Ok, who is Tom Gilchrist, and what is that "CSQA" and "CSQE" after his name?

Fair question...I work and live in Renton, WA, just south of Seattle for a large manufacturing firm. I work in the software side of the business and my job is to help the organization and software practitioners....well...improve.

I have been in the software business in one way or another since the mid 1970's after graduating from college in Wichita, KS. This includes programming (C, pascal, basic, etc.), system administration (UNIX), and trying my luck co-owning a software "start-up" company producing a product for the (then new) IBM PC. In my past lives I have also have been involved in audio/visual production and training. I moved up to Seattle in the spring of 1985 to work with building CASE tools (remember Structured Methods?).

My current work and interest is as a Software Improvement Facilitator. In software there are three main areas which and organization can improve:

An improvement facilitator must be able to help the members of the organization assess their capabilities, develop their plan, and bring to the table the tools and techniques to help them transform their organization. An improvement facilitator working in software must be aware of the vital role of not only the individual software practitioner plays, but also the role of the team and the notion of organizational professionalism and maturity.

What's the CSQA  after my name? Well, I am a Certified Software Quality Analyst. It simply means that I know about and use certain quality and software engineering terms and techniques as described in a "body of knowledge". It also means that I have continued to be active in the field since my initial certification (in 1990). This certification doesn't mean I'm smarter than anyone else, it just means that when someone brings up a quality related subject (for example a "control chart"), I know what it is (at least as it is described in the "body of knowledge"). Certification programs are a good way to help assure that a group of people can communicate about a particular field or discipline in a consistent manner.

The "CSQE" (Certified Software Quality Engineer) comes from the ASQ, software division.

Ok, but what about Tom the guy...

While I seem to live computers, my other interest include music (I used to be in a R&R band), Z scale model trains, HAM radio, collecting Dinkey toys, and lots of outdoor activities. If you are interested in further information, you can contact me:

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TLG profile page , Ver 08/13/09 13:32 Tom Gilchrist, CSQA, CSQE. For updates, suggestions, and corrections, please contact tomg@tomgtomg.com . The opinions and views expressed in SOFTE are my own and do not reflect the views of my employers. There is no financial connection with the products and services mentioned in SOFTE.