CM-CN Minutes of July 27, 2004

The meetig started at 7:30 with the primary topic being a discussion on contracts. The basis of the discussion was the IEEE 'standard' contract which can be found at http://www.ieeeusa.org/business/files/ConsultingAgreement.rtf.

It was pointed out that the IEEE contract can form a good starting point for generating your own contract or even for reviewing a proposed contract. It has many points that should be considered from the contractor's viewpoint. Items specifically discussed included:

• The need to have a specific set of deliverables.
• Be sure to review the billing and payment terms.
• A need to have a 'way out' if the relationship doesn't work out.
• Liability
• Be sure to know how and where disputes will be handled.
• Copyright issues - documentation versus code.
• ...and many more

It was a good discussion and continued until about 8:45. The meeting was adjourned with a brief discussion on potential topics for future meetings. Some of the suggestions were:

• A representative of the Small Business Administration or the Chamber of Commerce.
• Marketing
• Insurance
• Legal representative
• Availability of lab space

Dave Pfaltzgraff mentioned that he is in the process of joining the Carroll County Technology Council. This is a spin-off from the Chamber of Commerce with emphasis on making businesses in the area aware of the availability of local technical resources. He will keep the group apraised of their meetins. For more information, go to http://www.carrolltechcouncil.org.

The next meeting will be on August 24^th at the regularly scheduled time.

Those present were:

• David Pfaltzgraff, IEEE Member
  
• Mark Klein, IEEE Member
  
• Mike Zagami, IEEE Member
  
• Roy Stehlik, IEEE Member