JOURNAL - Status week #10

Two weeks to go.

We just finished the last chapter in the CQI Primer, Configuration Management. Much of the information was repeated within the chapter. This seems to be one of the easier chapters, but it only amounts to 10% of the exam.

In our class discussion, Gail said that the exam will often refer to acronyms. Now I'll need to create another cross reference sheet. I don't want to "draw a blank" during the exam.

Despite my good intentions, I blew off the entire weekend. This other, unrelated class I'm taking has created a bit of an overload and I used the weekend for recovery. Bad timing, but probably worthwhile before the final push.

Bruce suggested that we visit the test site during lunch one day, so we will know exactly where we're going on exam day. What a great idea.

I'm still thinking 40% chance of passing, but I need to hit it hard this weekend. It's memorial weekend, so we get another day to prepare.

EXAM PREP - Tutoring

I found this out way too late.

Some local chapters of ASQ (called "Sections") offer free exam prep tutoring after their monthly meeting.

To find the chapter closest to you go to the ASQ.org link here

Check their schedule for the next monthly meeting, and I would just verify that the section provides this kind of service before you show up.

EXAM PREP - Questions Forums

I've found two potential forums for asking questions and getting help. I don't know how effective these will be, but if you're stuck on something it seems like a reasonable place to start:

(1) Software Quality Assurance Forum is a pretty large, active forum relating to many aspects of SQA. Registration is required (free) to post. The link is:

http://www.sqaforums.com/ubbthreads.php


(2) The LinkedIn online "social network" has a Quality Management and Standards Question and Answer group.

This may be a decent spot to pose a question as there appears to be a lot of qualified people reviewing the site.

The open question page is [here].

You will need to sign up for a free membership to post a question, but you don't need a membership to view the questions and answers. I've been a member of this for about 4-5 years and there haven't been any negative side effects (like spam) that I know of.

STUDY MATERIAL: Web Audiocasts

Another source of audio files can be found at the Software Process and Metrics (SPaMcasts) audio site with files relating to testing, metrics, quality interviews, estimation, etc.

Link is [here]

These are pretty current and you can subscribe via an RSS feed.

You have to consider that these may, or may not be inline with actual ASQ dogma, but they can reinforce some concepts and help with getting into the right frame of mind. At least this provides some variety.

And "variety is the SPICE of life".

But SPICE is an ISO 15504 standard relating to assessment, assessors and capability determination.

[this is getting to be really sick ...]

JOURNAL - Status week #9

Almost done with the study sessions, one more week to go.

Based on the Metrics topic, where I was unable to attend the study session, I'm downgrading my probability of success to about 30%-40%. I've also had to sign up for an unrelated, unexpected class that is sucking up all my available study time. Unlucky.

My basic plan to close this out:

5/17 Saturday: Take the quizzes at the end of each chapter all at once. Don't do any look-ups or reference, just on what I know. Make educated guesses, but no wild guesses at any answers. This gives me a rough idea on what I need to concentrate on.
- take Stat Trek stats tutorial
- read last chapter on configuration management and record pertinent info
- listen to metrics and configuration management recordings
- Bitch at Bruce to get some more Mnemosyne flash card files posted. If I don't pass the exam, it's all his fault. Yeah.
- Continue accumulating and organizing reference material

5/24 Saturday - Apply mild pressure - take the Brainbench Software Quality Assurance test.
- listen to recordings relating to topics where I need the most work
- Buy some pencils, a good eraser, binder dividers, a couple pads of paper and two calculators.

6/1 Saturday - take the practice exam (CD) from the Quality Council of Indiana I will use my reference material here. It will give me an idea on how to better organize for fast access.
- Get all reference material finalized and ready to go this weekend
- Continue focus on weak areas based on practice exam results.
- Review entire study primer front to back twice.

6/5 Wednesday - Practice exam with Study group

6/7 Friday - Take the day off. Study last minute topics. Study 2-3 hours with Bruce and Jim

After the exam, I'll take a week or so off from studying, then start working my contingency plan targeting the next exam in Maryland in September.

EXAM PREP - Stats Tutorial

It's been several years since my last stats class so I located this to help with the basic metrics stuff:

This Stat Trek site is free to use.

It appears to be a pretty good reference with both intro and advanced topics.

EXAM: Details emailed ...

Received this email today:

You have been scheduled to sit for the 06/07/2008 Certified Software Quality Engineer examination. Please verify that your name and address listed below are correct:

Please report any changes or errors to Customer Care at help@asq.org immediately.

You must bring photo identification with a signature to gain admittance into the examination site.

Site:
City Community College
T Building Room 142
14500 E North St.

If you require directions, or a map, most can be obtained at Mapquest or Google Maps.

Proctor: Rajinder P. Raju (818)703-7148

Site Changes: Please read your site address carefully. The deadline for site changes is 05/30/2008. There will be no exceptions made.

Time: The 4 hour examination will start promptly at 8:00 AM. Plan to arrive at least 30 minutes early.

Exam: The examination contains 160 multiple choice questions.

Results: You will receive an automated e-mail when your results post to your member/customer record. It will contain a link for you to sign in and view your results. Your results will also be mailed to you approximately two weeks after the exam date (expect six to eight weeks for international delivery). Results will not be given over the telephone. There will be no exceptions made.

Materials: Please bring two soft lead (#2) pencils, scratch paper, calculator, reference materials and photo ID.

