DDA EXCHANGE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP86-00114R000100120002-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 39
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 23, 2002
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: April 1, 1979
• Content Type: CIAPER

DDA/MAS OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
secret
april 1979
IV
mange
secret
 A quarterly publication for the exchange
among DDA personnel of ideas, concepts,
information, and techniques that are of com-
mon interest.
WARNING NOTICE
Intelligence Sources and Methods I"ohed
Photographs in this issue carry the overall classifi-
cation of the article in which they appear-
2 SECRET
 ,q staff index
COMMENT ............................................. 4
INNOVATION
Gloom, Doom and Security ........ 8
Helping Hands: Bridging the Barrier 10
FEATURE
Introducing OTR's New Information
Science Center Computing Facili-
ties .............................................. 14
What's the Threat? ...................... 22
DEFINITION
That's a LOT ................................ 24
ABOUT DDA ............................................ 26
QUIZ
When Not to Computerize: A
Checklist ...................................... 38
 25X1
25X1A
25X1A
comment
For nearly 30 years, the position of the
Deputy Director for Administration has been
filled by a career employee of the Agency.
My appointment to that position represents a
break with tradition. Thus, I came to the
Agency with a sense of cautious apprehen-
sion and with the realization that such
circumstances could be a burden as well as
a challenge. Happily, the 2 months I have
been here have relieved the apprehensive-
ness and hei htened the excitement of the
challenge.
During my short acquaintance with II
I came to admire and respect his tots
dedication to the intelligence mission of the
government, to the Agency, and to the
people who serve it. The contribution he
made during his 35 years of service cannot
be duplicated by me, nor do I have the
temerity to attempt it. I would only hope to
build on the legacy of Jack and his predeces-
sors. 0
In the few short weeks I have been here, I
have been making a concerted effort to learn
as much about the organization as I can and
meet as many people as possible in the
process. No one knows better than I that
there is still a long way to go in both of these
endeavors, and I am determined to continue
them as time and circumstances will allow. I
have visited all of the Offices in the Director-
ate of Administration in the Headquarters
and metropolitan area buildings. I have seen
The genuine warmth and forthright open-
ness with which i have been received by
 25X1A
Don I. Wortman
Deputy Director for Administration
 everyone I have met in the Agency have been
gratifying indeed. In all my years in govern-
ment and the several agencies I have served,
I have never experienced a more cordial
welcome nor a more sincere willingness to
be helpful. It would be difficult not to feel a
part of this organization. I am profoundly
impressed by the very high level of profes-
sionalism and dedicated loyalty to the Agency
and the mission it is committed to fulfill. I am
equally impressed by the wide variety of
interests, functions and tasks of the Agency,
and, in particular, by the people in the
Directorate of Administration. I find the
Office Directors and their Deputies, the
people with whom I've had most contact so
far, to,be first-rate, and I enjoy working with
them. u
 I bring to the Agency a background and
experience that I believe can be applied to
the problems the Agency shares with the rest
of the government and to those that are
unique to the kinds of work done here. I have
no preconceived notions about what may be
needed, and I have no indication that any
serious or abnormal problems exist. I believe
we have a fine organization, and we should
look to the future with optimism. With your
help, I look forward to a long and productive
association with the Agency.
 25X1
25X1A
innovation
DOOM, GLOOM AND SECURITY
OS
Syndicated columnist George Will recently
wrote about pessimism and defined it par-
tially in terms of an obscure 1897 motor
vehicle statistic. In that year in the State of
Ohio, there were officially registered exactly
two automobiles. They collided. This deli-
ciously preposterous happening might strike
some as the epitome of "Murphy's Law," the
old saw that insists if,m~thing can go
wrong it will go wrong. u
Musings about pessimism and Murphy's
Law seem to be common these days when
the subject of security comes up. After all,
look at the wretched case of Philip Agee.
Consider the horror of Christopher Boyce.
