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235 – 235 - Applying Quality Principles to Our Work as Statisticians
Quality Assurance in Statistics Without Borders: Statisticians Doing Good
Ed J. Gracely
Drexel University
This paper discusses the development, role, and issues in the application of quality assurance (which we call Delivery and Quality Assurance, or DQA) in Statistics Without Borders (SWB), a pro-bono statistical consulting organization that is an Outreach Group of the ASA. DQA is an essential part of SWB, which functions as a professional organization but run by unpaid volunteers. Problems can easily develop in a consulting project, and we need to be on top of them as soon as possible. SWB has multiple layers of oversight, including expert consultants who approve the technical aspects of the project, and DQA analysts who ensure that project teams do what they committed to and that all the i's are dotted and the t's crossed. I am the vice chair for the DQA team, and I keep an eye on our volunteers -- this paper describes my impressions and experiences.