SSQ’s next meeting is on Tuesday, April 28th at 6:00 PM. Meeting fees are waived for this special meeting, but please RSVP to news@ssq.org in order to assist us with room selection and and meal planning.

Topic

SSQ Career Night - Job Hunting 101

If you are looking for work, might soon be looking for work, or are looking to hire, please join us this month for two jobs related presentations. This is an open meeting and SSQ membership is not required. Recruiters will be in attendance.

Download Resume Rework and Interviewing Tips (PDF)
Download the handout Effective Interviewing (PDF)
Download Effective Methods of Job Search (PDF)

Speakers

Sharonna Clishem and Aaron Smith

Adecco Recruiting

Adecco representatives Sharonna Clishem and Aaron Smith will be on site and have prepared a presentation on how to interview better and how to rework your resume.

Pattie Vargas

NextWork and The Vargas Group

Pattie has prepared a presentation on effective methods for job searching. She is a past SSQ speaker (April, 2008), and is a frequent conference speaker on the topics of Leadership, Team-building, DISC Behavioral Assessments and Performance Improvement. Her articles have been featured in various industry publications, and the The American Business Women’s Association named Pattie as one of the 2007 Top 10 Business Women.
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Our March, 2009 meeting will be held on Tuesday, March. 24th at 6:00PM. Please RSVP to news@ssq.org.

Topic

Is There a Disconnect Between Organizational Strategy and Quality?

Stan Rifkin - Master Systems, Inc.

As quality professionals why is it that we have to fight so hard to convince our organizations to adopt quality principles and practices? Might it be because in the appropriate priorities for our organizations quality is not placed in the top three? This presentation frames quality improvement initiatives in terms of organizational strategy and explains where — in different strategies — quality ranks. It also presents how to re-frame quality in terms of what each strategy is trying to optimize. In the speaker’s experience, this re-framing remarkably accelerates the adoption of quality initiatives. This presentation is like the one Stan gave at our joint meeting with a local American Society for Quality chapter this past July, except that this one is filled with software examples.

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Our February, 2009 meeting will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 24th at 6:00PM. Please RSVP to news@ssq.org.

Topic

Risk Assessing Requirements to Control and Measure Systems Success

Vimarie Ortiz, Operational Partner, Processo Partners, Inc.

This presentation is designed to provide fundamental knowledge and practical skills to anyone interested in implementing or improving computer systems requirements’ risk assessment techniques and practices in their organizations. This presentation introduces requirements’ risk management as the basis to provide customers and users the system they need, and control implementation scope, time and efforts.

The presentation starts with an overview of the gathering of requirements and some elicitation tools per requirement type. Straightforward requirements’ risk assessment and prioritization techniques are discussed, to arrive at the use of requirements’ risk levels as the CAP to implementation scope and effort.

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Our January, 2009 meeting will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 27th at 6:00PM. Please RSVP to news@ssq.org.

Topic

Developing a Risk Based Approach to Validation

Bob Lucchesi, Global Practice Director, RCM Technologies, Inc.

The FDA and Pharmaceutical industry is now recommending guidelines on the validation of computer systems, software, and processes. Learn how to streamline validation costs while optimizing validation procedures.

Some topics will include:

• Developing a Risk Based Validation program for your company
• Categorizing risks and their respective plans
• Reducing Testing in a Risk Based Environment
• Developing a “how to” guide
• Developing documentation standards
• Differentiating tasks that will reduce time and effort
• Impacting strategies for maintenance
• Optimizing the Validation Plan

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