Worst of all, there is the matter of William
Kampiles. Critics of security have had a field
day. To hear them tell it, nothing is working,
nothing is right. By suspending simulta-
neously the rules of logic and common
sense, the ball has been kept rolling. Some
of the more industrious and commercial of
these gloom and doom artists have tried to
turn the tragic suicide of a former Agency
employee into the espionage case of the
century. They have failed, but not for lack of
effort. Others, some sincere, some not, have
advanced a litany of unproven "mole"
theories to account for all the security
setbacks over the years. F-1
So it is clearly time in the security business
for some straight talk, talk to counter the
flood of fiction that abounds in the field. It is
time to talk more about security's truly vital
role in the success and even the survival of
the Agency. It is time to talk more about the
threats to security that really exist today and
the need for involvement at all Agency levels
to counter these threats. The current doom-
sayers notwithstanding, the story that needs
to be told is basically about the Agency's
strengths in the security field: its superbly
vetted and disciplined personnel, its proven
ability to run sensitive projects with extraor-
dinary security when necessary, and the
intrinsic professionalism and resilience of the
entire Agency organization.0
 On 5 February, OS launched a new
component to handle the security awareness
challenge that clearly exists. Called Security
Education Group, the unit will concentrate
on preparing and offering security presenta-
tions to Agency audiences of all kinds. There
will be original security talks developed for
the benefit of all new Agency employees
upon entering on duty, and there will be
security refresher presentations made avail-
able to Agency personnel at various stages
of career development. Some of the presen-
tations will be made to audiences drawn
from all sectors of the Agency, and others
will be keyed to the special needs of specific
Agency components. Q
A key to all of this is a return to basics, to a
recognition that a stronger, more enlight-
ened and understood security program is
directly related to a stronger Agency. As the
security program becomes better under-
stood and as more of the Agency population
feels a sense of awareness and participation
in it, its strength n effectiveness will grow.
X1 That's the goal.
The new Security Education Group needs
and seeks your suggestions for better secu-
rity awareness programming. Drop by or
send a note. The address is Room 4E-21
ers, and the phone extension is
25X1A
 25X1
25X1A
25X1A
25X1A
,HELPING HANDS: BRIDGING THE BARRIER
OTR
ODP
As part of the Agency's continuing effort
to help its handicapped employees, OTR has
begun to insert sign language interpretation
on the video tapes that it is producin for the
benefit of our deaf employees.
The first tape to be modified in this fashion
is "Freedom of Information and Privacy: A
History of Two Laws.'
Agency interpreter sign ngu ge
translator, an of OTR directed
the project. i r i capsulates the
approach used to accomplish the task. (U)
The video tape was viewed and reviewed
to gain a total familiarit with both the aural
and visual content.
The first decision was to determine in
electronically superimpose the image of the
sign language interpreter. The viewing of the
tape indicated two possible locations that
would not interfere with the visual informa-
tion. The final selection was based on three
facts:
? Americans are accustomed to reading
from left to right.
? There is inherently a slight delay between
the narration and the sign language
interpretation; therefore, the eye can
observe the action and then move to the
right naturally to see the signed
interpretation.
? Horizontal crawls move from right to left
on the bottom of the screen (the same as
the typical storm warnings on commercial
television broadcasts).
The facts all pointed to the placement of
the interpreter's image in the lower right-
hand corner of the screen, and when the
crawls are used, the interpreter is "faded
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 out," making for a smooth visual transition
for the deaf.II
The second phase was to determine how
literal the scripted translation could be. In
many cases, words had to be substituted for
those for which there was no sign. For
example, proper names must all be finger
spelled, and since the time of the narration
per visual is limited, it required the condens-
ing of some of the information, such as the
elimination of first names of well known
Senators or Representatives.0
Then the video tape was viewed and timed
with a stopwatch to determine if the new
translation of either AMESLAN (American
sign language) or SIGNED ENGLISH best fit
with the displayed image sequences.
