IRM Strategic Plan: September 1994 (Other Written Prod., 09/01/94,
GAO/OIMC-94-12).

GAO presented its information resources management (IRM) strategic plan,
focusing on: (1) how its mission will be supported by its IRM strategy;
and (2) the adequacy of its existing information tools and systems. GAO
noted that: (1) the goal of its IRM strategic plan is to allow GAO work
groups to be more self-sufficient in meeting the information
requirements of their jobs; (2) while defining GAO business needs is the
first step in determining GAO IRM requirements, doing so is difficult
because GAO needs are changing; (3) GAO has identified a flexible
mixture of hardware, software, and services needed to meet its evolving
business requirements; (4) GAO is developing a new IRM architecture that
will accommodate future technologies and provide longevity and
stability; (5) the new IRM strategic plan will impose challenges on GAO
cultural, human, and financial resources; and (6) to realize the goals
of its IRM strategic plan, GAO must strive to fully develop its computer
network, increase access to information, enhance electronic
communications, publish and distribute information and products in an
electronic format, and support administrative and mission applications.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  OIMC-94-12
     TITLE:  IRM Strategic Plan: September 1994
      DATE:  09/01/94
   SUBJECT:  Agency missions
             Total quality management
             Strategic information systems planning
             Computerized information systems
             Information resources management
             Systems architecture
             Computer networks
             Information dissemination operations
             Human resources utilization
             Management information systems
IDENTIFIER:  GAO Mission Support Project
             GAO Mission Assignment and Tracking System
             Centralized Payroll and Personnel System
             GAO Human Resource Information System
             GAO Total Quality Management System
             TQM
             
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Cover
================================================================ COVER


Office of Information Management and Communications

August 1994

INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
STRATEGIC PLAN 1994-1998

GAO/OIMC-94-12



Abbreviations
=============================================================== ABBREV

  CD-ROM - compact disk read-only memory
  DCA - Data Collection and Analysis Application
  GAO - General Accounting Office
  HRIS - Human Resources Information System
  IRM - information resources management
  LAN - local area network
  TQM - Total Quality Management

MESSAGE FROM THE COMPTROLLER
GENERAL
============================================================ Chapter 0

GAO is facing a very challenging and exciting future.  To better
fulfill its mission, the agency is reshaping its internal processes
to reduce staff time now spent on low-level tasks, improve teamwork,
increase access to information and people, improve decision-making,
and avoid rework.  Our goal is to better meet the needs of our
customers--the Congress and the American taxpayer--by increasing the
quality of our products and reducing the time required to produce
them.  That is no small task. 

Critical to this transformation is the creative use of information
technology.  By applying electronic communication tools, such as
videoconferencing, voice messaging, and computer networks to its
internal processes, line and staff units will gain better access to
one another as well as a wide variety of information sources.  They
will discover new ways of working that will achieve the improvements
in quality and timeliness that the agency and the Congress require. 
The Data Collection and Analysis application now being piloted for
eventual roll-out to all of GAO is an example of that new capability. 

Our customers will also benefit from our efforts to promote the
electronic distribution of our products in a cost-effective way.  In
doing so, they will be able to request the output of our efforts in
electronic as well as printed form and have access to a rich and
flexible source of information. 

This document spells out what we need to do over the next few years
to fully realize this vision.  Much has already been accomplished. 
These efforts will take time and significant resources, both human
and financial.  More importantly, they will require each staff member
to accept the challenge that these new information tools offer and to
apply them creatively on the job. 


MESSAGE FROM THE ASSISTANT
COMPTROLLER GENERAL FOR
INFORMATION MANAGEMENT AND
COMMUNICATIONS
============================================================ Chapter 1

Defining the combination of tools and services that will address
GAO's diverse information resource requirements is a significant
challenge.  The information architecture that we are developing must
be flexible enough to both grow with GAO's evolving requirements and
also accommodate future technologies.  At the same time, it must be
stable enough to provide a long-term platform for which applications
can be developed.  To guide this development, the Office of
Information Management and Communications (OIMC) has created this
strategic plan. 

