Chris Spera

Project Leader - Quality Assurance & Integration Testing at Rush University Medical Center

Greater Chicago Area

Current
  • Project Leader - Quality Assurance & Integration Testing at Rush University Medical Center
  • Staff Reviewer at Gear Diary
  • Sr. Content Editor at WUGNET
Past
  • Sr. Manager, Quality Assurance & Testing at Crawford and Company
  • Director, Quality Assurance & Compliance at LocalLaunch an R. H. Donnelley Company
  • Manager, Quality Assurance at LocalLaunch!
Education
  • Stephen F. Austin State University
  • West Bloomfield High School
Connections
219 connections
Industry
Internet
Websites

Chris Spera’s Summary

QA Manager/Director with over 18 years of QA Management experience, including 7+ years at the Director level or above. Detailed, team oriented, dynamic problem solver with concentrations and emphasis in process engineering and human interactions.

Chris Spera’s Specialties:

Quality Mangagement System Development and Implementation
Software Development Live Cycle/ Methodology Development & Implementation
Release Management System Development and Implementation
On/Off Shore Development and Testing Management
Business Process Engineering/ Reengieering


Chris Spera’s Experience

  • Project Leader - Quality Assurance & Integration Testing

    Rush University Medical Center

    (Non-Profit; 5001-10,000 employees; Hospital & Health Care industry)

    May 2008Present (1 year 3 months)

    Establish & create a software quality assurance program at RUMC to incompass all hospital (clinical and non-clinical) and university software development efforts. Supervise and lead a matrixed team of 20+ testers in a Windows and Unix development and testing environment. Establish standardized Release Management process for non-standard clinical (Epic) development efforts. Responsible for complete testing life cycle, including tool selection, recommendations and budgeting. Responsible for company-wide Change Management process.

  • Staff Reviewer

    Gear Diary

    (Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Internet industry)

    September 2006Present (2 years 11 months)

    Write product reviews (hardware and software), write articles (opinion and editorial pieces) on IT and Technology covering any operating system, any computer system, and any mobile device platform. Provide support to site visitors, and in general (as with every other team member) help keep the team on track with scheduled articles and reviews.

    Work directly with domestic and international hardware and software vendors to obtain review products and samples. Manage vendor contacts and relationships.

  • Sr. Content Editor

    WUGNET

    (Information Technology and Services industry)

    1997Present (12 years)

  • Sr. Manager, Quality Assurance & Testing

    Crawford and Company

    (Public Company; 5001-10,000 employees; Insurance industry)

    January 2008May 2008 (5 months)

    Establish QA and Release Management Process and SDLC Methodology. Staff and evaluate Software QA Department and define the partner points and interfaces within the overall organization, manage defects, and provide guideance to the RiskTech project implementation on all Software Quality Assurance issues. Manage a team of 17 resources in both the Lake Zurich, IL and Atlanta, GA locations.

  • Director, Quality Assurance & Compliance

    LocalLaunch an R. H. Donnelley Company

    (Internet industry)

    March 2007February 2008 (1 year)

    Expansion of duties from LocalLaunch (a wholly owned subsidiary of R. H. Donnelley) when both combined to form R. H. Donnelley Interactive. Responsibilities are identical, but include Quality Systems located in Denver office (formerly Dex Media), but expanded to include Sarbanes-Oxley and Release Management for DexKnows as well as LocalLaunch product offerings.

  • Manager, Quality Assurance

    LocalLaunch!

    (Public Company; 51-200 employees; Internet industry)

    March 2007July 2007 (5 months)

    Reporting to the Chief Strategy Officer, establish QA and Release Management Process and SDLC Methodology. Staff a new Software QA Department (including Test, Process, Configuration Management and Release Management) and define the partner points and interfaces within the overall organization. Manage defects, and be the overall QA Guy.

  • QA Team Lead

    Qualifacts Systems, Inc

    (Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Information Technology and Services industry)

    April 2005August 2006 (1 year 5 months)

    Lead and manage a QA Team of up to 7 in Nashville, TN office. Insure proper testing is completed before software release. Develop QA Process. Develop Configuration Management Process.

  • Owner

    ParaBasic Development

    (Information Technology and Services industry)

    October 2002December 2005 (3 years 3 months)

  • Lead Data Quality Analyst

    American Healthways

    (Public Company; Information Technology and Services industry)

    January 2002March 2005 (3 years 3 months)

  • Director of QA

    medibuy

    (Information Technology and Services industry)

    20002001 (1 year)

  • Executive Manager, Quality & Regulatory Affairs

    Leica Microsystems, Inc.

    (Privately Held; 201-500 employees; Medical Devices industry)

    February 1997May 2000 (3 years 4 months)

    Managed department responsible for implementation & operational effectiveness of ISO 9002/ FDA/cGMP quality systems in 3 domestic & 1 international locations. Managed a team of 13 + quality system auditors. Responsible for a $225,000+ budget.
    • Designed a paperless documentation system compliant with FDA & ISO 9000 requirements
    • Reengineered Customer Complaint & Product Performance data systems. New process included internal & external data sources, a centralized database, & Lotus Notes/ Web Enabled front end
    • Responsible for operational effectiveness of Customer Complaints & Comments related to Product Performance. Effective process operation required engaging the organization to manage product returns, Product & Project feedback and the implementation of Continuous Improvement.
    • Reengineered in-warranty repairs & return authorization processes to reduce shipping and warranty costs. Maintained inventory levels dropped by 20%, creating a realized annual savings of $250,000.


Chris Spera’s Education

  • Stephen F. Austin State University

    BA , English & Technical Writing , 19881990

    Activities and Societies:
    Theta Chi Fraternity, Art and Jewelery
  • West Bloomfield High School


Additional Information

Chris Spera’s Websites:

Chris Spera’s Interests:

Mobile Devices, Computers, Photography, Jewlery Design and Music (Country and Solid Gold)

Chris Spera’s Groups:

ASQ

  •    LinkedSEO
  •    Windows Mobile Enthusiasts
  •    LocalLaunch Alumni
  •    Chicago Quality Assurance Association (CQAA)
  •    Software Inspection
  •    Arkon Resources, Inc.

Chris Spera’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

  • career opportunities
  • consulting offers
  • new ventures
  • job inquiries
  • expertise requests
  • business deals
  • reference requests
  • getting back in touch

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