(SIGNED ENGLISH most closely resembles
the precise structure of spoken and written
English while AMESLAN has its own gram-
matical structure, with more emphasis on
graphically depicting the action.) SIGNED
ENGLISH was used the majority of the time
in this script. =
Because of the nature of the soundtrack
(continuous music under the narration), it
was necessary to shoot the entire program
from start to finish without the normal "stop
and retake" capability. In order to eliminate
costly studio time, the majority of the 26-
minute script was memorized by the sign
interpreter, and the entire program was
videotaped on the first "take."L-i
This was the first video tape produced by
the OTR Media Production Branch that is
now available in a format for both hearing
and non-hearing Agency employees. It is
envisioned that future video tapes that have
job/career impact on all employees be
similarly produced for the benefit of all
employees. =
 25X1
25X1A
feature
INTRODUCING OTR'S NEW INFORMATION
SCIENCE CENTER COMPUTING
FACILITIES Q
D
In 1965, the President's Foreign Intelli-
gence Advisory Board (PFIAB) noted that
new abilities and attitudes would be neces-
sary if the files and distribution systems of
the Intelligence Community were to be
managed effectively and used efficiently. The
PFIAB recommended education, training,
and the hiring of people with experience in
systems work, especially the information
sciences and technologies.
Perhaps the best definition of information
science-a synthesis-is contained in the
memorandum for the DCI from the Director
of DIA dated 11 October 1968, which stated:
"Information science is that science dealing
with the nature and characteristics of infor-
mation, and with the logical processes for
collecting, evaluating, organizing, correlat-
ing, and interpreting information to meet a
given purpose." It then follows that informa-
tion technology "is the technology dealing
with the application of devices and tech-
niques to enhance the exploitation of infor-
mation sciences." 0
The PFIAB clearly envisioned a compre-
hensive education and training program-
education to be obtained for the most part at
universities and the training to be specialized
in nature and conducted within the Intelli- 25X1
gence Community. OTR's Information Sci-
ence Center (ISC) has been conducting that
training program for more than 8 years. 0
In its training role, the ISC makes use of
several computer systems, including the CIA
VM System, the DIA On-Line System
(DIAOLS), the Community On-Line Intelli-
gence System (COINS), the COMIREX Auto-
mated Management System (CAMS), as well
as commercial time-sharing. The need for
the different computer systems employed
reflects the nature of the courses taught
(such as accessing a particular intelligence
data base versus teaching students a tech-
 nique such as simulation) and the parent
agencies of the students. Approximately
one-third of the ISC students come from
CIA, one-third from DIA, and the remaining
one-third from NSA, the military services,
State Department, and elsewhere. D
In the past, training was conducted on
different computer systems with the termi-
nals of each system in different rooms.
Students had to move from a classroom to
one or more terminal rooms, and there was
no capability for replacing a defective termi-
nal on one system with a free terminal from
another. Twenty of the terminals were old
Teletype Model 37's, which frequently failed.
Dedicating four different rooms with termi-
nals to various systems was a high price to
pay for the capability to train on a number of
different computer systems. =
In 1978, ISC developed two totally new
classrooms. Each 1,600 square foot vaulted
classroom seats 30 students on one side of
the classroom and has 15 Delta Data
terminals on the other side. Whiteboards
rather than the traditional chalkboards were
installed in order to preclude chalk dust from
damaging the terminals. A projection booth
in the rear, as well as connections for closed
circuit TV at the front of the classroom,
makes it easy to present information using a
wide variety of media. Attention was given to
.making the rooms aesthetically pleasing and
conducive to learning through the use of
color, wall hangings, privacy screens, and
live plants.
Each Delta Data terminal can be indepen-
dently connected to the CIA VM system,
DIAOLS, COINS, CAMS, SAFE, the ISC
Digital Equipment Corporation PDP 11/45
minicomputer, or the whole room can be
connected to any time-sharing service. There
is one hard copy device for each row of four
terminals. We believe this is one of the most
flexible and useful terminal to multicomputer
connections that has be rmitted in the
Intelligence Community.
