology Fund.

The funding was awarded to 15 software vendors, which are expected to attain Capability Maturity Model Level 2 or above by early 2005.

The Trade & Industry Department has also provided, through the Small & Medium Enterprise Development Fund, financial support to IT professional bodies to conduct CMM training courses.

Training courses well received

About $2 million has been approved so far for this purpose and the training courses have been well received by IT practitioners.

Mr Wong said that the Information Technology Services Department was also committed to improving the Government's software process and quality management.

The department has more than 700 IT professionals involved in software-engineering projects or management of software-driven computer systems.

To maintain their professional standards, regular training and refresher programmes are provided.

The department is also establishing a knowledge-management system to promote a culture of knowledge creation and sharing, including in the field of software engineering.