VTLS Users' Group

1. PREAMBLE

Standing Committees were re-established by the Executive Committee of the VTLS User's Group at the annual 2003 meeting in Wilmington, N.C. after a hiatus of several years.

The purpose of the Committees is to provide a representative group of users with subject expertise to:

• Identify areas of software that could benefit from development. For some committees this work should take form of the compilation of a list of enhancements, for other committees it is more an exchange of knowledge among the different software users; exchanges knowledge and information among the committee members;
• Obtain from other users, recommendations for inclusion on enhancements list, as well as reviewing and prioritizing such enhancements;
• Prepare when appropriate, a list of enhancements for voting by all users;
• Provide informed responses to VTLS Inc. proposals when requested (on occasions, such as substantial software rewriting, such responses might be quite extensive);
• Exchange information with Standing Committees in other Users' Groups.

2. MEMBERSHIP AND PROCEDURES

Each Standing Committee will comprise a Leader and several members representing different countries using the particular software subsystem or software feature. Following the first year of its existence, the leader of the Committee will from then on be sought out and selected by members of the Executive Committee (EC). The EC will nominate one of its members to be an overall coordinator of the Standing Committees. The coordinator will be responsible for transmitting relevant information from the EC to the Standing Committee and vice versa. To provide continuity the coordinator should hold the position for a number of years (2 years is suggested).

Membership in Standing Committees is open to any member in good standing of the VTLS User's Group. A minimum of 3 people shall comprise a Standing Committee at any time. Failure to sustain this minimum will result in a review of its existence in consultation with the EC.

Each Standing Committee Leader will prepare a report of discussions held at the Annual Users' Meeting and assure the contact with the VTLS representative for the enhancement requests. Such reports will be sent for publication on the User's Group web site.

The creation of new standing committees is predicated on an interest of at least 3 people who wish to meet at the annual meeting to discuss and exchange ideas based on a particular produce or service.

3. SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES

• Members
• collect enhancement requests from users in their country and submit to the Committee leader.
• discuss VTLS Inc. proposals with Standing Committee members and report responses to the Committee leader.
• Leaders
• collect enhancements from committee members
• ensure (in discussion with members) that enhancements are clearly expressed.
• prepare a list (subdivided into sub-modules when appropriate)
• disseminate enhancements lists amongst committee members.
• liaise and exchange information with leaders of appropriate Standing Committees in the VTLS Users' Group and other Groups, if and when Committees of their equivalent are established.
• liaise with VTLS, Inc. representative.
• prepare list of enhancements for transmission to the VTLS representative of the particular software module.
• prepare (in consultation with Committee members) Agenda for Standing Committee Meetings at Annual Users' Meetings
• organize and lead the breakout sessions during the Annual Users' Group Meeting
• prepare and present report of discussions at Annual Users' Meeting at the business meeting and transmit it to the chair of the VTLS International User's Group
• keep track of the implementation of the requests
• disseminate VTLS Inc. responses to the Standing Committee Members
• Coordinator
• liaises with leaders of Standing Committees
• liaises with Users' Group Steering Committee chair
• receives a copy of VTLS, Inc. responses to list
• disseminates VTLS Inc. responses to Executive Committee members
• prepares reports (if required) for Executive Committee and for Annual Users' Meeting
• organizes and lead the Standing Committee Leaders Meeting
• assists Executive Committee Meetings at the International Users' Group Meeting
• Executive Committee
• appoints coordinator from its own ranks
• receives VTLS Inc. responses from coordinator
• receives reports from coordinator

4. EUG Liaisons

IUG Standing Committee Leaders will establish links with their EUG counterparts in order to coordinate enhancement requests.