Westfall Weekly Webinars

Making Things Better: An Introduction to Continuous Improvement Projects  presented by Toysha Walker

Wednesday, June 4, at 12:01 pm Central

Ready to start making meaningful improvements in your work? This introductory webinar will demystify continuous improvement projects. Learn the fundamental concepts, discover simple yet effective tools, and understand the basic steps to identify, plan, and implement small-scale improvement initiatives. Perfect for beginners, this session will empower you to contribute to a culture of ongoing progress within your team or organization.

Project Reviews – Why, When, Who & What presented by Linda Westfall

Wednesday, June 11, at 12:01 pm Central

This presentation will discuss five different types of reviews used to track your projects, including:

• Team reviews
• Management reviews
• Milestone reviews
• Program reviews
• Retrospectives/Post-Project Reviews

For each type of review, this talk will cover:

• Why - the purpose of each of the different types of project review
• When - each type of review should be held
• Who - should attend each type of review
• What - should be discussed in each type of review

Putting the Puzzle Together: Creating an Effective Project Charter presented by Zac Jarrard

Wednesday, June 18, at 12:01 pm Central

The project charter forms a foundation for a successful project. If key parts of a project charter are missing, it could create problems going into a project kickoff. This could lead to delays, poor risk management, and confusion about the project scope. Project charters are an essential tool for leading a successful project. This session will:

1. Examine the purpose of a project charter 
2. Discuss the key elements of a project charter
3. Share lessons learned from experience.

Project Management Responsibilities Agile Teams Can Perform presented by Scott Duncan

Tuesday, June 24, at 12:01 pm Central

*** Note Special Day of the Week ***

People have suggested that project managers are not needed in an Agile approach. However, project management practices are still needed. This presentation will cover client engagement, documentation, planning, quality, risk, and teams from a traditional perspective and then how an Agile approach can address each one.

The Quality Manager as Change Manager: Effectively Leading Change Across Organizations

Presented by: Zac Jarrard

Quality managers are often change managers. The implementation of a project, new software, or improving a process creates a change that affects people, process, and technology. This can be difficult and take time to get an organization from where they are today to where they want to be after the project is complete. Change management is a key part of successful project delivery and post-deployment. This presentation will provide an overview of change management, discuss the key elements of managing change, and share lessons learned from my experience.

Available Free Until: 07/30/2025
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QMS Audit

Presented by: Nancy Pasquan

What is a QMS? Every organization seems to have a different definition.  ISO, the FDA, and other authorities have their own opinions.  How can you tell if your QMS makes sense or if it is in compliance with the relevant authorities?

This presentation discusses Quality Management Systems (QMS) auditing.  Definitions are provided for QMS’ in a variety of industries as well as the types of audits, including first, second, and third-party audits.  Audit preparation and survival for the auditee, as well as words of wisdom for internal and external auditors of organizations and projects will be discussed.  Real world examples are provided across industries including aerospace, general manufacturing, pharmaceutical, and medical devices. Auditing of software organizations and projects will be included throughout.

Expected Takeaways:
•    Understand how Quality Management Systems can differ
•    Software is different and should not be audited solely by manufacturing/quality system auditors
•    The process of a QMS audit varies by the scope and intent of the audit as well as the scope of the QMS

Available Free Until: 07/23/25
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How Strategic Is Your QMS Strategy?

Presented by: Robin Goldsmith

It may not have been intentional, or even recognized, but your Quality Management System (QMS) represents a strategy.  Too often, it’s mainly a non-strategy, passively accepting and merely documenting whatever quality events come your way—probably problems!  Smart organizations, and smart folks working in them, use their QMS to gain competitive advantage.  They deliver better products and services they can be proud of.  This interactive session shows you how to do it too.
    - What strategy really is and how it probably differs from yours.
    - What your QMS says about your organization’s strategy.
    - How to make your QMS a strategic advantage.

Available Free Until: 07/16/2025
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Understanding the Organization & Its Context

Presented by: Linda Westfall

ISO 9001:2015 Clause 4.1 states that "The organization shall determine external and internal issues that are relevant to its purpose and its strategic direction and that affect its ability to achieve the intended result(s) of its quality management system."

This webinar will discuss what that means, and what the organization should include as part of its Quality Management System to address this clause.

Available free until 07/09/2025
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Writing Testable Requirements

Presented by: Linda Westfall

This webinar will discuss "how to" tips for writing testable requirements, including:
    - Using short, direct, complete sentences
    - Making requirements internally and externally consistent
    - Removing ambiguity
    - Making requirements measurable
    - Making requirements finite
    - Including testers in the requirements peer reviews
    - Defining a testing strategy for each requirement as soon as it is specified
    - Tracing requirements to test cases

Available Free Until: 7/2/2025

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Tips to Elicit Requirements that Don't Change (So Much)

Presented by: Robin Goldsmith

“It’s what you said you wanted.”  “But it’s not what we need.”  Welcome to the real world of creep.  It gets repeated practically every project because we mistakenly characterize it as “the requirements changed.”  In fact, while some may change, most creep is actually changing awareness of requirements that could and should have been known all along. During this webinar, you will learn:
    - Why the disconnects occur that cause requirements to “change.”
    - Red flags that indicate trouble ahead.
    - Keys to getting on the right path with stakeholders from the start.

Available Free Until: 06/25/2025
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How to Use Event/Response Tables to Identify Requirements

Presented by: Linda Westfall

Event/response tables are a powerful tool for defining how a software product should react to various external events based on its current state. These events may be triggered by users (actors), hardware devices (such as sensors and buttons), or time-based conditions (e.g., the end of the day or a specified time interval).

During requirements elicitation and analysis, event/response tables are invaluable for uncovering scenarios where external events occur unexpectedly. By identifying missing exception-handling requirements, they help ensure a more complete and robust set of requirements. These tables are especially effective when collaborating with stakeholders or when used in facilitated requirements workshops, making them an essential technique for developing high-quality software systems.

Join us to explore how event/response tables can enhance your approach to software requirements and improve system reliability!

Available Free Until: 06/18/2025
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What Is Part of Our Project? Tools for Requirements Gathering and Management

Presented by: Zac Jarrard

Requirements are an essential part of project delivery. Poor requirements gathering and management could result in bad implementation, frustration, and project failure. There are several tools project managers can use to successfully gather and monitor requirements throughout a project lifecycle. In this webinar, you will learn to:
1) examine the purpose of requirements
2) share tools for gathering and managing requirements
3) share lessons learned from experience

Available Free Until: 06/11/2025
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