Absences or Cancellations: If you do not notify the American Society for Quality of your absence or your wish to cancel at least 6 working days before the exam, you will forfeit all fees and will be required to reapply.

Reschedule: You are allowed to reschedule a maximum of once within a one-year period. The fee to request a reschedule is $50.00 and is not refundable. If you do not sit within one year, you will forfeit all fees and must reapply. If you wish to reschedule, you may do so online or by contacting us by phone, fax, e-mail, or postal mail.
1. Notified on or before 05/30/2008: $50.00 fee
2. 05/31/2008 or later: Must pay exam fee

You may reschedule online by clicking one of the following links:
Member Log In
Registered Visitor Log In
Once you sign in, click on the reschedule button and follow the prompts.

If you are a recertifying by exam, and your certification expired 6/30/2007, this is your last chance to retain your certification.

No reschedules will be allowed.

As a matter of courtesy, please notify your proctor before the exam of your absence.

References: With the exception to the Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence Constructed Response Portion, exams are open book. Personally generated materials and notes from training or refresher courses are allowed, under the following conditions:

• Each examinee must make his/her reference materials available to the proctor for review.
• Absolutely no collections of questions and answers or weekly refresher course quizzes are permitted. Reference sources that contain such copy are not allowed unless the questions are removed or obscured.
• Calculator Policy: With the introduction of palm top computers and the increasing sophistication of scientific calculators, we have become increasingly aware of the need to limit the types of calculators that are permitted for use during the examinations. Any silent, hand-held, battery-operated calculator without an alphabetic keyboard will be permitted, however, all programmable memory must be cleared from the calculator before you enter the exam room. Calculators such as the Texas Instruments TI-89 or similar are ABSOLUTELY NOT allowed because they contain alphabetic keyboards. The examination is written so that a simple calculator will be sufficient to perform all calculations. The use of laptops or palm pilots is not allowed.
• Reference materials and calculators may not be shared.
• Cell phones, beepers, or radios/iPods/CD players/MP3 players, headphones, etc. are not allowed.
• If you have any questions, contact your proctor before the examination day to determine the appropriateness of any device
• Your proctor has final authority on the admissibility of all materials. Any materials not approved by the proctor will be confiscated, and returned to you after the exam. It is our obligation to ensure that everyone is treated fairly.

If you have any questions about your exam, our Customer Care staff is available to assist you. Send an email to help@asq.org or call toll-free 1-800-248-1946 or 414-272-8575.

Sincerely,

American Society for Quality
600 N Plankinton Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53203

EXAM - Contingency Plan

A lot of information posted on the web indicates a 40% - 60% success rate for candidates taking the exam. Gail has indicated that those people attending all of her classes typically are at a 70% passing rate.

So.

What to do if I don't pass?

I'm thinking ...

1) Sign up and take the Brainbench Software Quality Assurance exam. I may do this regardless, perhaps in another two weeks as a practice exam before the CSQE exam. It's only $50, considered "easier", but not generally regarded as highly as the CSQE.
Here's an InformationWeek article about Brainbench

2) For those that do not pass, ASQ provides feedback on how you did per knowledge area. I would certainly focus on those areas. The fee for a re-take is $160, $50 less than the original fee.

3) There is an ASQ World Congress in Maryland in September where they are offering the CSQE exam. That would allow for an additional 12 weeks of study. Maryland is not exactly in my neighborhood, so I'd have to allow for a couple days to get there and back.

4) The next scheduled national exam is in December. And the exam will be updated from what is currently being offered. I have to assume that much re-orienting will be required, but hopefully a fairly high percentage of material will still be applicable. Obviously, it's better to pass on the first try.

JOURNAL: Status Week #7

We're slightly more than half way done with the book and study group. There's just over a month to go before the exam. At the moment, I'm thinking I have a 50/50 shot at this.

Having the weekly class/study group is the major factor in keeping me focused and on-track.

I'm listening to about 8 hours of homemade audio CD's each week and reading for 2-3 hours from the text. And I'm running the Mnemosyne flash card program almost daily. I am current with the reading, having completed all material up through Chapter 6 - Project Management.

A quick note, the chapter on project management had some differences from the Project Management Institute (PMI) viewpoint. I documented some of the gaps [here]. Project management amounts to 15% of the exam. If I can get all these right, and we need a 70% passing score, then I would just need 55% for the rest of the exam. That doesn't sound too bad (?).

Jim said he was going to take a copy of all the PMI earned value formulas to the exam. Methinks this is a fine idea. There's a number of one-sheet summaries available - here's an example [here] .

I will take a vacation day on the day before the exam. On a previous exam I took, that last day of study probably amounted to 5%-10% difference (I'm guessing).

I'm also putting together my final documentation to take into the exam, indexes in one binder, glossaries/definitions in another. I want to be real comfortable looking this stuff up.

mmmmmust ... not ... not ... ... stresssssss ... out ...

OTHER TOPICS: Q/C in China

Not that this has anything to do with the exam, but China is getting deadly serious about Quality Control.

CBS news online article here.

Well, poor quality was the end result. Obviously, we need to determine a root cause, which was the bypassing of established approval standards. The guilty party, the head of the Chinese Food and Drug Administration, was accused of taking the equivalent of $830,000 USD in bribes.

The lesson to all us capitalists: poor quality can be fatal.