The plan's strategy and various initiatives incorporate insights and
issues that have been raised by divisions and offices across GAO. 
The information architecture addressed in this plan has been designed
to meet known agency business needs, and we hope that we have built
in the flexibility to address those still to be identified.  It will
require years of effort and substantial human and financial
resources.  Further, it will require a strong working partnership
between OIMC, the Training Institute, the Office of Policy, and
particularly GAO's operational units. 

We will update this document as necessary to recognize changes in the
agency's requirements and priorities.  Please let us know how we can
help you.  We welcome your ideas and assistance at any time. 


INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
(IRM) STRATEGIC PLAN
============================================================ Chapter 2

To guide the development of its information resources (IRM)\1 and
have them serve as a catalyst for creative change, GAO's Office of
Information Management and Communications has produced this strategic
plan.  It shows how GAO's mission is supported by its IRM vision and
then analyzes its existing combination of information tools and
systems to determine their current and long-term adequacy.  Based on
this analysis, it determines the new mixture of information resources
that will be required to support the agency's transformation. 
Finally, it identifies the specific initiatives required to give
staff these new capabilities. 


--------------------
\1 GAO's IRM resources cover a wide range of activities:  office
automation; end-user and administrative computing; library and data
access services; local and long-distance voice services; publishing,
distribution, and mail; video production and teleconferencing; and
retention of records and databases. 


   GAO'S MISSION AND IRM VISION
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2:1

GAO's mission is to "serve the public interest by providing members
of Congress and others who make policy with accurate information,
unbiased analysis, and objective recommendations on how best to
utilize public resources in support of the security and well-being of
the American people."\2 To accomplish this mission, GAO depends on
its IRM resources and requires the support of a sophisticated mixture
of information tools and systems to collect, analyze, and disseminate
complex information on a wide range of subjects, doing so within time
frames that meet the needs of the Congress and the public. 
Furthermore, since its staff are dispersed around the world, the
agency requires information technologies to link them efficiently,
allowing them to work as teams of highly skilled professionals
despite their physical locations. 

To develop these technological resources, GAO follows its IRM vision,
which describes a future in which GAO's teams are empowered by their
information tools.  The vision highlights the relationships among
three elements of GAO's operations:  the IRM technologies, the work
processes, and the staff.  When these elements work in harmony, team
members can make their maximum contribution to one another and the
agency as a whole. 

GAO's IRM vision is to create an organization in which work groups
can be more self-sufficient in meeting the information requirements
of their jobs.  Such an organization would be characterized by (1)
information technology that is so readily available and easy to use
that work groups can better create, access, process, and share the
information required to complete their tasks; (2) staff who have been
prepared to use technology effectively; and (3) improved work
processes, which yield higher quality products and which are more
efficient as a result of this technology. 

   The IRM Vision

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)


--------------------
\2 Quality Improvement Plan for GAO:  Early Implementation
(GAO/QMG-92-1, November 1991), p.  4. 


   IRM STRATEGY
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2:2

To help attain this vision, GAO has adopted a strategic IRM planning
model.  This model begins with a recognition of GAO's mission and IRM
vision and then develops a strategy that will help achieve them.  It
then proceeds to identify the specific IRM initiatives required to
carry out that strategy. 

The central step of this model, the development of the IRM strategy,
analyzes the three variables upon which the strategy will depend: 

  -- business needs:  the requirements of its line and staff units,
     especially as they are shaped by the agency's Total Quality
     Management (TQM) initiative;

  -- strategic information environment:  (1) GAO's IRM existing
     condition, including its base of hardware and software, its
     mission and administrative systems, and the IRM services
     provided to its staff, and (2) its future condition, i.e., the
     technical environment that will be required to satisfy its
     business needs; and

  -- resources:  the cultural, human, and financial resources that
     will influence and/or support the new technological environment. 

The model then identifies the individual initiatives that GAO must
complete to establish the future technical environment and achieve
its IRM vision. 


      BUSINESS NEEDS
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2:2.1

While defining GAO's business needs is the first step in determining
its strategic IRM requirements, doing so now is especially difficult
because GAO's needs are changing.  Driven by its ongoing TQM
improvement initiative, GAO is examining its current business
practices to find ways to improve the quality of both its work
processes and products. 

In this change process, information technology can enable new ways of
working, for example, speeding up report development and review by
making an assignment's workpapers easily available on a network
server.  GAO has recognized this relationship between technology and
organizational change by establishing both the creative use and the
effective deployment of technology as key outcomes supporting the TQM
priority to "Improve the Quality of Work and Processes."

