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University of Houston Student Chapter

Society of Decision Professionals

Empowering Better Decision Makers at the University of Houston.

We teach the frameworks professionals actually use, build leadership through real project teams, and open direct access to industry practitioners — all on campus.

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@sdp.uh SDP — UH Student Chapter Society of Decision Professionals (opens in a new tab)
Raji Aiyer

Raji Aiyer

Faculty Advisor

Dr. Berta

Dr. Berta

SDP Instructor

Why SDP?

  • Learn a decision framework you'll use in every internship and interview.
  • Practice on real problems with mentors from industry, not textbook cases.
  • Build a Houston professional network before you graduate.

About the chapter

Structured thinking, taught by people who do it for a living.

SDP is the professional society for decision analysis practitioners. Our UH chapter — founded in Fall 2025 and the first of its kind — brings that practice to campus through weekly classes, project teams, and industry mentorship.

What is Decision Analysis?

A discipline for making high-stakes choices under uncertainty: clarify the frame, lay out real alternatives, model the trade-offs, and commit with clear reasoning. It is how energy companies decide on billion-dollar projects and how strategists choose between imperfect options.

Why it matters for you

Recruiters do not just want an answer — they want to see how you got there. Members leave with a repeatable method for structuring ambiguous problems and the confidence to defend a recommendation out loud.

Learn more about SDP

Member benefits

Why join SDP at UH

Six things every member gets from day one.

  • Professional Development

    Workshops on resumes, recruiting, and workplace communication led by people who hire students.

  • Industry Networking

    Direct access to decision analysts and consultants across Houston energy, healthcare, and finance.

  • Leadership Opportunities

    Lead a project team, run an event, or serve on the executive board as the chapter grows.

  • Decision Analysis Skills

    Learn framing, decision trees, value of information, and the full Decision Quality chain.

  • Real-World Team Projects

    Work in small teams on live decision problems sourced from our industry partners.

  • Presentation & Communication

    Defend a recommendation to practicing professionals and get direct, useful feedback.

Signature learning experience

The Friday Decision Framing class

Every Friday, Dr. Berta leads members through one full turn of the decision cycle — the same sequence practitioners run on real projects.

  1. 01

    Frame

    Define the real decision, the alternatives on the table, and what actually matters to the decision maker.

  2. 02

    Analyze

    Build the model: data, uncertainties, trade-offs, and the value of gathering more information.

  3. 03

    Recommend

    Turn analysis into a clear, defensible recommendation with the reasoning made visible.

  4. 04

    Present

    Deliver it to industry mentors, take the hard questions, and iterate on the feedback.

What's next

Upcoming events

Open to all UH students — members get priority seating.

All events
  • In-person

    From Decision to Delivery: Practical Lessons from Four Decades of Capital Projects

    • September 24, 2026
    • 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM
    • Bentall 5 Conference Centre, 550 Burrard Street, Vancouver

    Speaker: Jess McConnell (Capital-Project Leader, Advisor & SME at RLG International) Description: Join the SDP Houston Chapter for an engaging session on practical lessons from four decades in the Oil & Gas industry. Jess McConnell will share how to adapt Decision Quality (DQ) and Front-End Loading to navigate real-world capital projects—exploring how DQ functions as a management and alignment tool to resolve partner deadlocks, integrate into stage-gate governance, and deliver results without becoming just another compliance exercise. RSVP: https://www.decisionprofessionals.com/events/event-description?CalendarEventKey=1727a01d-efd6-42b1-9d6e-01a0642119cd&CommunityKey=3f962396-fb3b-4fce-9f55-01909dceeeae&Home=%2fhigherlogic%2focapi%2fadmin%2fevents%2fManageCalendarEvents%2fGetEventsForCalendar

  • In-person

    Facilitating a Framing Session, Workshop (Christa Roemkens)

    • September 30, 2026
    • 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
    • CBB 104

    Type: Hands-on workshop Speaker: Christa Roemkens (retired Chevron Decision Analysis practitioner) Description: Hands-on Decision Quality / Decision Analysis workshop on facilitating a framing session.

  • In-person

    Practical Framing for Everyday Decisions, Workshop (Sam Vardy & Ashley Corso)

    • October 7, 2026
    • 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
    • Synergy

    Description: Hands-on Decision Quality workshop on practical framing for everyday decisions. Participants must be seated in small groups of 4–6 per table (not lecture seating).

  • In-person

    The Economics Behind Good Decisions, Speaker Event (Mauricio Davidovich)

    • October 28, 2026
    • 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
    • CBB 108

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Moments from the chapter

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Get involved

Come to a workshop this semester

The chapter is not charging dues right now — there is nothing to pay and no application to pass. Tell us you are interested and an officer will let you know what is coming up.

The professional credential is a separate thing: SDP national membership runs $25 a year for students. How the parent organization works.

Tell us about you

Takes two or three minutes. An officer will follow up by email.

  • 12 questions — your major, academic level, and what you want out of SDP
  • About three minutes, and there are no dues to pay
  • Google emails you a copy of your answers when you finish
Open the onboarding form (opens in a new tab)

Opens in Google Forms. Would rather ask a question first? Email us instead.