The Southern California Quality Assurance Association (SCQAA) San Fernando Chapter presents

******* Michael Scofield *******

”Fundamentals of Data Quality”

Wednesday, April 7, 2004 Networking @ 5:45; Business @ 6:45; Program @ 7:00 PM

Countrywide, 2900 Madera, Simi Valley, CA 93065

Data and information is an important, albeit intangible asset of every enterprise. The value of that asset is seldom realized in normal business operation. And the value is undermined by bad data quality. Indeed, low quality data could have a variety of negative consequences on the enterprise. This presentation will look at some of the essential issues of data quality: how it is defined, what are some of the causes of low quality data, how it can be detected and measured, and how an enterprise may respond in correcting the situation. Data quality is not a technical issue; it is a business issue. So some IT-oriented personalities may not be good at understanding the business meaning and consequence of data. What is required is a cynical, curious individual who is oriented towards the data (not the technology) and the business described by the data. We will look at how the logical data architecture of the business is an essential component to defining the data; without accurate definition, we cannot understand the meaning and hence the quality of data. We will also look at some simple techniques to do data profiling and data quality assessment, employing the query tools your organization may already have available.

Michael Scofield is Assistant Professor, Health Information Management at Loma Linda University. He is a popular lecturer on topics of data quality assessment and data warehouse design. He has spoken in conferences and professional meetings in over 56 cities in the U.S. and overseas. His popularity comes from his clear and simple graphic examples, and his use of humor in making the topic come to life. His articles on data management have been published in various journals including Data Management Review, InformationWeek, The Database Newsletter, the IBI Systems Journal, and others. He also has humor published in the LA Times and other journals.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR! Wednesday, May 5, 2004 May Monthly Meeting in Countrywide, Simi Valley, CA Speaker: Wayne Smith & Dr. Albert Kinderman, Topic: "The Emerging Relationship between Software Quality and the Free & Open Source Software Environments” Wednesday, June 2, 2004 June Monthly Meeting in Countrywide, Simi Valley, CA Speaker: Tim Pelland, Topic: Improving Your Processes: the New Reality Show

Fee: $10 nonmembers; Free for members Questions? Contact scqaasf_newsletter@sbcglobal.net

Membership: $65/year standard (one year of meetings); $100/year (one year of meetings + training discount)

Quality Assurance Institute Courses

SCQAA- San Fernando Chapter is proud to offer 3 more excellent and nationally recognized courses in software testing and software quality assurance. These classes taught by distinguished QAI instructors have not been offered in the Los Angeles area for a very long time and we are happy to bring these courses back here, in response to several dozens of requests from our local members.

To find out more about the classes and to register online be sure to visit our web site at www.scqaa.us. Take advantage of our membership benefits, become a privileged member if you are not already and get the courses at 50% discount!!

Remember, only those SCQAA-SF full members are eligible for our course discounts. To become a member click here: http://www.scqaa.us/member.php

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** Boot camp for Software QA Analysts **

Thursday & Friday, May 6 & 7, 2004

7:45 AM - 8:30 AM - Continental Breakfast/Registration

8:30 AM - 5:30 PM

This Boot Camp is a foundation course for IT quality concepts. It provides an excellent overview of the entire IT quality professional area. It further provides a macro introduction of the quality assurance area by introducing and reviewing the principles expounded by leading quality experts. This course similarly provides an exceptional review for those planning to pursue IT quality certification for the Certified Software Quality Analyst (CSQA) professional designation.

This seminar also addresses the important aspects to consider for those organizations who desire to properly organize their quality initiative for improved productivity and organizational integrity.

Enroll [Course Fee: Members $400.00 - Non-members $800.00]

***** Prep course for CSQA *****

Thursday & Friday, June 3 & 4, 2004

7:45 AM - 8:30 AM - Continental Breakfast/Registration

8:30 AM - 5:30 PM

The Certified Software Quality Analyst Prep Course has been designed specifically to prepare the quality assurance professional for the CSQA examination. The course provides a thorough background of the Quality fundamentals and also includes the more advanced concepts, which the Certified Software Quality Analyst must understand. The successful completion of this course along with the necessary practical experience and related resource familiarity will well prepare the candidate for the CSQA examination.

Enroll [Course Fee: Members $400.00 - Non-members $800.00]

Message from your President: Judy Cheves

Ever been in a position where you are determined to improve your leadership or team skills, gain a better understanding of best practices or just learn what is going on in the IT world outside your organization, but you were challenged to find an opportunity to gain the experience or learn the skill?

