EVALUATION OF THE FILE AND PROGRAM CATALOG SYSTEM (FPCS)

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80B01139A000300070028-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 23
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 25, 2005
• Sequence Number: 28
• Publication Date: April 8, 1971
• Content Type: MF

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USIB-D-71. 10/1
8 April 1971
UNITED STATES INTELLIGENCE BOAR D
MEMORANDUM FOR THE UNITED STATES INTELLIGENCE BOARD
34
SUBJECT :
Evaluation of the File and Program Catalog System (FPCS)
REFERENCES :
a.
b.
USIB-M-450, 6 October 1966, Secretary's Note No. 1
USIB-D-39.7/17, 7 September 1966
1. The attached memorandum on this subject from the Chairman of
the Intelligence Information Handling Committee (IHC) and its enclosure
are circulated for Board consideration of the IHC request that the USIB
note the enclosed report and approve its recommendations on page five:
a. that, after publication of the File and Program Catalogs
now being prepared, the Catalogs in their present form be
discontinued;
b. that individual IHC members, where appropriate, distribute
for community use catalogs of automated intelligence data
files which they maintain; and
c. that, for the time being, no attempt be made to provide a
substitute for the FPCS Program Catalog..
The subject report responds to Board direction (reference b) to the
Committee on Documentation (the predecessor of the IHC) that a
comprehensive evaluation of the FPCS be conducted and its findings
and recommendations submitted to USIB.
2. The first three pages of the IHC report summarize: the evaluations
received from forty-three participants in the FPCS which provided the basis
for the above recommendations as well as for the Committee's Conclusions
on page four. The report also includes three Annexes which provide:
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USIB-D-71. 10/1
8 April 1971
(I) additional information on the Evaluation Methods; (II) a more detailed
statistical :consolidation of the responses to the IHC questionnaire; and
(III) a copy of the IHC Chairman's letter of March 1970 requesting an
evaluation by each FPCS participant.
USIB ACTION REQUESTED
3. Board members are requested to indicate by close of business
20 April their concurrence in or other views on the IHC request in
paragraph five of the attached memorandum.
U Executive ecre ?y
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USIB-D-71. 10/1
8 April 1971
IHC-L-111/1.9/19.
6 April 1971
U N I T E D S T A T E S I N T E L L I G E N C E B 0 A R D
INTELLIGENCE INFORMATION HANDLING COMMITTEE
MEMORANDUM FOR THE UNITED STATES INTELLIGENCE BOARD
SUBJECT Evaluation of the File and Program Catalog System (FPCS)
REFERENCES: a. USIB-M-450, 6 October 1.966
b. USIB-D-39.7/17, 7'September 1966
c. CODIB-D-111/1.9/6, 1 September 1966
1. The enclosed report, Evaluation of the USIB File and
Program Catalog System (FPCS), was prepared under the direction of
the Intelligence Information Handling Committee (IHC) by the IHC
Support Staff. CODIB had originally been directed by USIB in
references a., b., and c. (Section D, recommendation 4.) to plan
for and conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the FPCS and submit
findings and recommendations to USIB.
2. This report is based on forty-three evaluations received
from participants in the FPCS in response to a request for evaluation
which was sent to all recipients of the File and Program Catalogs.
The forty-three evaluations were consolidated by the IHC Support
Staff and provided the basis for the conclusions and recommendations
of the IHC which were adopted at a meeting on 31 March 1971.
3. The IHC has concluded that:
a. to meet the need for exchange of information on
intelligence files available in the community a
more effective and less costly means than the File
Catalog, in its present form, is required;
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8 April 1971
b. the Program Catalog has had virtually no effect
in promoting the exchange of software in the community;
and
c. the usefulness of the Indexes to the Catalogs is
marginal at best.
4. The IHC recommends:
a. that after publication of the File and Program
Catalogs now being prepared, the Catalogs in their
present form be discontinued;
b. that individual IHC members, where appropriate,
distribute for community use catalogs of automated
intelligence data files which they maintain; and
c. that, for the time being, no attempt be made to
provide a substitute for the FPCS Program Catalog.
5. It is requested that USIB note the attached FPCS
Evaluation report and approve the recommendations therein.
