EXTRACTS FROM REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT ON THE MANAGEMENT OF AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PREPARED BY THE BUREAU OF THE BUDGET (SENATE DOCUMENT NO. 15, 89TH CONGRESS, 1ST SESSION ) (CLEWLOW REPORT)

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78-04723A000100100046-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 19, 2000
• Sequence Number: 46
• Content Type: REPORT

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REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT
ON THE MANAGEMENT OF AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING IN THE
FEDERAL, GOVERNMENT
Prepared by the
BUREAU OF THE BUDGET
(Senate Document No. 15, 89th Congress, 1st Session)
(Clewlow Report)
Page 4,. '.'The assignment of appropriate roles to the different echelons of
management in the Federal Government is of great importance. Some computer
applications, particularly those involved in administrative functions, have a great
deal in common and conceivably could be subject to greater centralization. On
the other hand, the more. significant computer applications are integral parts of
agency programs; accordingly, each is a unique application and its management
responns b tY of those officials charged with mission accomplishment. The
problem then becomes one of improving the effectiveness and the economy of
computer utilization, both within an executive agency and in, the Government as a
whole, without derogating the proper authorities and responsibilities of managers
in the line.
"Experience in the Government and in industry has demonstrated the urgent
need for management to. concern itself intimately with ADP activities. Because ADP
is based on new technology whose most visible manifestation is:. equipment of an
esoteric nature, there has been a. tendency to regard it as. the particular responsi-
bility of the technician. ,? ,DP plications, from the simplest to the most complex,
e_ problems and require decisions that are the direct responsibility of managers
s. ADP may have a pronounced effect upon organizational arrangements,
the kind of work employees perform, the conditions under which they work, or the
type of skills required. . . ADP applications that are primarily designed to provide.
Information can have a significant effect upon the way a manager makes decisions
and upon the control he exercises over his organization.
"Accordingly, it is_necessary that managers concern themselves with all
.aspects of ALP projects including the determination of objectives sought, the decision
to-proceed, the design, installation and operation of the system, ..and the utilization
of to .:end, product. This requires that managers obtain a broad understanding of
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the potentialities. and limitations of ADP, and of the work of the skilled technicians
on whom they must rely, and take steps to assure that decisions that are properly
within the sphere of management are made by managers . "
page 11, "Central computing sew --In this environment, a computer
installation provides. support for many users. Applications are generally diverse
and often independent of one another. The workload tends toward mathematical
or statistical processing, although these may be intermixed with administrative
or management applications. The installation is normally operated by a staff of
specialists, but the computer programing is frequently done by personnel assigned
to organizations other than the central computer installation. However, the cus-
tomer is usually not present while the work is being processed."
Page 12, "Integrated operations. --In this environment also, a computer
installation provides support for a number of users; but generally one application,
which consists of a series of interdependent processes, constitutes the largest
part of the workload. In this case, a variety of inputs, usually from different
organizations or geographic sources, are processed against a system of group
data files to provide information to support a number of group of data files to
provide information to support a number of related functions. Applications are
cyclic and recurring, with large volumes of data being processed. They tend more
toward administrative or management functions, although: mathematical, statistical,
or operating programs may be involved or intermixed. The computer installation
is operated by a staff of specialists, with. the systems development programing
usually done by a central computer staff working closely with. customer organizations.
The computing equipment is generally of the medium,- or large-scale class, but it
is often supplemented by smaller computers."
Page 13, " . , it must be noted that not all computer installations will fit
neatly into one of the classifications. There will be many cases where single
cnaputer installation functions within several of tho environment categories and
iarequired to meet v tng time-reapMM"emands. -1w-these Instances, -sub-
jqdgm:ents based on those factors which seem most predominant andover-
g will often be required in the application of policies and guidelines. "
Page 15, "The uses now made of computers are in most cases justifiable; but
marginal and, at times, uneconomical uses are sufficiently prevalent to cause
concern.
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" Ordinariy, the greatest advantage for the Government is derived when a
6p ttr_is_ devoted to accomplishing the missions of an agency, as opposed to
e.admLni-Rtratlye tasks. . . There are advantages in using computers for
administrative tasks such as payroll and personnel accounting. However, since
administrative functions normally are a relatively small part of total operations,
the potential benefits to be derived from these applications are limited.
". . . Manifestly, benefits must outweigh costs. Benefits, may be expressed
in tangible terms, such as reduced operating costs, or in intangible terms., such.
as improved service to the public, the accomplishment of missions not otherwise
feasible, or better management practices.. Unless benefits such as these are
assured, the use of a: computer would be classified as marginal."
