Preface

Lao Tzu said, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”

I do not know where the journey that led me to write this book will lead me from here, but I can identify some of the main signposts that helped guide me to this point.

The journey started at SAS User’s Group International 23 in Nashville. This was my first SUGI–I went there thinking I knew a lot about SAS, and came away realizing how little I really knew! I met Rob and Marje Fecht, who encouraged me to become more involved in the SAS user community. Over the years, I became more and more involved, first as a presenter, later as a section chair, and then as a Content Advisory Team member for SAS Global Forum. I had the opportunity to be the Academic Chair for SESUG 2008, SESUG 2012, and PharmaSUG China 2015.

SAS Global Forum 2013 was another turn in the journey, specifically when the Junior Professional Program was introduced. Through this program, I have met several bright young SAS programmers who have been not only an inspiration, but also paper collaborators–Xiao Jin Qin, Lucheng Shao, and Jing Chen. In 2013, at the Junior Professional Program reception, I met Xue Yao, who talked about a pre-conference workshop she attended that featured DS2; she was keen to learn more. It turned out we were doing similar work, health-care related, and we both had an interest in learning more about DS2. This chance meeting led to our collaborating on SAS Global Forum papers, and ultimately to this book.

I hope this book helps some of you on your journey with SAS. In particular, for those of you who read this and say, “I can do a better job,” do not just say it, do it. We all grow when we share our knowledge and experience.