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Chairman, IHC
Enclosure:
As stated
Distribution List
IHC Members
Chairmen, Ad Hoc Panels
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 EVALUATION OF THE
USIB
FILE AND PROGRAM CATALOG SYSTEM
(FPCS)
6 April 1971
-Jlosure
Attachment
USIB-D-71. 10/1
8 April 1971
Enclosure
IHC -D-111/1.9/19
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Excluded from automatic
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Enclosure
Attachment
USIB-D-71. 10/1
8 April 1971
Page
SUMMARIES OF EVALUATIONS ................................... 1
General ................................................ 1
File Catalog Evaluations ............................... 1
Program Catalog Evaluations ........................... 2
Index Evaluations ..................................... 2
Remarks and Comments .................................. 2
CONCLUSIONS ................................................ 4
RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................ S
ANNEX I - CONSOLIDATED EVALUATIONS 1
ANNEX II - CONSOLIDATION OF RESPONSES ...................... 1
ANNEX III - REQUEST FOR EVALUATION ......................... 1
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General
1. Evaluations of the USIB File and Program Catalog System
(FPCS) made between 30 March and 20 May 1970 by 43 participants in
the system are summarized below. It should be noted that these
summaries reflect the preponderance of opinion expressed in the
evaluations received and that significant variations from them can
be found in evaluations made by various participants.
Summary of File Catalog Evaluations
2. The File Catalog was rated as useful or better by 19 of
43 respondents, 16 rated it as marginally useful and eight said
it was not useful. Of the 25 who said the catalog should be
continued in its present form, four qualified their responses.
Sixteen said it should not be continued, of whom nine qualified
their responses. Those making evaluations have submitted 719
file descriptions and expect to submit 417 more during the next
three years; they have deleted 249 descriptions so far and expect
to delete 240 during the next three years. Listings in the File
Catalog have stimulated 102 requests for files or file documenta-
tion and participants estimate that 205 requests will be initiated
in the next three years. Consolidation of cost estimates made by
25 participants shows an expenditure of 1766 man/days and 202.7
machine/hours in 1967 through 1969. Estimates from five partici-
pants show a saving, at a minimum, of 4473 man/days and 47 machine/
hours, as well as savings of $40,000 evenly distributed between 1968
and 1969.
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Summary of Program Catalog Evaluations
3,. The Program Catalog was rated as useful or better by 13
of 41 respondents, 13 rated it marginally useful and 15 said it was
not useful. Of the 23 who said the catalog should be continued
in its present form, four qualified their responses; 16 said it
should not be continued, of whom eight qualified their responses.
Those who made evaluations have submitted 1587 program descriptions
so far and expect to submit 964 during the-next three years. They
have deleted 420 descriptions so far and expect to delete 528
during the next three years. Listings in the Program Catalog
have stimulated two requests for programs so far and participants.
estimate that 90 requests will be initiated during the next three
years. Consolidation of cost estimates made by 21 participants
shows an expenditure of 1800 man/days and 144 machine/hours in
1967 through 1969. Estimates from two participants show savings,
all in 1969, of 268 man/days and 42 machine/hours.
Summary of Index Evaluations
4. A number of suggestions for better indexing were made
by some participants. However, the indexes were considered
adequate by about half of the participants in the system.
Summary of Remarks and Comments
5. The remarks and comments provided by respondents in
their evaluation.of the FPCS (available in the IHC Support Staff)
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are too varied and numerous to be summarized. They include:
a. suggestions for improving the contents and formats
of the catalogs and indexes, some in considerable
detail with references and illustrations;
b. suggestions for improved procedures to facilitate
operation of the system; and
c. a detailed rationale for abolishing the system.
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CONCLUSIONS
Consideration of the data collected for evaluation of the
FPCS has led to the following conclusions:
a. to meet the need for exchange of information on
intelligence files available in the community a more
effective and less costly means than the File
Catalog, in its present form, is required;
b. the Program Catalog has had virtually no effect
in promoting the exchange of software in the
community; and
c. the usefulness of the Indexes to the Catalogs is
marginal at best.
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RECOMMENDATIONS
On the basis of the evaluation of the FPCS it is recom-
mended:
a. that, after publication of the File and Program
Catalogs now being prepared, the Catalogs in their
present form be discontinued;
b. that individual IHC members, where appropriate,
distribute for community use catalogs of automated
intelligence data files which they maintain; and
c. that, for the time being, no attempt be made to
provide a substitute for the FPCS Program Catalog.
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Evaluation Methods
1. In preparing for the evaluation of the FPCS, the IHC
Support Staff, in coordination with IHC Members, developed a
questionnaire to be used by recipients of the Catalogs in eval-
uating the system. The questionnaire was distributed to IHC
Members as Attachment B to IHC-D-111/1.9/14, 30 March 1970,
Subject: Request for Evaluation of the USIB File and Program
Catalog System (FPCS): (Annex III). Distribution of the question-
naire to DoD recipients of the Catalogs was made by DIA and
responses from them were received through DIA.
2. In addition to 43 recipients of the catalogs who returned
questionnaires containing data, 18 sent responses indicating that
they could not provide the detail required by the questionnaire.
