Software Engineering Institute

The IEEE Computer Society, a worldwide member organization dedicated to computer science and technology, has announced that Anita Carleton, director of the SEI Software Solutions Division (SSD) has been elected as a Fellow of the IEEE. The grade of fellow recognizes unusual distinction in the profession.

In the society’s announcement of the class of 2022 IEEE fellows, Carleton was recognized for “leadership in the advancement of software measurement and software engineering practices.” Election to fellowship status is limited annually to one tenth of one percent of society members.

As SSD director, Carleton has leadership and operating responsibility for 160 staff and a $55 million research and development portfolio. She also leads strategy development and execution for the division. 

Working with CMU and SEI colleagues as well as an expert group of thought leaders in software engineering, Carleton recently led a year-long research project resulting in the study titled Architecting the Future of Software Engineering: A National Agenda for Software Engineering Research & Development, a bold multi-year research and development vision and roadmap for engineering next-generation software-reliant systems.

“I'm honored to be selected as an IEEE fellow. Serving the IEEE Computer Society has certainly been a career highlight because of the opportunity to work with incredibly talented software engineering professionals worldwide to advance the profession of software engineering,” said Carleton.

Carleton’s tenure at the SEI spans more than 33 years. Prior to being named director of SSD, she served as the division’s deputy director; as director of the SEI Software Engineering Process Management Program, where she led the SEI’s software development and measurement initiatives, which included Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) and Team Software Process (TSP), methods designed to yield high-quality software and high-performance teams; and as the technical leader of the SEI measurement initiative. Her seminal research in applying statistical process control techniques to the U.S. Space Shuttle software data led to Carleton’s co-authored book Measuring the Software Process: Statistical Process Control for Software Process Improvement, published by Addison-Wesley Professional.

“This is a well-deserved honor for Anita in recognition of significant accomplishments over her career, especially since it notes the importance of her work in software engineering and software measurement practice,” said SEI Director Paul Nielsen.

Before joining the SEI, Carleton held technical and management positions in industry, including GTE Government Systems in Boston and the Goodyear Tech Center in Ohio.

Carleton received her bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics from Carnegie Mellon University and her MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, where she was the recipient of the MIT Sloan Leadership Fellowship. She recently served as guest editor for two IEEE Software special issues: “The Future of Software Engineering” and “The AI Effect: Working at the Intersection of Software Engineering and Artificial Intelligence.” She serves on the advisory board for the IEEE Software journal, a publication of the IEEE Computer Society. She has received numerous awards and recognitions for her technical and leadership contributions in software engineering including from the Journal of the Quality Assurance Institute for her leadership in software measurement, and from Dr. Barry Boehm, member of the SEI’s board of visitors, for her leadership in defining the SEI Core Measures and measurement program to facilitate data-driven decision-making for the DoD.