However, because many of its business needs in the late 1990s are
unknown now, GAO has had to implement a flexible information-planning
process.  This process emphasizes the establishment of a basic
information infrastructure, founded on industry standards, that can
evolve along with its changing requirements and can support the
developments in its work processes. 


      STRATEGIC INFORMATION
      ENVIRONMENT: 
      EXISTING CONDITION
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2:2.2

GAO has come a long way in developing the flexible mixture of
hardware, software, and services needed to meet its evolving business
requirements.  It has carefully balanced meeting short-term
requirements with pursuing long-range strategic issues.  Its
resulting program has moved incrementally, first establishing a basic
infrastructure and acquiring the tools to operate there and then
integrating these into its work processes.  While much remains to be
done, the interim accomplishments of this program can now be seen
throughout the agency. 


         END-USER COMPUTING
------------------------------------------------------ Chapter 2:2.2.1

GAO has begun to give its staff the workstations that they will use
for the next 5 years and has begun linking them through a network. 
Before 1991, almost all the staff used standalone 16-bit
microcomputers (i.e., "AT- class") as their workstations.  While
these machines were adequate as personal productivity tools, they
could neither operate efficiently on a network nor support the
complex operating systems, software, and graphical user interfaces
dominant in today's marketplace.  Therefore, the IRM program adopted
a 32-bit workstation (i.e., "386" and above) as its standard in late
1991.  Since that time, GAO has procured over 3,100 of these units,
both desktops and notebooks.  In addition, its goal for fiscal year
1996 is to have a full 32-bit inventory. 

In addition to moving its hardware toward its standard, GAO has
strengthened its software inventory.  Because GAO has procured its
standard software in different years, members of work groups
frequently have found that they were using incompatible versions of a
software application.  As a result, the agency has begun to
systematically upgrade its inventory to eliminate these disparate
versions.  It has now established and implemented a standard
according to which each software package in use must be either the
current release of that application or the release preceding the
current one.  This "current release minus 1" standard will remove an
obstacle that has hampered work team effectiveness. 


         NETWORK AND APPLICATION
         DEVELOPMENT
------------------------------------------------------ Chapter 2:2.2.2

In addition, GAO has expanded its network pilot, both in headquarters
and in the field.  Before 1990, GAO had used standalone
microcomputers exclusively, an inefficient response to its
team-oriented work processes.  In that year, the agency began its
Mission Support Project in two divisions and one field location to
establish a local area network (LAN) and the applications to run
there.  This network was subsequently broadened to include the Office
of the General Counsel and 5 small-scale administrative LANs, and, by
the end of fiscal year 1994, it will include about 2,000 users.  In
addition, the Mission Support Project began developing and testing a
Data Collection and Analysis (DCA) application for use on the
network, which will enable work groups to complete their assignments
more efficiently and to improve their work processes. 

   Picture of DCA Screen

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)


         TIME-SHARING
------------------------------------------------------ Chapter 2:2.2.3

To perform the statistical analysis of large files required by some
assignments, GAO has purchased computing time and associated
technical support from government computing centers.  Because this
cost has increased steadily over the years, GAO now has a pilot
project under way to investigate cost-effective alternatives to
time-sharing while maintaining technical support for its users. 


         ACCESS TO INFORMATION
------------------------------------------------------ Chapter 2:2.2.4

To meet the needs of both line and staff offices, GAO draws on an
extensive collection of information sources.  Among others, these
include

  -- GAO's historic data on the agency and program to be reviewed,

  -- congressional data on requests and on committee hearings and
     pending legislation,

  -- the audited agency's historic and operational data,

  -- analytic databases developed by government and private
     organizations,

  -- legal services,

  -- analyses of outside experts, and

  -- administrative information. 

To access these sources, GAO uses various tools, including library
collections, the subscription to multiple databases, and the
availability of trained researchers.  In addition, it has begun to
provide staff with direct access to these data sources through, for
example, a compact disk-read-only memory (CD-ROM) network and an
on-line library catalogue system. 