One of the 18 requested that he no longer be sent the catalogs,
one indicated that they are "useful" and another said that they
are "essential for planning purposes".
3. In the consolidation of responses presented in Annex II
no attempt has been made to weight the individual responses. The
individual responses themselves and the tabulations from them
made during preparation of this report are on file in the IHC
Support Staff.
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CONSOLIDATION OF RESPONSES
Catalog Evaluations
1. File Catalog
a. Number of File Descriptions Submitted
(1) Descriptions for 719 files have been submitted
since FPCS started.
(2) Of that number, 249 files have been deleted.
(3) The number of file descriptions updated for
three successive issues of the catalog are
as follows:
(a)
November 1968
56
(b)
May 1969
219
(c)
November 1969
227
TOTAL
502
(4) Respondents expect to submit 417 file descrip-
tions during the next three years.
(5) Respondents expect to delete 240 file descrip-
tions during the same period.
b. Number of requests as a result of listings in cata-
log
(1) There have been 71 requests for file documen-
tation.
(2) There have been 31 requests for copies of the
files.
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(3) It is expected that 205 requests for file
documentation and copies of the files will be
initiated in next three years.
c. Usefulness of File Catalog
(1) Usefulness of the catalog was rated by 43
respondents on the following scale.
Rating Number of Respondents
(a) Most Beneficial 1
(b) Very Useful 5
(c) Useful 13
(d) Marginally Useful 16
(e) Not Useful 8
(2) Explanations of their ratings were given by all
43 respondents.
(3) Forty-one respondents answered the question
"Should the file catalog be continued in its
present form? Comments?"
N SAES
RESPONSES
Yes
Qualified
Yes*
No
Qualified
No*
Total
21
4
8
8
41
* Comments and remarks indicate that improvements are re-
quired.
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2. Program Catalog
a. Number of Program Descriptions Submitted
(1) Descriptions for 1587 programs have been submitted
since FPCS started.
(2) Of that number, 420 programs have been deleted.
(3) The number of program descriptions updated for
three successive issues of the catalog are as
follows:
(a)
November 1968
219
(b)
May 1969
442
(c)
November 1969
612
TOTAL
1273
(4) Respondents expect to submit 964 program descrip-
tions during the next three years.
(5) Respondents expect to delete 528 program descrip-
tions during the same period.
b. Requests for programs as a result of listings in catalog.
(1) There have been two requests for programs.
(2) It is expected that 90 requests for programs will
be initiated during next three years.
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4 - Annex II
c. Usefulness of program catalog
(1)
Usefulness of the catalog was rated by 41
respondents on the following scale.
Rating
Number of Respondents
(a)
Most Beneficial
0
(b)
Very Useful
1
(c)
Useful
12
(d)
Marginally Useful
13
(e)
Not Useful
15
(2) Explanations of the rating were given by 40
of 41 respondents.
(3) Thirty-nine respondents answered the question
"Should the program catalog be continued in its
present form? Comments?"
RESPONSES
TYesQualifieI No Qualified Total
Yes* No*
4 8 8 39
* Comments and remarks indicate that improvements are re-
quired.
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Rating
Scale
Indexes to File
Catal
Index to Program
Catalog
a. Always useful
3
0
0
0
b. Often Useful
11
4
5
8
c. Sometimes Useful
10
13
11
12
d. Seldom Useful
8
9
10
10
e. Never Useful
10
13
13
11
TOTAL
42
39
39
41
5 - Annex II
Index Evaluations
3. Index Ratings
The three indexes to the file catalog and the index
to the program catalog were rated by respondents as shown below.
CONSOLIDATED INDEX RATINGS
4. Suggestions for better indexing
A request for suggestions for better indexing elicited
15 suggestions of various kinds from 11 respondents. Five sug-
gestions concerned correlation of the catalogs to systems (hard-
ware, software or information processing), two concerned geopolit-
ical indexes, and the rest were directed toward clarification by
eliminating codes or toward reducing the bulk of the indexes.
aKeyword in Context
bIntelligence Activity Code
cIntelligence Subject Code
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FPCS Evaluation of Manuals
5. Manuals Used
Five respondents use the CODIB Manual, thirty-three
respondents use the DIA Manual, and five respondents use neither.
6. Ease of Use of Manuals
One respondent indicated there were difficulties in
following the manual and enumerated them; four others offered
comments but indicated no difficulties.
7. Card Data Content
The responses to eight questions in this section were
extremely sparse. In addition to scattered indications of the need
to add or delete data items in file and program des.eriptions,, a
detailed suggestion for improving program descriptions was provided
by one respondent.
Cost Evaluation
8. File Catalog
a. Estimated Expenditures
Twenty-five respondents provided estimates of the
resources expended in preparing and updating file
descriptions. Their estimates are consolidated
on page seven.