Page 16, 'Management: officials in agencies should make decisions on the uses
tO be mA&-Q"o puters, rather than leave these determinations to specialists in
equipment and in system design. As proponents of the use of computers, specialists
can be most effective; their technical advice is an. essential. factor in. decisionmaking.
However, those who are responsible for mission accomplishment should be prepared
to. make the final decision. Involving line management officials in this way will aid
in insuring that objectives for the use of electronic data processing equipment in
mission accomplishment are carefully established and clearly understood; that
adequate resources are made available to insure that the objectives will be achieved;
that proper recognition is accorded to the magnitude and complexity of the task;
that full cooperation and support of the total organization is obtained; and that
marginal uses are minimized."
Page 17, "The development of computer-based systems can often be facilitated
if there is an adequate frame of reference, so that any given system or subsystem
can be viewed in terms of its relationship to the total structure of systems in an
agency. This is particularly true in the business type or program type of functional
areas; it may be less feasible if novel, experimental, scientific research, or
pioneering applications are involved. Therefore, r systems-plan for an
.ncy;-`fit--the highest feasible level, is desirable. All efforts to develop systems
can then be undertaken in relation to the plan, in order to achieve an orderly and
coordinated program. Such a plan, of course, needs to be reviewed periodically
for adjustment. rsbip and rd ~ fg, progra of this kind reauir_e_ s
. pision of adequate staff resources at agency and intermediate eLs
"Several concepts and techniques, can often make. a significant contribution to
the advancement of system design. Included are the integration into a single master
system of several functions using common basic data; the use of mathematical
techniques; the use of 'management by exception' techniques In which only usual
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circumstances are selected out of the routine process for human- consideration;
and the coordination. of separately operated computer systems to assure machine-
to-machine communication where an exchange of data is involved."
Page 18, "Agencies should develop master data-processing plans at appro-
priate levels, to serve as guides in the orderly development of systems and to
assure the most effective use of staff resources available for that development.'
Page 67, ".in general, the weight of evidence sup rts"ffire belief that existing
organizational arrangements are basically sound but that there is a clear need
to. -strengthen the resources devoted to the managem nt of ADP. This conclusion
leads us to recommend against the position taken by the Comptroller General which
favors establishment of strong central management authorities and responsibilities."
"ADP equipment is increasingly becoming integral to the accomplishment of
agency missions and, in certain instances, it is virtually .synonomous with program
accomplishment. Decisions as to equipment, the arrangements for its availability,
and the manner in which it is to be used directly affect the success or failure of
Government programs to a degree not experienced with such items as office space,
typewriters, and even communications. Accordingly, departments and agencies
require considerable flexibility and discretion in making decisions on ADP procure-
Ti v: utilization.
"The President has made it quite clear that he holds agency heads directly
responsible for the management of their organizations'."
Page 68, "In summary, we have concluded that the establishment of a separate
office empowered with authority and responsibility to make decisions on the pro-
curement and utilization of ADP equipment would dilute the responsibility of agency
heads for the management of their organizations, that it would serve to. divorce
ADP management from the established arrangements for Presidential surveillance
over the over-all management of the executive branch, and that it would interfere
with direct Government agency-contractor relationships unnecessarily.
"There is a clear need, however, 'to -strengthen the s-devoted-to the
nnagement of ADP within both the central agencies and line departments."
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Page 93, "To be. employed effectively, the computer is demanding an increased
technical competence among its utilizers. Managers at all levels and key staff
pens nel need to. i dershe conTpter-- is capabilities and its limitations--
to realize the full potential of automation and to define its potential impact. Require-
ments will increase for specialists in various disciplines to Assist the manager in
utilizing the computer. However, the manager is the person with the full perspective
of the operations and goals of his organization and, while he is not expected to be a
technical expert, he must have sufficient technical competence to provide leader-
ship in the applications of automation. The conviction that few managers now have
this competence is an important concern. among agencies.
. The knowledge of management in the use of the computer will have an
important bearing on the rapidity of its application as a management tool. The
knowledge of management methods possessed by computer specialists will also
be a factor in the development of effective systems."
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 Now Steering Croup Will Oversee
Information Handling Program
An Information Management ments assigned to bureaus and other
Steering Group was formed recently offices for action."
to oversee the development of the Proposals from other offices also
Department's information handling are being assessed by the Steering,
programs at home and abroad. Group.
