The SEI's contract ensures that the institute will continue to pursue its mission of advancing the practice of software engineering and improving the quality of systems that depend on software. Previous contract renewals were in 1990, 1995, 2000 and 2005. The 2005 agreement contained an option to extend the contract for five additional years starting in 2010.

Beginning in the summer of 2009, the U.S. government conducted an extensive review of the SEI, culminating in the recommendation by government reviewers to exercise the option to renew the SEI contract.

The Department of Defense (DoD) sponsoring agreement for the SEI states that "the mission of the SEI is to provide technical leadership and innovation through research and development to advance the practice of software engineering and technology in support of DoD needs."

"We are pleased to have the opportunity to continue to carry out the SEI's mission," said Paul Nielsen, SEI director and CEO. "Our purpose is to advance the state of the art in software engineering and transition these advancements to the community so that organizations may develop and acquire software that is more reliable, more secure, and more dependable."

Now celebrating its 25th anniversary, the SEI was established in 1984 at Carnegie Mellon as a federally funded research and development center. Through its sponsor, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, the SEI carries out its mission by focusing on software engineering management and technical practices.

Throughout its history, the SEI has defined specific initiatives that address pervasive and significant problems that impede the ability of organizations to acquire, build, and evolve software-intensive systems predictably on time, within expected cost, and with expected functionality.