Norwest Corporation and Subsidiaries - Page 8

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          Technical Services),4 a wholly owned subsidiary  of  Norwest                
          Corporation, which employed between 600 and 800  technical                  
          personnel, such as computer programmers.  NTS occasionally sought           
          the assistance of outside consultants and contractors to provide            
          technical support for its projects.                                         
               All of the eight sample activities at issue in this case               
          involve software applications.  Software enables a computer to              
          perform specific functions by providing instructions to the                 
          computer in the form of source code.  The source code is written            
          in a programming language, often according to an architectural              
          design, which commands the computer to perform the specific tasks.          
          (A compilation of programs or tasks necessary to operate the                
          software often is referred to as a system.)  The source code is             
          then converted, through the use of a compiler, into executable code         
          that is readable by the computer.                                           
          2.  Software Development Methodology                                        
               To maintain discipline, structure, and standardization in the          
          software development process, Norwest Technical Services created a          
          formalized approach known as the Software Development Methodology           
          (sometimes referred to as SDM).  SDM was developed to prevent the           
          need to "reinvent the wheel" by providing managers with a                   
          documented process in developing software.  The result was that SDM         


               4    Norwest Technical Services, Inc., was formerly known as           
          Norwest Information Services, Inc.                                          




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