Washington, DC Chapter
Next Meeting: Tuesday, June 22, 2010
T. Scott Ankrum
So You Want to Buy a COTS Product
You've made the build or buy decision, and it is to buy. You know or suspect that there are more than a few products and vendors from which to select. Now, how do you make that selection? The speaker will present a two-stage COTS product selection process. This is a rigorous approach that minimizes the effort required when a long list of products must be considered, but is just as good even when there are fewer options. Several categories of selection criteria are presented as examples, as well as several individual criteria. The process manages and saves the selection criteria, so the logic of the decision is easily reviewed. Your final decision is supported by evidence, making challenges, either internal or external, easy to deflect. This process has been used successfully on multiple projects, in different government agencies.
About Our Speaker
T. Scott Ankrum has been a project manager, software designer and developer and has over 30 years of experience in many aspects of computing, from mainframe systems to distributed systems development and client/server design. He has managed projects and led development teams, and has been personally involved in software development from requirements definition to final testing. Mr. Ankrum is Senior Software System Engineer at the MITRE Corporation, working in software development process improvement and requirements management, and where he led the Assurance Frameworks research task. He holds a B.S. degree in Computer Science from American University and a Master of Software Engineering degree from the University of Maryland. He is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the IEEE Computer Society, and a senior member of the American Society for Quality (ASQ). He is currently the chairman of the local ASQ Software SIG.
Date: Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Time: 6:30 PM Refreshments/Networking; 7:00 PM Meeting
Location: MITRE, Building 2, 7515 Colshire Drive, McLean, VA
(Speaker location) or
FDA, Bldg. 66, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring, MD (via VTC)
Who: All are invited. SSQ Membership is not required for attendance.
RSVP: Please register online via the link: http://www.asq509.org/ht/d/DoSurvey/i/26913 by noon on Monday, June 21st. For registration problems, contact Scott Ankrum at ankrums@mitre.org or 703-983-6127.
The DC Chapter of the SSQ is a member of the Baltimore-Washington Partnership for Learning and Cooperation (BWPLC). Its mission is to foster a systems approach to learning and networking in the Baltimore - Washington area by sharing resources and knowledge to ensure collaboration and provide expanded benefits and services to its members. To accomplish this, the BWPLC’s member organizations agree to:
- Share and advertise the events of the other organizations
- Extend members’ benefits to the members of the other organizations
- Coordinate schedules and take advantage of opportunities to conduct joint events
- Share the costs of the BWPLC equally
We urge you to take advantage of the opportunities provided through the SSQ’s association with the BWPLC.