Acknowledgments

Many people contributed to the writing of this book. A huge thanks to my editors, George McDaniel, Shelley Sessoms, and Stacey Hamilton, who were all incredibly patient with me. Thanks also to Jennifer Dilley, graphics artist, who converted my pencil sketches into beautiful and perfect graphics, and Amy Wolfe, who was a superb copyeditor. Thank you to Aimee Rodriguez and Shelley Goodin for their marketing insights.

This book benefited greatly from several rounds of technical reviews. I thank David Shinn and Eric Rossland, both from SAS, and Craig Dickstein from Tamarack Professional Services, LLC, for their invaluable feedback and comments.

This book would not have been possible without the support of my family. I especially acknowledge my dad, my role model, who taught me to think outside the box. My children provided a great deal of inspiration and motivation. My thirteen-year-old daughter helped me simplify many technical sentences. My ten-year-old son loyally provided plenty of praise for the book’s contents. Last but not least, I want to thank my husband, without whose love I cannot be the person I am.