In the following section, the term ‘electronic products’ shall include all products and services delivered by the society through any electronic mechanism, including the web and other applications.
24.1.1Branding
All society electronic products and services are to bear the names and logos of both the IEEE Computer Society and the IEEE prominently on their home page. When appropriate, other features should be added to improve the branding of our products and services.
24.1.2Standards, Best Practices and Design
The Electronic Products & Services Committee will have responsibility to ensure that electronic products and services produced by the society adhere to appropriate standards and best practices whenever possible. It will also monitor the design of electronic products and services for consistency across society entities.
24.1.3Discriminatory Material in Electronic Products
Any discriminatory or derogatory statement suggesting age, sex, race, or other types of discrimination is unacceptable.
24.2 ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS & SERVICES COMMITTEE
24.2.1 Duties and Responsibilities
The duties of the Electronic Products & Services Committee shall be as provided in the bylaws.
24.2.2 Membership
The Electronic Products & Services Committee shall be chaired by the Electronic Products & Services Committee chair and shall consist of the following voting members:a representative from each of the IEEE Computer Society program boards, and an additional three to five members appointed by the Electronic Products & Services chair.In addition, IEEE Computer Society representatives to relevant IEEE committees, as determined by the President of the society, shall serve as ex officio members of this Committee.
24.2.3Budgeting Responsibilities
The Electronic Products & Services Committee shall review annual budgets and operating plans as proposed by its operating committee chairs.Additionally, it is responsible for preparing and recommending its annual budget to the Finance Committee and the Board of Governors.
24.2.4Electronic Products & Services Handbook
The Electronic Products & Services Committee shall create and be responsible for maintaining an Electronic Products & Services Handbook, which sets forth detailed procedures for the operation of the society’s electronic products and services and continuity of the operation of society’s electronic products and services.The Electronic Products & Services Committee may modify its procedures without Board of Governors approval provided that its procedures are consistent with the policies and procedures of the IEEE Computer Society.All changes to the handbook procedures shall be published in the Agenda Book prepared for the next Board of Governors’ meeting following the change.The Electronic Products & Services Committee chair is responsible for ensuring that a copy of the current handbook is distributed to each member of the Electronic Products & Services Committee, operations committees, and the Board of Governors at the beginning of each calendar year.
24.3 OPERATIONS COMMITTEES
24.3.1 Duties
The Operations Committees of the Electronic Products & Services Committee shall be the Web Committee, the Community Development Committee and other ad hoc committees established by the Electronic Products & Services chair.Each of these committees shall deal with electronic products and services distribution processes and shall recommend and initiate changes in practice where necessary to assure that quality, budget, and time constraints can be met.Operations Committees shall inform the Electronic Products & Services Committee about ongoing products and plans, and undertake other assignments as specified by the Committee.
24.3.2 Membership
The chairs of the Operations Committees shall be appointed by the Electronic Products & Services Committee Chair.Members of the Operations Committees shall be appointed by the respective committee chairs in consultation with the Electronic Products & Services Committee Chair.Appropriate staff members are ex officio nonvoting members of the Operations Committees.
24.3.3 Web Committee
The Web Committee shall recommend technologies and practices and implement policies concerning the design and operation of the society’s Web pages and monitor the society’s Web pages for adherence to Web quality assurance standards as defined in the Electronic Products & Services Handbook.
24.3.4 eLearning Committee
The eLearning Committee shall specify, evaluate, and select vendors and services of online products and services for the IEEE Computer Society’s distance learning program, monitor operations, and recommend pricing.The Committee shall recommend alternative online eLearning delivery technologies, processes, and methodologies and participate in reviews of the effectiveness of delivered online eLearning products and services to meet the needs of society members.
24.3.5 Community Development Committee
The Community Development Committee, working with the Web Committee, shall oversee development, maintenance, and periodic review of products and services related to the society’s website, online portals, communities, and other related entities.
24.4 OBJECTIVES AND OPERATING PRINCIPLES
The IEEE Computer Society’s formal mission statement, set forth in its 2001 strategic plan, The World’s IEEE Computer Society, is to be the leading provider of technical information to the world’s computer professionals.
24.4.1 Objectives
The objectives of the Electronic Products & Services Committee programs support the society’s mission as follows:
24.4.1.1 Electronic delivery methods should be used to meet the needs of society members by improving their ability to identify relevant technical information, to obtain access to that information with greater speed and convenience, and to facilitate technical information exchange among members and other computer professionals.
24.4.1.2 The society will clearly identify refereed and archival materials and is committed to maintaining eternal, accessible storage of archival products in electronic forms.
24.4.1.3 All electronic products and services will uphold at least the same standards of excellence as the society’s comparable traditional products and services.
24.4.2 Operating Principles
To achieve these objectives, the society will operate its electronic products and services programs within the following policies and guidelines.
24.4.2.1 All proposed electronic products and services should document their target audience, the value/benefit provided to that audience, and an outline of the model used to create and maintain the content.
24.4.2.2 With the exception of those products designed specifically for membership benefits only and not for revenue generation, electronic products and services should generate revenues sufficient to recover both their marginal cost of production and a prorated share of the costs of preparing the information for use in any medium.
24.4.2.3 When subscription is needed to access a revenue-generating product, subscription access to electronic products or services should be routinely accomplished through the IEEE member and subscription sign-up and renewal processes, not a separate process with separate billings and fulfillment costs.Adding the ability to sign up new members and subscriptions via the web, and to allow members to up update their own address records online, should be a high priority.
24.4.2.4 Initial pricing models for each instance of electronic product and service will be specified in the Electronic Products & Services Handbook.
