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To summarize, we conclude that all expenses paid or incurred
by Norwest in the development of the SBS customer module constitute
qualified research through the first deployment of the customer
module to each of Norwest's banks, and that expenses relating to
customization activities by Norwest after receipt of the first SBS
release do not.
B. Trust TU
Dr. McDermott found that the NTS staff used "considerable
ingenuity" in keeping the Trust TU system running as long as
possible. He stated that even though the project was eventually
abandoned, had Norwest's Trust TU system failed before new
technology (the Compass system) was available, Norwest would have
incurred significantly greater costs in running its trust
department. Thus, he concluded that the project was a "mixed
success".
Dr. Davis characterized this project generally as maintenance
and enhancement of the source code and claimed that the efforts to
increase volume and efficiency were "one of the most common,
routine tasks in information processing". He found that the
volumes sought by NTS were well within the then state of the art.
Mr. Teixeira also characterized the Trust TU project as
generally maintenance and enhancement efforts. He found that the
changes did not add any new functionality that was not already
available at any other trust department. In this regard, he noted
that the volume sought by NTS was well below the volume already
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