These new classrooms are being used with
courses on intelligence data bases (CAMS,
 Terminals in new ISC classroom. F-I
 COINS, and DIAOLS), simulation, statistics,
and operations research. Additionally, of-
fices other than OTR have used or have
scheduled the use of these facilities for
component training as well as for specialized
briefings. 0
The Data Access Center (DAC) is the heart
of the ISC computing facilities. In addition to
the usual DAC equipment, such as a Hetra
printer, card reader, and Delta Data termi-
nals, a Tektronix 4015 graphics terminal has
been installed. This terminal is used for many
different purposes, including previewing
plots before they are sent to the Calcomp
plotter, producing pie charts, graphs, histo-
grams, etc., and displaying maps. Finally, it
can quickly and conveniently be used to
prepare masters for Xeroxing or creating
transparencies. II
The 3M Mark Sense Reader, used with a
Texas Instrument terminal connected to the
GE time-sharing service, quickly summarizes
student evaluations at the end of a course,
as well as scoring Subjective Probability
Assessment Tests (SPAT) and assisting in
Language School test validation.0
The ISC uses commercial time-sharing
services in a number of different courses,
primarily because of the diverse agency
affiliation of our students. All telephones for
this purpose are separated from student
terminals. This requires the DAC operator to
do all the dialing into commercial time-
sharing. The necessity for doing this, how-
ever, will be reduced as the workload is
shifted to the PDP 11/45. These same 16
telephones are also used to gain access to
the unclassified minicomputer after regular
hours. Students are encouraged to use
portable terminals and to do homework with
the computer. 0
Recently, the ISC acquired an IBM 5110
microcomputer. This portable (40 pounds)
computer has 64,000 bytes of main memory
and uses both the BASIC and APL lan-
guages. Two floppy disk drives, a printer,
and an acoustic coupler can also be
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 attached to the device. This computer has
proven to be very useful when conducting
training away from ISC. Another feature of
this machine is its ability to generate TV
output for a regular TV or a big screen
projector, such as a SONY, ADVENT, or GE.
X1 II
The most useful and powerful piece of
equipment in the DAC is the PDP 11/45
minicomputer, which is capable of support-
ing 32 students simultaneously. The com-
puter has 240,000 bytes of main memory,
three dismountable disk drives capable of
storing more than 100 million characters, as
well as magnetic tape, DEC tape, and paper
tape. All terminals in both classrooms can be
connected to the PDP 11/45. Alternatively,
the ISC facilities permit the simultaneous use
of this computer via telephone-connected
terminals by up to 16 users. E-1
The computer has language processors for
BASIC, FORTRAN IV, DYNAMO, C, and
assembler. In addition, there are programs
for scoring forms read by the Mark Sense
Reader, simulation, statistical and oper-
ations research programs, and some artifi-
cial intelligence programs. Q
In the near future, it is anticipated that the
PDP 11/45 may be connected to COINS II,
an enhanced, interactive version of COINS.
When this connection is made, the PDP
11/45 will enable ISC staff and students to
quickly retrieve data from any part of the
COINS. This will significantly improve COINS
training. Q
All of these new facilities-classrooms,
terminals, and computers-were acquired or
developed to allow the ISC to provide the
best, most cost-effective information science
training possible and realize the PFIAB
objectives and improve community capabili-
ties to retrieve and analyze information. For
further information, please call the ISC, C)
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 25X1
25X1A
definition
THAT'S A LOT
What is a LOT? Mr. Webster defines it,
among other ways, as: a number of persons
regarded as a group; one's portion of life or
fortune; a sort of person (he's a bad lot).