While these approaches provide staff with a broad range of both
information sources and methods of access, they do not meet the needs
of all users.  Some staff are skilled technically and want the
autonomy gained by direct access to data.  In addition, if it can be
done cost-effectively, GAO would like to shift some processes done by
professional researchers to the staff, freeing up the researchers'
time for more complex or specialized tasks.  As a result, GAO has
begun providing some evaluators and attorneys with on-line access to
a restricted number of databases through the agency network and,
eventually, will extend it to include the library's holdings and the
CD-ROM systems.  As it tests these access modes, the agency will
determine what research is best done centrally and what is best
distributed to line staff themselves. 

   Technical Library CD-ROM

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

However, enhancing access to data is valuable only if the data are
accurately and consistently labeled.  Currently, GAO has systems that
hold similar data but refer to them under different names.  To
resolve this problem, GAO is developing naming standards and a data
dictionary to ensure uniformity of data labeling and will implement
them across GAO's systems. 


         ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS
------------------------------------------------------ Chapter 2:2.2.5

In the area of enhanced electronic communications, GAO has recognized
that effective teamwork requires members of work groups to have ready
access to one another and the ability to share information.  It has
responded to this need by providing new tools and services, in
particular,

  -- multipoint videoconferencing in headquarters and field
     locations, capable of linking all sites, and

  -- modern voice-processing (i.e., voice mail) service capable of
     sending and responding to messages and forwarding them to anyone
     in GAO. 

These services are beginning to be integrated into GAO's work
processes.  Videoconferencing has allowed units to make staff more
productive by decreasing travel time, improving teamwork and
decision-making, and helping teams avoid rework.  In addition, it has
helped with human resource management tasks, especially by increasing
training options.  Voice processing has also improved the flow of
information, provided new tools to staff who wish to reengineer their
work processes, and has the potential to enable groups to work more
productively. 

   Videoconferencing Facility

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)


         PUBLISHING AND
         DISTRIBUTING PRODUCTS
------------------------------------------------------ Chapter 2:2.2.6

Throughout the 1980s, GAO followed traditional publishing approaches: 
typesetting documents, printing a small portion of them in-house\3
and the majority through contractors, and distributing them by mail
or messenger to individual recipients.  While this approach met GAO's
operational needs, it

  -- was relatively expensive;

  -- did not produce data easily used as a research database;

  -- did not permit publishing or distributing documents in anything
     other than a paper format; and

  -- did not meet the information requirements of the full range of
     GAO's customers, especially those who wanted an electronic file. 

To determine how to overcome these limitations, GAO began an
electronic publishing program by taking four coordinated actions. 
First, it established the capacity to typeset electronic files
in-house.  Second, it replaced some of its aging in-house
lithographic presses with state-of-the-art equipment capable of
printing directly from these files.  Third, it began to investigate
electronic distribution by providing customers some products on
floppy disks; electronic bulletin boards; government CD-ROMs; and
major information networks, like Internet.  Fourth, it used its
electronic files to develop two research databases as part of the
mission support tools provided users of the pilot network:  report
abstracts from fiscal year 1988 to the present and full text from
November 1992. 

   Electronic Publishing System

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

As GAO has created, managed, and begun publishing electronic
documents, it has also realized that a wide range of issues are
raised by the long-term production, distribution, and retention of
electronic files, for example

  -- ensuring that appropriate software and related documentation are
     retained, so that a file can be accessed and read properly;

  -- determining the appropriate period for retaining a file;

  -- determining appropriate storage media; and

  -- protecting the integrity of files. 

GAO has begun a systematic process to identify these issues and
develop strategies for dealing with them. 


--------------------
\3 In compliance with directives from the Joint Committee on
Printing, the in-house print portion is designed only to satisfy
unusually short turnaround requirements and to secure sensitive
material. 


         CORPORATE SYSTEMS
------------------------------------------------------ Chapter 2:2.2.7

GAO's administrative systems, which execute the agency's
administrative transactions (e.g., payroll activities) and track
assignments, are in transition.  While these systems maintain the
integrity of corporate data, many units have tried to use them as
management systems, even though they were not designed to give
managers the ability to manipulate their units' data.  Some managers
have responded to this situation by developing their own customized
systems, which, while timely, often are not consistent with GAO's
official data.  In addition, their systems have been limited by the
standalone technology upon which they are based. 

