VOLUME 56 NO. 4 - APRIL 1997USDANEWS VOLUME 56 NO. 4 - APRIL 1997
by Ron Hall, Office of Communications
You're probably familiar with the predicted scenario by now: It's January 2, 2000, and you've hurried into your USDA office, eager to get the new year off to a good start. You turn on your office computer, jumping right in to your first assignment for the day--but your computer either starts going crazy on you or it crashes altogether. Whatta welcome to the new millennium...
This apocalyptic scenario has been given a name--the "Year 2000 Dilemma." But when it comes to USDA's computers and computer systems, the Department has initiated a plan to defuse that dilemma.
"Whenever a computer uses a date for processing information, it translates that date into a 6-digit code," explained Sandra Ginyard, a computer specialist with the Office of the Chief Information Officer and project manager of "USDA Year 2000," which is the Department's plan to reprogram its computers and computer systems.
"Computer programmers left space for only two digits each for the year, month, and day because space was at a premium," she noted. "So that 6-digit shorthand approach became the most widely used standard."
For instance, April 30, 1997 would be stored as 970430. However, the problem comes in the year 2000, when a date like April 30, 2000 would automatically be processed as 000430--but would be interpreted as April 30, 1900.
"That's why," Ginyard advised, "at USDA--and elsewhere in government, the private sector, and on home computers--programmers are now coping with how to reprogram their computers and computer systems to ensure they don't reject legitimate entries, compute erroneous results, or simply not run at all, because of this 'date' phenomenon."
"And, as of April 5," she observed, "we have less than 1,000 days left to get it all done."
In April 1996 USDA created a "Year 2000 Program Office," located within OCIO, to coordinate the Department's efforts. That three-person Office also provides guidance and oversight to USDA's "Year 2000 Working Group," which consists of representatives from USDA program agencies who are responsible for coordinating the computer conversion efforts within their respective agencies.
And just how many USDA computers are we talking about?
Ed McLaughlin, a computer specialist with Departmental Administration, said that as of April 23, USDA consisted of 96,500 federal employees--full-time, part-time, and temporary--at its headquarters and field locations and agricultural posts overseas.
"I believe we have at least that many personal computers USDA-wide," advised Sondra Blakey, an OCIO computer specialist and Year 2000 Program Office member. "They'll generally all need to be tested and, if needed, replaced or reprogrammed, in order to automatically code dates in eight digits--such as 20000430 for April 30, 2000."
"One of the complications," Blakey said, "is that most USDA agencies use many different hardware components, software packages, and computer programs in their mission." Accordingly, the difficulty will be in the time-consuming, expensive process of correcting each of those applications--and there is no single 'silver bullet' solution.
Examples of the major computer systems and programs used within USDA include the Dedicated Loan Origination System in the Rural Development mission area, the Agricultural Marketing Service's Market News Program, and the National Finance Center's Foundation Financial Information System.
"Each computer application will have to be corrected separately," Blakey explained, "and every possible combination of programs will have to be tested."
"If these major systems are not tested and changed by January 1, 2000, this could potentially disrupt the delivery of USDA programs and services which rely on those computer systems."
Ginyard said that in November her team asked agencies to inventory their computer systems so as to help identify the magnitude of the situation within USDA. "That's when reality began to sink into the agencies that 'we've got a problem'," she said.
Agencies were asked to submit an inventory identifying all of its computer systems--both at headquarters and field locations--and note which systems were mission critical.
"We asked for a response by January," Ginyard said, "and, to date, about 90 percent of the agencies have responded."
Dale Alling, an OCIO management analyst and Year 2000 Program Office member, said that USDA's timetable for its computer conversion efforts, Departmentwide, consists of five phases:
"Each agency," he said, "will be asked to submit quarterly reports to OCIO--with the first one due in May--which detail that agency's progress within these five phases."
Alling added that, as of February 1997, the Departmentwide cost for this undertaking was projected to be $93,835,372 from FY 1997 through FY 2000.
"I would note," he advised, "that this figure does not include additional 'Year 2000' matters that will need attention at headquarters and field locations, such as replacing embedded computer chips in office telephone voice mail systems, office fax machines and copiers, and office building security systems." He said USDA will work with the General Services Administration to address these concerns.
Efforts completed to date include the fact that USDA has prohibited, except in emergencies, the acquisition of off-the-shelf products and application software that are not 'Year 2000 compliant.' Also, USDA has provided its agency representatives with Year 2000 contract language to support future acquisitions of products or services.
"So here's my suggestion," Ginyard offered. "If you're a USDA employee, you might want to ask yourself, 'Is the date function on my computer ready to accommodate the new millennium'?" ¤
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