Some of these definitions may apply. How-
ever, to the Office of Logistics, a LOT is a
Logistics Officer Trainee. =
In November 1961, OL launched its Logis-
tics Officer Trainee (LOT) Program. The
purpose of the program was to develop and
maintain a constant input of young profes-
sional employees to the Logistics Career
Subgroup. The goal was and is to recruit
from a variety of educational and work
experience backgrounds, both internal and
external, to provide a varied base of future
managerial talent. Criteria for selection to
the LOT Program are a college degree,
substantive work experience in a logistics/
supply related field, potential to rise at least
to middle management, and ability to travel
TDY or PCS, as required. F-1
LOT recruits generally are brought into the
program in grades GS-07 to GS-10, depend-
ing upon their academic qualifications and
work experience. Once on board, they are
assigned to the Headquarters area for
approximately 9 months, during which they
are engaged in classroom indoctrination
courses and formal on-the-job training. After
this training period, the LOT is assigned to
full-time duty in one of the OL operating
components. The LOT can expect his first
assignment to last approximately 2 years, at
which time he may be reassigned within his
component, be reassigned to another oper-
ating division, or receive an overseas assign-
ment. 0
As an example of the success of the
program and the benefit that has derived to
look at tw
resent da
OLwe mi
ht take a
y
g
p
5X1
L&' s who -oined the program in the ear!
sixties: L_J 25X1
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 about dda
INDEX
Emergency Medical Technician Program 26
CIA-Other Agency Financial Arrange-
ments .................................................... 30
The Handicapped Program-Facts and
Myths .................................................. 31
Read Before Erasing ............................ 34
25X1
OMS 25X1A
In recent years, the number of deaths due
to sudden myocardial infarcts or coronaries
has been drastically reduced. This has come
about through vigorous programs targeted
toward educating the public in the initial
treatment of heart attack victims by applying
Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation or Basic
Life Support. These emergency procedures
are further enhanced by rescue personnel
who have been specially trained in the
Advanced Life Support measures used to
stabilize victims until they reach the hospital.
25X1
Most states, realizing the necessity for
protecting victims from substandard first-aid
care and the rescuer from any legal re-
course, require personnel providing Ad-
vanced Life Support to be state certified by
obtaining a grade of 80 percent or better in
both written and practical examinations
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 administered by a state examiner. The initial
course, called EMT-A, or Emergency Medical
Technician-Ambulance, entails at least 81
hours of study and practical work in giving
emergency care and transportation to the
sick and injured and passing the EMT-A
examination. The EMT-C, or Cardiac course,
entails an additional 100 hours minimum of
study and practical work. This includes
didactic training of at least 45 hours, clinical
training in a hospital emergency room and
other intensive care units for 40 hours, and
simulated o erational training and testing for
15 hours.
This simulated operational training and
testing is the practical application of the
clinical training in dealing with a cardiac
emergency. EMTs, using mobile electrocar-
diogram machines with simulated normal
and abnormal cardiac tracings, practice the
appropriate procedures in such skills as
defibrillation or electroshock, intravenous
the ability to assess the patient's condition
and also convey by radio this information to
the physician at the hospital who then
instructs the technician as to the medication
and treatment he wants used. The technician
must be able to carry out these radioed
instructions promptly and correctly. io
During this past year, three of our medica25X1 A
technicians have achieved their certification
hnth ac FMT-AS and EMT-Cs. Two of the
drug techniques, advanced airway manage- This is one type o speciailzeu Mt
and drug administration. The training training requiring expensive equipment and
ment
,
includes the sending of the EKG via radio maintenance which a are hopeful will never
telemetry to the hospital emergency room, have to be used. 25X1
28 SECRET
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 25X1
25X1A
? Civil Service Commission-for externa125X1 C
training;
During Fiscal Year 1978, OF negotiated
and administered financial agreements with
nearly 60 Federal departments and agencies.
Examples of these agreements are:
? GSA-for general support, such as guard
service, repairs and maintenance of
buildings, and certain telephone services;
? Department of Interior-for standard and
special maps;
? Treasury-for coining of Intelligence
Medals;
? Postal Service-for official postage and
supplies;
Intra-government liaison is vital to CIA in
achieving the substantive aims of the
National Foreign Intelligence Program. In
many cases, such liaison takes on the form
of specific agreements or contracts for the
provision of services or material. Many if not
most of these formalized agreements involve
necessary financial arrangements between
this Agency and others.