The Steering Group has responsi- Three coordinators report directly
bility for approving all changes to to the Steering Group. They are W.
automated, semi-automated and man- Wallace Francis, OPR/ADP, Infor-
ual systems as well as procurement mation Systems Coordinator; Law-
of computer "hardware and soft- rence J. Dupre, OPR/ASD, Manage-
ware." ment Planning Coordinator; and
The Steering Group, established James H. Ennis, OM/SNS, Acting
by William B. Macomber, Jr., Dep- Information Planning Coordinator.
uty Under Secretary for Administra- The coordinators supervise 12
tion, is chaired by John M. Thomas, working groups, each concerned with
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oper- various aspects of information hand-
ations. ling.
Other members are Robert C. The working groups and their
Brewster, Deputy Executive Secre- chairmen are:
tary of the Department; Frederic L. I. Document Systems Evaluation,
Chapin, Deputy Assistant Secretary
of American Republic Affairs for
Management,, George C. Denney, Jr.,
Deputy Director for Management,
Bureau of Intelligence and Research;
William H. Goodman, Deputy As-
sistant Secretary for Communica-
tions; and Thomas Stern, Deputy As-
sistant Secretary for Organization and
Management.
As one of its first actions, the
Steering Group approved an auto-
mated document storage and retrieval
system for the Executive Secretariat
(S/S).
The new system---called Secretar-
iat Automated Data Index (SADI)
-will use the Department's com-
puter to replace many of the manual
operations now performed by the
Communications Management Staff
(CMS) of the Executive Secretariat.
SADI will be the first operational
substantive retrieval system in the
Department, officials point out. As
such it may serve as a prototype for
the wider Departmental storage and
retrieval system now in the design
stage.
The system will be used in con-
junction with modern microfiche
photo-processing equipment to enable
S/S to retrieve documents'directly.
Officials believe SADI will permit
the Executive Secretariat to "cope
more efficiently with its growing pa-
per load, to locate documents more
quickly, to consolidate and reduce
hard copy files, and to produce by
computer a suspense list of docu-
Charles R. Stein
Information Systems Develop-
ment, Robert A. Young
Foreign Affairs Data Process-
ing Center, Leslie T. Vaughn
Advanced Techniques, Shel-
don A. Rosen
John H. Toler
VI. Overseas Operations, E. Wills
Woodward
VII. User Requirements, James H.
Ennis
VIII. Thesaurus and Profiles, Gerald
J. Goldman
IX. Transition Planning, Lawrence
J. Dupre
X. Computer-Communications
Network, Jack W. Hulbert
XI. Long Range Plans, Francis P.
DiBlasi, Jr.
'XII. Collection Guidance, Donald
J. Simon
he establishment of the Working
Groups represents a consolidation of
the development effort of the Sub-
stantive Information Systems Staff
(OM/SNS) and the on-going pro-
grams of the Automated Data Pro-
cessing Division of the Office of
Operations (OPR/ADP).
The Steering Group plans to work
with potential users-directly as well
as through its Working Group on
User Requirements-to develop new
proposals for improving information
handling in the Department.
In developing new systems greater
emphasis will, be placed on long-
range planning and overseas opera-
tions.
ARA Will rest a New Format for CifSP'
Deputy Assistant Secretary Robert
Hurwitch briefed ARA Country Di-
rectors last month on a new summary
format for ARA's CASP (Country"
Analysis and Strategy Paper). ARA
believes the new format will make
this already innovative policy and
resource allocation system a more dy-
namic and useful decision-makers'
tool.
The core of the proposed change
is a standard analytical procedure
which, once completed for a given
country, will be updated as condi-
tions change rather than begun anew
every year. This procedure will re-
quire, as in the present CASP, that
U.S. objectives and programs abroad
emerge from an interdepartmental
analysis of definable and measurable
U.S. interests.
The new format is being designed
by ARA's IG Staff, headed by Don-
ald Easum. At the request of Assis-
tant Secretary Charles Meyer, it will
be test-run on several ARA coun-
tries during the next several months.
Test results will then be analyzed to
see to what degree the new approach
might be applied to the entire ARA
region during the forthcoming CASP
cycle for FY 1973. In designing and
evaluating these tests, ARA intends
to explore the possibilities of com-
puterizing certain stages of the pro-
cess.
The new format may prove to be
applicable to countries in other geo-
graphic bureaus of the Department,
and might thus constitute a significant
step in the development of an overall
policy analysis and resource alloca-
tion system for the foreign affairs
community at large.
Record Number of Changes
In Employee Health Plans
The U.S. Civil Service Commis-
sion announced that more Federal
employees and annuitants made
changes in their health benefits cover-
age during the November 1969 open
season than in any prior open season.
More than 200,000 elected to change
their coverage.
This record number of changes is
due in part to the fact that 3 years
elapsed between the open seasons in
1966 and 1969, whereas the longest
time between open seasons in the
past had been 2 years.
20 DEPARTMENT OF STATE NEWS LETTER
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