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FILE CATALOG
CONSOLIDATED ESTIMATED EXPENDITURES
Year
Manpower
Computer Time
(in Man/Days)
(in Machine/Hours)
Professional Clerical
1967
560
81
82.1
1968
459
66
57.3
1969
485
115
63.3
TOTAL
1504
262
202.7
Year
Manpower
Computer Time
Funds
(in Man/ ays)
(in Machine/Hour
Professional Clerical
1967
1300a
0
0
0
1968
1560a
0
0
$201000
1969
1612a
1
47
$20,000
TOTAL
4472
1
47
;,40,000
b. Estimated Savings
Five respondents estimated savings achieved through
the use of file catalog. Their estimates are
consolidated below.
FILE CATALOG
CONSOLIDATED ESTIMATED SAVINGS
9. Program Catalog
a. Twenty-one respondents provided estimates of the
resources expended in preparing and updating program
descriptions. Their estimates are consolidated on
page eight.
sminimum
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PROGRAM CATALOG
CONSOLIDATED ESTIMATED EXPENDITURES
Year
Manpower
Computer
(in Man/D ys)
(in Machine/Hours)
Professional Clerical
1967
588
25
47.8
1968
563
23
47.6
1969
572
29
48.6
TOTAL
1723
77
144.0
b. Two respondents estimated saving achieved through the
use of the program catalog. Their estimates are con-
solidated below.
PROGRAM CATALOG
CONSOLIDATED ESTIMATED SAVINGS
Year
Manpower
Computer Time
(in Man/D ys)
(in Machine/Hours)
Professional Clerical
1967
pl
0
0
1968
~P1
0
0
1969
267
1
42
TOTAL
267
1
42
Remarks
10. Twenty-three respondents provided remarks. Of these, three
advocated revision of the system as a whole in specific ways; four
indicated that the system procedures are cumbersome; three indicated
that the presentation of data is poor; three indicated support for
the system as a concept; and eight supported various improvements.
Of the two in which discontinuation of the FPCS was recommended,
one gave a comprehensive rationale from a community viewpoint.
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IHC-D-111/1.9/14
30 March 1970
U N I T E D S T A T E S I N T E L ,L I G E N C E B 0 A R D
INTELLIGENCE INFORMATION HANDLING COMMITTEE
MEMORANDUM FOR: Distribution List
SUBJECT: Request for Evaluation of the USIB File and
Program Catalog System (FPCS)
1. As a participant in the USIB and DIA File and Program
Catalog System (FPCS), you are requested to evaluate the System.
Please complete the attached USIB FPCS Evaluation Form and
return it to the USIB IHC Support Staff by 13 May 1970. A DIA
representative working with the IHC Support Staff will analyze
and evaluate the comments submitted by DoD organizations. The
IHC Support Staff will consolidate the evaluations into a report
to be submitted by the IHC to USIB with appropriate recommenda-
tions.
2. Background. The USIB File and Program Catalog System
(FPCS) was established in 1966 to facilitate the exchange of
files, programs and intelligence information among members of
the intelligence community. Since the DIA FPCS, which was then
about to be implemented, was designed to provide (among other
things) all the elements of information necessary for the USIB
FPCS, DIA was requested to operate their system for the whole
community. The Reporting Manual for the USIB FPCS is substan-
tially a revised and annotated version of the manual for the
DIA FPCS. The chief difference between the two manuals is that,
although the data elements listed in each are identical, the
USIB manual makes some of them optional rather than mandatory.
3. When the USIB FPCS was initiated, it was recognized
that evaluation of the system would be required and the task
was assigned to the Committee on Documentation (CODIB) Support
Staff. This task was among those inherited by the Intelligence
Information Handling Committee (IHC) Support Staff when the
IHC was created in April 1968.
4. To support recommendations for modification of the
FPCS to enhance its effectiveness, an evaluation of the
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Annex III
system must be based on valid data on its current status, its
costs to the community, the benefits it provides and its
prospects for future usefulness. The attached form is intended
to facilitate evaluation of the FPCS by those who participate
in the system.
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Attachments:
A.Distribution List
B.Evaluation Form (not included)
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kar,
FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Annex III
ATTACHMENT A
IHC-D-111/1.9/14
DISTRIBUTION LIST
CIA (O/PPB)
D IA
DIRNSA (L-214)
STATE (ATTN: O/SNS)
Department of the Army (ACSI)
Department of the Navy (NAVINTCOM (OP920R))
Department of the Air Force (AFNIN)
FBI (Mr. Earl W. McCoy)
AEC (Mr. Kirby A. Gean)
FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
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