Within CIA, the focal point for the develop-
ment and administration of such financial
arrangements is the Director of Finance and
his designee, the Assistant Director for
Liaison (AD/L). The AD/L and his staff
perform all financial liaison between CIA and
other agencies in the development and
administration of the financial terms of intra-
 governmental agreements. The siting of this
responsibility with the AD/L is understand-
able when one realizes that financial agree-
ments between Federal agencies are gov-
erned by several specific statutes. Most
notable for CIA are Public Law 81-110, the
CIA Act; and 31 USC 686, the Economy Act.
Additionally, such agreements must comply
with certain government-wide policies and
practices requiring an understanding of
appropriation accounting. For CIA, this pro-
cess is often further complicated by sity
and other sensitive considerations. sec
AD/L also performs a comptroller-like
function in the "cradle to grave" handling of
funds between other agencies. This includes
the allotment and/control of intra-govern-
ment funds and the handling of funding for
the Intelligence Community Staff. The pay-
ment of invoices or work orders from all
government agencies is a large task, and OF
is currently working on a system to facilitate
the processing of Federal and military bill-
ings (called FEDSTRIP/MILSTRIP system.)
I :A
An article in the July 1976 DDA Exchange
reported on the handicapped program in the
DDA and how well we were doing as a
Directorate. We've continued to do well, but
even better is the progress being made by
the Agency as a whole.
Since the enactment of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973, we have hired 61 handicapped
individuals, 12 of whom are disabled veter-
ans. These employees serve in grades GS-03
through GS-14 in every directorate. We now
have 13 deaf employees and this past
summer hired 2 blind persons-a graduate
fellow and a Career Trainee, both working in
ORPA. ORPA has purchased computer
Braille printers for these employees and has
modified their telephones so that they can
determine which line buttons are illuminated.
Sign language interpreters have been placed
under contract by ODP, who has made them
 available to assist all Agency deaf employees
in Agency training courses. Agency employ-
ees continue to demonstrate their interest in
learning and teaching sign language.
The Handicapped Program Advisory Com-
mittee (HPAC), comprised of a handicapped
employee from each directorate, meets
monthly to discuss problems handicapped
persons face in our work environment and to
consider ways to increase employee knowl-
edge and awareness of the program. Handi-
capped Awareness Week in July 1978, was a
project with this objective in mind, and,
according to the critiques, the exhibition
accomplished its purpose. II
Despite this progress however, there is still
much to be done. Architectural modifications
continue to be made, but attitudinal barriers
still are a difficult obstacle to overcome, and
myths and misunderstandings persist. For
example, it is still commonly believed that-
Handicapped persons are absent from
the work force more often than non-
handicapped employees.
Fact: they are not. As a group, their
absenteeism rate is lower.
? Handicapped employees are going to
need a lot of attention that busy manag-
ers can't spare.
Fact: obviously some will require more
attention than other handicapped per-
sons or some non-handicapped employ-
ees, but the extent of attention needed
depends on the employee's condition;
some need no extra attention at all.
? Deaf persons are best placed in noisy
environments because they won't be
distracted by noise.
Fact: some deaf persons are qualified for
jobs in such environments; others are
not.
But all handicapped persons are to be
considered f sitions based on their
qualifications"
 We could go on and on, but the point is,
the real problem for the handicapped person
is not in holding a job, or the attention
needed, but in getting the job in the first
place. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was
enacted to alleviate this difficulty, and recent
regulations and legislation serve to insure
equality of treatment and reasonable accom-
modation in the work force: handicapped
applicants and employees now have access
to the EEO discrimination complaint system
for claims of discrimination based on handi-
caps; training funds may be used to make
training programs accessible to handi-
capped individuals; Federal agencies now
may employ readers for blind employees and
25X1 ees. II
We're making progress, and we can
We can get the
job done together'.
NP
Hire the
Handicapped
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 The data we use in our Automatic Data
Processing (ADP) systems are Agency rec-
ords. If this seems a little strange, it is
because most of us think of government
records as being synonymous with paper.
