Tampa Bay Computer Society Job Description

Position (being referred to - is it elected, appointed, or volunteer?):

Product Review Coordinator (volunteer/appointed)

Name of Person (submitting information):

Michael Armstrong

Primary Duties (actual regular duties performed and their frequency):

1. Serve on the Newsletter committee.  This is ongoing.  The Newsletter committee should consist of the Editor, the Product Review Coordinator, the Advertising Manager, and any other volunteers recruited to assist in the effort and be delegated various tasks.  The committee should meet monthly to discuss each TBCS magazine and coordinate future efforts.
2. Prepare a Review Commitment form for each review product received by filling in product information (sample form attached).  This is normally done monthly, before the General Meeting.  All products should always be shipped from vendors to the TBCS office address, and picked up there from the Secretary, as received.
3. Assign a review writer for each product, who has to finish filling out the Review Commitment form with personal information and sign it.  The writer is told the review deadline, and gets the product and a copy of the Product Review Checklist, which explains the writing criteria (sample attached).  This process is normally done monthly, at the General Meeting, in a designated area at the back tables.
4. Use the Review Commitment forms to monitor reviews-in-progress, calling reviewers approximately 2 weeks before deadline to ensure that they will meet their obligations. This is normally done monthly, although repetition may be required if some reviewers don't respond.
5. Look over the reviews which have come in to ensure that they are acceptable for publication.  They are usually in disk form, having come in at the Resource Center, the Board Meeting, or the General Meeting.  Make a package of these, along with printed copies to show any special formatting requirements, for the Editor.  Also include in the package copies of the appropriate updated Review Commitment forms so the Editor can contact the writers if necessary.  Finally, include a list of products lined up for future issues, so the Editor will not publish conflicting reviews borrowed from other User Groups.  This should be done monthly, on or around the 15th, to meet the Editor's deadline for the next month's magazine.
6. After each month's magazine is published, note the number of TBCS product reviews printed, and get that many magazine copies from the Secretary.  Mail each one to the appropriate vendor along with a letter thanking the vendor for the review product and suggesting the possibility of advertising in the magazine.  File copies of the letters, along with the updated Review Commitment forms.  This is done monthly.
7. Assist TBCS members who are interested in requesting that a specific product be solicited for review.  Help them fill out a Product Request form, getting as much information about the product and vendor as possible (sample form attached).  This is normally done monthly, at the General Meeting, in the designated area at the back tables.
8. Use the Product Request forms received to prepare and mail letters to the appropiate vendors, introducing our organization and requesting the review products.  File copies of the letters, along with the updated Product Request forms.  This is normally done monthly, soon after the General Meeting.  Follow up with phone calls as necessary.
9. When specifically requested review products are received, update the Product Request forms for filing along with any letters or shipping papers also received.  This is done as needed.  Prepare Review Commitment forms and deliver the products to the appropriate review writers as noted above in #2 and #3.

Special Activities (any additional duties or jobs performed and their frequency):

1. Maintain a database of review writers, with products they have reviewed and types of products they like to review.  Note which writers are particularly good and which have been unreliable.  This helps in finding a reviewer when volunteers for a particular product are hard to come by.  It should be updated twice a month, when reviews are assigned and received.
2. Maintain a database of previously published reviews.  This helps in ensuring that all Product Requests are for products that have not already been reviewed.  It also helps in evaluating which vendor's products are most popular, and which vendors are most supportive of TBCS.  This should be updated monthly, after the magazine is published.
3. Maintain a database of vendor contacts for review products, with mailing addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses.  This should be updated at least monthly, when products are requested, and more often if necessary.
4. Maintain files of all Review Commitment forms, Product Request forms, letters to vendors, and letters and shipping papers from vendors, as a history.  Files should be sorted alphabetically by vendor.  This is ongoing.
5. Any correspondence or products received from vendors not directly related to product review should be passed on to the appropriate person in the organization, such as the President or Editor.  This is done as needed.

Additional Information:

This position was created in the Spring of '95 because the effort required to properly coordinate reviews was too much for the Editor to handle along with also producing a quality magazine each month.  There had been continual problems getting reviews written punctually and ensuring that vendors were contacted afterwards.  There was also no formal way for TBCS members to request specific products for review.  I designed these procedures with the intention of providing clear communication between all participants - to and from the reviewers, the Editor, and the vendors.  The forms which are attached are the key to the process.  They were prepared and fine-tuned with the assistance of the Editor and President.