We provide opportunities to achieve professional growth. As an member of our Board you will find many ways to add to your experiences, participate on a successful team, learn and grow with support & mentoring from an experienced group of professionals.

Don’t think you have enough time to devote to the chapter? No problem, we are looking for enthusiastic people to fill Associate positions which require less involvement, as well as full Board Chairman positions. Unable to commit to an ongoing activity? We have opportunities for you to participate in special committees that are dedicated to a single event.

We currently have an opening on the board for an Event Chairman. This person will help the board coordinate our training classes and prepare for our participation on the Annual August Conference that is co-sponsored by all the SCQAA chapters, AITP and PMI-LA.

There is also an Associate Board position available for a Historian/Librarian. This individual will coordinate with our speakers to provide the presentation materials from our monthly meetings for posting to our website. They will also work closely with the board to develop historical documentation with pictures of our chapter events. This person would not be required to attend our regular monthly board meetings.

Not sure of your availability or schedule? There are many opportunities for you to become involved in our committees. You can help out with membership, promotions, event coordination, certification testing.

Part of the mission of the board is build future leaders and to mentor and support our members in professional growth. We’re looking forward to you joining us in building our chapter and adding value to our profession.

Regards,

Judy

Job Opportunity

2 Senior QA Consultants (3 – 6 months contract to hire) in Agoura Hills, CA. Requirements: Extensive experience creating test cases, test plans, working with user / Business Analyst team in understanding QA requirements and functionality of the application, undertaking testing. Should of excellent Black Box and White Box testing experience. Ideal candidate would have Grey box testing experience. Candidates should also have some experience on application development in the past. Client uses Loadrunner and other custom tools to undertake QA testing. Client's development platform is .NET, VB, SQL Server.

Of the 2 candidates, 1 needs to have lead / Project management experience or capabilities, co-ordinating and managing other QA resources. Ideal candidates would have testing experience within Mortgage industry. Contact: Amit MUKHERJEE, RECRUITMENT MANAGER, RJT Compuquest, Inc., 23430 Hawthorne Blvd., Suite 305, Torrance, CA 90505 amit@rjtcompuquest.com or www.rjtcompuquest.com Phone:866-454-4012 X 107 Fax: 1-2405364005

16 Orange County positions, including Sr. QA Analyst - Central OC - Compensation DOE. Contact: John Jeltema, Office/Cellular: 714-368-9200 Fax: 714-242-1548 P.O. Box 15791, Irvine, CA 92623-5791 www.eNamix.net

QA Analyst in Tax Services, Countrywide in Simi Valley. Reference # 268537 Contact: Jeff Roy (626) 229-4740 CountrywideCareers.com

Art Torres, Countrywide Tax Services Corporation

Technology Services (805) 955-5278

Quality Meetings Upcoming

March 24 4^th Annual Conference, a Combined Meeting of the LA Chapters of SCQAA, AITP, Bold Network, and PMI. "Getting a Grip on Chaos: eXtreme Project Management Applied: How to Stay in Control and Provide Value in the Face of Volatility.” Presented By: Doug DeCarlo. http://scqaa.org/

March 26 Computer Measurement Group Spring Regional Meeting in Southern California. Sponsored by Applied Expert Systems Long Beach. The Southern California CMG Region will be having its spring meeting at the Long Beach Marriott. This meeting is being sponsored by Applied Expert Systems who will be providing one of our speakers, Cathy Lui, and they will also be providing lunch. http://regions.cmg.org/regions/sccmg/index.html

April 2 9 AM – Noon System and Software Reviews Since Acquisition Reform. Presenter: Dr. Peter Hantos, Senior Engineering Specialist, The Aerospace Corporation. Sponsored by SPIN. Location: Northrop Grumman E2 Presentation Center (in tall building off of Entrance 2), Redondo Beach, CA (formerly TRW) - 2299 Marine Ave., Redondo Beach, CA 90278 Admission: Free http://www.uces.csulb.edu

April 8 Professional Development Dinner Meeting. Rudolf Melik, sponsored by Project Management Institute of Los Angeles. http://www.pmi-la.org/

April 20 6 PM American Society for Quality – San Fernando monthly chapter meeting. http://www.asq706.com/event.htm

April 20 6:30 PM Electrical Systems Analysis: How not to Short Circuit Yourself, by John Graves, sponsored by the Society for Technical Communication, San Fernando Valley chapter in Chatsworth. http://www.stcsfv.org/meetings.htm#April,

April 21 Noon Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) Los Angeles Chapter holds regular meetings in downtown Los Angeles on the third Wednesday of every month at Les Freres Taix Restaurant in Los Angeles. Online registration: http://www.issa-la.org/