When we do think of computer-related
records, it is usually the microfilm or paper
output from computer applications we think
of, not the data which was used to create this
output. ^
Paper records are records because they
"record" things that we know that we want
to save for our own use in the future or to
pass on to others. The data within our ADP
systems are "recorded" for the same rea-
sons, but instead of being recorded in the
letters and numbers people use, data rec-
ords are recorded in symbols which a
machine can use. 0
Computer data files, like paper records,
are government records; thus, the Agency is
required to follow a formal procedure in
disposing of them. The procedure, known as
records disposition scheduling, is a way of
coordinating records disposition decisions at
several management levels in the Agency,
with National Archives appraisers, and with
the Archivist of the United States. The
product of disposition scheduling is a docu-
ment called a Records Control Schedule that
describes all the record collections of an
organization and states how they must be
disposed of.0
In February 1979, ISAS published guide-
lines to be followed in the disposition
scheduling of ADP data files and related
documentation. At the same time, ISAS
released-for use Form 4061, ADP Records
Inventory, which is the principal means of
identifying and describing data files. During
the next few months, Records Analysts from
the Records Administration Branch of ISAS
will be working with component Records
Management Officers, ADP Control Officers,
and the managers of ADP systems to apply
these guidelines to all active and inactive
ADP systems.0
X1A
X1 READ BEFORE ERASING=
 Since its early years, the Agency has been
scheduling the disposition of our records,
but ADP records have long presented us and
the National Archives with problems that
have made them more difficult to schedule
than paper records. For one thing, ADP
records are not as visible as paper records.
Data files are kept in data processing
facilities, which are not places where one can
go to browse. Another problem is the fact
that data storage and processing techniques
can be extremely complex. Data may be
stored on different media for different peri-
ods of time, and processing may involve
continually adding, changing, and deleting
parts of the data file. In short, it has never
been easy for a Records Management
Officer to identify what it is that he or she
should schedule for disposition.
The Records Administration Branch de-
signed Form 4061 in an attempt to solve
these problems. Form 4061 asks the man-
ager of a data processing system for specific
facts about his or her system, which will in
most cases provide the records profession-
als with enough pertinent information to
allow them to understand what data is being
considered for retention or destruction and
to make an informed decision about the
retention value of the data. 0
Although we tried to keep the questions to
a minimum, Form 4061 is not short. It will
require hours of work on the part of each
system manager. Determination of the reten-
tion value of data cannot be made based
upon a cursory explanation of the system nor
should it be based on a verbal explanation.
The people who work in the different compo-
nents involved in the scheduling process
must each have a good understanding of
what the data is and how it is used. This
explanation needs to be in writing because
the components which are involved become
involved in the scheduling process at differ-
ent times. The alternative to Form 4061
would have been briefings on the system
each time the scheduling process moved
ahead. Form 4061 provides a standard type
of documentation for each system which will
describe the data content of the system to
 anyone.
anyone who needs it whenever they are
ready to read it. =
The above is not meant to imply that data
records have not been controlled. Data
processing professionals and system man-
agers have gone to great lengths to establish
systems of control over data resources.
These controls stress the protection of data
from unauthorized access and accidental
destruction. The emphasis is on protecting
data for the present users. Disposition
scheduling is a different type of control. It is
concerned with the protection of data which
has value to people other than the present
users. It is also concerned with the prompt
disposal of data which is of minimal value to
Ascribing value to data is a subjective
process. We assume that all data will always
have some value to someone. In disposition
scheduling, records professionals work with
a system manager to try to identify what this
value is and then to compare this value with
the costs of keeping the data. The determi-
nation of retention value is subjective be-
cause the value of data depends upon the
value of the information the data can be used
to produce, and we do not know of a way to
objectively measure the value of information.
The Agency depends heavily upon ADP
resources to accomplish its objectives. Data
files are one of our most important re-
sources. In ISAS we look upon data disposi-
tion scheduling as a meaningful control
which we intend to apply to the management
of this resource.