To deal with managers' needs, GAO will link its network with its
corporate systems.  The network will use its graphical user interface
to give the current corporate systems\4 the same look and method of
operation as other network applications and over time will give
managers greater flexibility in adding their local data to the
agency's standard database.  In addition, GAO will use the network to
support any new systems and to integrate selected local systems into
its corporate systems, starting with the Human Resources Information
System (HRIS). 

The network has raised some security issues.  In particular, GAO is
sensitive to the need to protect against unauthorized users accessing
network servers and it recognizes the increased points for system
failure inherent in any network.  To deal with the former, GAO draws
on the security designed into the network operating system and the
applications themselves\5 and user training.  To deal with the
latter, it has implemented physical security for its servers,
security standards and procedures, and a process for backing up
network data.  GAO has also begun a security program that will lead
to certifying its sensitive systems. 


--------------------
\4 For example, Payroll/Personnel, Financial Management, and Mission
Assignment Tracking System. 

\5 For example, password protection and the assignment of application
and data access rights to individual users. 


      STRATEGIC INFORMATION
      ENVIRONMENT:  FUTURE
      CONDITION
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2:2.3

Defining the combination of information tools and services that will
satisfy agency requirements -- i.e., its information architecture --
is a challenge for GAO.  Such an architecture must be flexible enough
both to grow along with GAO's evolving requirements and to
accommodate future technologies.  At the same time, it must be stable
enough to provide a long-term platform for which applications can be
developed. 

These seemingly contradictory requirements can be resolved only if
GAO bases its new IRM architecture on well-defined technical and
marketplace standards.  This will guarantee that the hardware and
software (1) are in the mainstream of technical developments and (2)
provide the longevity needed for stability.  Recognizing these
requirements, GAO has selected the combination of hardware and
software used in its pilot data network as its long-term architecture
because it is founded on widely accepted technical and marketplace
standards and has been proven to meet GAO's operational needs. 

To extend the network throughout the agency, GAO must take five
coordinated actions.  First, it must continue to upgrade its
workstations and transform its standalone operations into an
agencywide network with a common, easy-to-use interface.  The network
will allow staff to use their workstations to draw on sophisticated
applications, access a wide range of data sources, and be in
immediate contact with any individual or group in the agency.  In
addition, it will give managers more-responsive administrative
systems by being the platform for downloading a unit's administrative
data and then manipulating them in customized local management
systems.  Finally, it will give GAO the data required to better track
the progress of its TQM program. 

   GAO Wide Area Network

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

Second, as it has done during the Mission Support Project, GAO must
continue to use information technology to improve its work processes. 
Using business process reengineering and other methods, it must
develop new ways of executing current processes and also create new
processes, dependent on the information technology for their very
existence. 

Third, in addition to developing its network capacity, GAO must
complete development of its fully digital communications capability
and enable members of geographically dispersed work groups to better
support one another. 

Fourth, even as it enhances its ability to print and distribute
products in a paper format, the agency must continue to develop its
electronic printing and distributing capability.  It must continue to
extend its in-house capacity and, by moving to on-demand printing,
reduce its warehousing expenses.  In addition, it must expand its
research database of GAO products by adding past documents.  Finally,
it must promote the electronic distribution of documents to reduce
costs and to provide GAO's customers with as rich and flexible a
source of information as possible. 

Finally, GAO must ensure the long-term viability of this
architecture.  To do so, the agency must continue to use
well-established technological and marketplace standards and
establish sound policies to guide the architecture's development and
implementation.  These actions will enable GAO to integrate other
technologies, such as multimedia, into the architecture when the
products are sufficiently mature and the agency has demonstrated a
need for them. 


      RESOURCES:  CULTURAL
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2:2.4

Moving to this new architecture will be a difficult challenge for
GAO.  The agency has always provided great freedom to its staff in
determining if and how to use information technology in pursuing
their job objectives.  In the past, for example, GAO did not direct
the pace of technological development centrally.  Rather, it
established a standalone environment, provided training in the
software operating there, and allowed individual units to determine
the degree to which they would use the information technology. 