April 21 5:30 PM Financial Statement Fraud: Behind the Smoke and Mirrors. John Tonsick sponsored by IIA – San Fernando at CSUN. Perspective on detecting financial statement fraud in light of recent scandals. http://www.iia-sfv.org/1024x768_idx.html

April 25 – 28 ISACA Los Angeles Spring Conference: 3 Pre-Conferences and 4 Tracks: Core Competencies, Information Security, Current & Emerging, and Tools & Techniques (Up to 21 CPE). Location: Universal City Hilton & Towers. http://isacala.org/2004SpringConference/2004SpringConferenceHome.html

Our Corporate Meeting Sponsors

Serena, Corp. at 20920B Warner Center Lane, Woodland Hills, is our very first chapter Corporate Meeting Sponsor. We very much appreciate their sponsorship, which provides the SCQAA San Fernando Board with a fine workspace for our Board meetings.

Countrywide, Corp. in Simi Valley is our second chapter Corporate Meeting Sponsor, as they are providing Membership meeting space, starting with the first monthly meeting on September 17, 2003.

Our Corporate Sponsors

Kaiser Permanente, headquartered in Oakland, is sponsoring SCQAA-SF this year to enable its Southern California employees to take advantage of chapter meetings and instructor-led QAI training.

QAI Certification Programs

To request more information, send email to certify@qaiusa.com.

Earn CPEs

Are you a CSQA or CSTE? Earn some of your Continuing Professional Education (CPE) points by attending SCQAA-SF meetings. Earn even more by helping with our committees!

Southern California Quality Assurance Association San Fernando Chapter (SCQAA-SF)

QAI Certification Programs

To request more information, send email to certify@qaiusa.com.

Meet Your SCQAA

San Fernando Chapter Board

The new Board slate is composed of:

Position	Board Member	Backup Member
Chapter Chair	Judy Cheves	Shahidul Manan
Vice Chair	Shahidul Manan
Treasurer	Deanna Witrack	Judy Cheves
Secretary	John Heeg	TBD
Chapter Advisor	Jim Stoumpos
Events/Promotion	TBD
Food Service Chair	Peter Reidy
Historian/Librarian	TBD
Mail List Chair	Gerry Caruso	Karina Gamble
Meeting Chair	Kidra Shidroo
Membership Chair	Ron Winters
Newsletter Chair	Elizabeth Runyon	Deanna Witrack
PMI Liaison	Bill Hackenberg
Program Chair	Karina Gamble
Sponsor/PR Chair	Bob Tabaka	Bill Hackenberg
Web Team	Shahidul Mannan Kidra Shadroo Leonard Daly
Webmaster	TBD

Would you like to be a speaker and have a topic of interest to the quality community? Contact the Program Chair (karina@qainsight.com) or Chapter Chairperson (Judy.cheves@Countrywide.com) and let us know what you would like to contribute.

Would you like to contribute information to this Newsletter? Contact the Newsletter editor at this address: scqaasf_newsletter@sbcglobal.net.

The SCQAA San Fernando Board holds monthly Board Meetings at Serena Inc. in Woodland Hills. If you would like to attend the Board meeting and would like to help this chapter, please contact Judy Cheeves at E-Mail (Judy.cheves@Countrywide.com ) to obtain the meeting schedule and location.

Subscription Information

"Quality In Blue" e-mails are never sent unsolicited. SCQAA-SF only sends e-mails to registered members. To unsubscribe, send just the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line to: scqaa_sf_maillist@yahoo.com If someone forwarded this newsletter to you and you want your own free subscription, e-mail to scqaa_sf_maillist@yahoo.com

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We'd love to hear from you. Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Please help us respond to your requests and input by writing to one of the Board members. See our contact list at http://scqaa.us/contact.php

Privacy policy: We will not distribute your name or e-mail address to anyone, other than for SCQAA or QAI chapter purposes.

Directions to Our Meeting Location in Simi Valley:

You might want to check out driving directions from your starting point on yahoo.com, but here is how you will finish the trip:

Countrywide Financial 2900 Madera Road, Simi Valley, CA 93065 1C Central Lobby Presentation & Video Make your way to CA-118 and go to Simi Valley Exit CA-118 on Madera Road North Go 0.3 miles then turn right on North Madera Road Go 0.3 miles past Countrywide Way to first driveway on the right: 2900 North Madera Road. Follow the driveway up and around the building on your right and park on the other side (which is actually the front). Conference room 1C is right off the main lobby.