 25X1
25X1A
WHEN NOT TO COMPUTERIZE:
A CHECKLIST=
D
It is very fashionable today to use computer
systems for some of our daily work-and
with good reason. Computers are efficient
and reliable tools, well suited for a variety of
tasks. But we must not let their utility blind
us to their limitations. Perhaps the following
checklist will help you to identify information
handling areas in which computer systems
may not be of benefit to you. (U)
1. The amount of information to be
handled is small.
2. The amount of information to be
handled is very large.
3. The information is already in a form
which makes it easy to enter it into a
computer system.
() 4. The information handling environ-
ment is in a constant state of
change.
5. The handling of information involves
subjectivity, judgment, personality,
or style (as opposed to some step-
by-step routine processing).
6. There are clear objectives, goals,
policies, and procedures for han-
dling the information.
7. There is a requirement for 24-hours-
a-day 7-days-a-week access to your
information.
8. You are willing to commit the re-
sources necessary to obtain a com-
puter system. u
 1. If you checked this box, you may be
better off with a simple manual system.
For example, it may be easier to keep a 3
by 5 card file of the names and addresses
of 100 contacts than to maintain them in a
computer system. A deciding factor is
how you intend to use the information. If
you use the information daily to produce
mailing labels, then a computer system
may be the answer. If you use it mon
then a manual system may be better.
2. If you checked this box, you may have so
much information that a computer system
either physically cannot or logically will
not handle it. Even the largest computer
system has a physical limit to the amount
of data it can store and process. A
physical or mechanical storage system
may be much less expensive and simpler
to maintain than a computer system.
Again, it depends upon how much data
you have and how you intend to use it.[
3. If you did not check this box, you may find
that the expense and difficulty of getting
information into the computer system far
outweigh the benefits you get from having
it in there. The key issue is to avoid
creating more work than you save.
4. Every job environment changes to some
extent. New laws are passed. Agency
policy changes. Priorities shift. When
these changes occur, the computer sys-
tem must be able to shift with them.
Otherwise, the system which was once
your milestone of achievement becomes
the millstone around your neck. If your
information handling procedures change
rapidly, you may find that a computer
system cannot keep the pace. At some
point, you may either have to stop
changing or abandon the system. You
should always allow time for changing the
computer system..
5. If you checked this box, then you should
not expect too much support from a
computer system. Computers are not
 capable of original thought. The best that
can be hoped for is a system which will
highlight certain, cgnitions or events for
you to handle.
6. If the current (presumably manual) system
cannot be rigorously defined, then it will
not be possible to program a computer
system to do it. There must be specific
objectives for the system stated in terms
of measurable performance. Otherwise, if
you do not know where you want to-go.-
then any road will take you there.
7. Computers are sophisticated electronic
tools. They occasionally break down.
They need periodic maintenance. In gen-
eral, the bigger they are, the harder they
fall. If you absolutely must have 24-hours-
a-day 7-days-a-week access to a computer
system, then you must be prepared to pay
a large cost. The only solution lies in
multiple levels of redundancy where sev-
eral computer systems back up each
other. Clearly, only the most critical
Agency operations justify such an ex-
pense. Unclassified examples of these are
airline reservations systems and NASA
space flight systems. 0 25X1
8. This box is the most crucial of the group.
The development of a computer system
will require a portion of your resources.
Every facet of the job to be done must be
meticulously examined. Policy must be
set. People must be briefed, interviewed,
and trained. In short, the success or
failure of the computer system lies more
in the customer's hands than in those of 25X1
ODP. The user office sets the policy; ODP
implements it. F I 25X1
 There are many areas in which computer
systems are a valuable asset. But we cannot
afford to computerize the wrong areas. It
would be wonderful if there were hard and
fast rules which apply in all cases-but none
exist. The decision to computerize must be
made jointly by the user and ODP, armed
with a detailed knowledge of the job to be
X1 done.
 secret
secret