Notes for first meeting of firms, January 26

You already know: the topic & the client

You ask: what does out client care about this topic, and about issues relating to it?

You ask further: what should our client consider in addition, relating to the topic?  (Perhaps the information you have about the client suggests that it is "blind" to some important considerations.)

From the answers, you write the "terms of reference," which will serve as instructions to you.  [In the actual world, sometimes the client dictates the terms of reference; sometimes these are negotiated with the client.]

The terms of reference serve to direct your study.  They tell you to focus upon certain issues and phenomena, and by implication to ignore others.

In your report, you present the terms of reference first in order to show that you did what you were directed to do.  That should enable you to get paid ;)

Keep your mind on the terms of reference.  It keeps our inquiry from wandering.  Last semester the firms studying petroleum problems tended to try to write encyclopedia articles, not to answer the question.

Today, you should think about your topic in sufficient depth to provisionally assign tasks to individuals.  By next Thursday, you need to develop a viable plan of research.

Managers deliver a one-page progress report each week after the Thursday meeting.  Your report today will be brief: please list your personnel, their email addresses, and whatever you accomplish today.