Closing the circle on software engineering professionalism and free movement of labour

Starting with a presentation and panel session at compsac2000 a series of activities has been undertaken to promote consideration and evaluation, within a software engineering context, of a document entitled "Harmonization of Professional Standards", which had been produced under the auspices of IFIP (International Federation for Information Processing). Details of the background to IFIP\´s harmonization initiative including the role of the World Trade Organisation are presented. A time line is given of activities that-have been undertaken.. The results of these activities are reported with particular emphasis on: the drivers and constraints that exist with regard to SE professionalism, the applicability of IFIP\´s proposals, the major issues that have arisen, and finally recommendations regarding what needs to be done to further progress work in the area of Software Engineering professionalism.