October Six Sigma SIG Meeting  

�A New Look at Change Management: Lessons Learned from New Product Development Practices�

Presented by

Ms. Cynthia Gilmer

 President, Opus Plus

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

6:00-8:30pm

at TEQCORNER

Cynthia Gilmer will lead a discussion on applying the techniques used to develop and launch new products to development of new technologies internally.  She will discuss how to apply common new product development methodologies such as strategy and innovation, portfolio management, market research (voice of the customer), and product launch to the launch of internal products and the management of change.  The goal is to have a lively and interactive discussion about how tools and methodologies are similar and different between quality standards and new product development techniques, and gain new insights from this comparison.

Speaker: Cynthia Gilmer an accomplished visionary and results-oriented leader with over 20 years experience growing technology product and service companies. She is also a Product Development and Management Association (PDMA) Certified New Product Development Professional (NPDP).  Her industry experience includes government, software, telecommunications, and information technology products and services.  From a business process perspective she is trained in, six sigma techniques, and the CMMI.  

Before founding Opus Plus, Ms. Gilmer was Product Management Director for iDirect, a satellite equipment manufacturer and global ISP.  She established and served as the director of the Applications Product Development and Engineering organization for BroadBand Office, a competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) providing voice, data and applications solutions to small and mid-sized businesses.  In 1997, Ms. Gilmer founded Broadband Inc., a consultancy that helped cable companies and wireless providers transition into the Internet service business both in the US and abroad. She helped lead BTG into new business areas as co-founder of their subsidiary, Community Networks, Incorporated (CNI), a pioneer in the broadband over cable TV service market. Earlier in her career, Ms. Gilmer developed custom software solutions for government and commercial clients with BTG, Inc.

As an active member of the Northern Virginia business community, Cynthia serves on the board of the Business Alliance of George Mason University, where she leads the Investor Outreach committee and serves on the Grubstake Breakfast Selection and Coaching committees.  She is a long-standing member of the Northern Virginia Technology Council, where she has previously served as Chairman of the Emerging Business & Entrepreneur committee.  Ms. Gilmer is a graduate of the 2006 class of Mindshare and an active member of Potomac Officers Club.  She holds BS and MS degrees in Computer Science from the University of Maryland and Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University respectively.

Please register by emailing your name, title, organization and industry to SixSigmaSIG @ asq509.org (Note: Remove spaces around @).  Registration is complimentary and ASQ Membership is not required.  Pizza and soda refreshments will be provided.

Your competitors will be here.  Your clients will be here.  Shouldn�t you be here too?

For more details, map and directions to TEQCORNER, see the meeting announcement.