The network will cause a cultural shift in GAO.  Rather than leaving
individuals free to choose how to use technology, the network will be
at the heart of GAO's operations.  No longer will the agency's
workstations be operated as standalone tools.  Although they will
still be intelligent microcomputers capable of processing information
locally, the workstations will also be part of the agencywide network
and will be subject to its requirements.  In addition, the corporate
culture will now require individuals to learn network applications,
and those applications will influence the standards for performing
assignments and developing systems. 


      RESOURCES:  HUMAN
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2:2.5

As GAO undergoes this cultural shift, it will naturally experience
some resistance.  People do not easily make major changes in their
work processes, and GAO must expand the support provided to its
staff, notably in the areas of training and technical services, to
minimize the disruption to ongoing work and make the change
successfully.  Staff will need to master the new operating systems,
application packages, and graphical user interfaces and learn to
apply the new software to their assignments.  This will require GAO
to expand its user training curriculum and methods of training
delivery.  It also will, in turn, call for a new partnership among
OIMC, the Training Institute, the Office of Policy, and particularly
GAO's operational units. 

Although training will improve the staff's technical proficiency, it
alone will not be sufficient.  Distributing information resources to
the units will increase the complexity of their support requirements. 
Units will require access to both skilled network management staff,
help desk personnel, and on-site troubleshooting.  These support
elements will help overcome the resistance and allow staff to benefit
from the technologies. 


      RESOURCES:  FINANCIAL
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2:2.6

Over the last few years the agency has faced constrained budgets.  To
operate with these reduced funds, GAO began scaling back capital
expenditures and services, as well as reducing staff.  In its IRM
area, part of the funding necessary for development came from new
efficiencies in ongoing operations and by redirecting funds for some
services into capital investment. 

Additionally, increased funding has been provided in FY95 to complete
the computer network and much of the DCA application roll-out.  The
remainder of the DCA application will be completed in FY96. 
Furthermore, technological expansion will require the continued
support of the Congress as equipment, operating systems, and software
applications age and require maintenance and upgrading. 


   IRM INITIATIVES
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2:3

While developing this architecture fully will require years of
effort, as well as significant human and financial resources, doing
so requires the execution of only five interrelated initiatives: 

  -- complete network development,

  -- increase access to information,

  -- enhance electronic communications,

  -- publish and distribute information and products electronically,
     and

  -- support administrative and mission applications. 


      COMPLETE NETWORK DEVELOPMENT
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2:3.1

Accomplishing this initiative will establish the new architecture by
fully deploying GAO's network and its accompanying support
mechanisms.
Table 1 identifies what the initiative will include. 

Description                                         Estimated Date
--------------------------------------------------  ------------------
Deploying the network fully and ensuring that it    4th quarter, FY
is technically sound and reliable                   1995

Using the network to apply new or enhanced          Ongoing
applications to assignments

Ensuring that workstations and software conform to  4th quarter, FY
standards                                           1995, and ongoing
                                                    thereafter

Ensuring that the network is appropriately secure   Ongoing

Training staff to use the network and applications  Ongoing

Providing skilled support to individual units       Ongoing

Identifying and testing advanced technology         Ongoing
----------------------------------------------------------------------

      INCREASE ACCESS TO
      INFORMATION
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2:3.2

Accomplishing this initiative will increase the staff's access to
information and create greater self-sufficiency in meeting their work
requirements.  The agency will develop various access options for
staff, including specialists.  Wherever possible, it will provide
them with greater autonomy by giving them direct access to GAO,
government, and commercial databases through their networked
workstations.  In addition, it will use highly skilled research
specialists to perform complex searches beyond the capacity of
general staff.  This resource mix will allow staff to be more
creative and will allow their contributions to be more readily
recognized.  Details of this initiative are shown in table 2. 

Description                                         Estimated Date
--------------------------------------------------  ------------------
Developing an agency data dictionary to promote     4th quarter, FY
consistency and clarity in data elements            1996, and ongoing
                                                    thereafter

Linking the CD-ROM network to GAO's data network    4th quarter, FY
                                                    1995

Providing staff with easy access to the library's   4th quarter, FY
holdings over the network                           1995

Linking GAO to commercial and government image-     Ongoing
based systems

Increasing direct access to the databases of        Ongoing
audited agencies

Expanding use of Internet as a research and         1st quarter, FY
information distribution tool                       1995

Developing a comprehensive plan for the long-term   2nd quarter, FY
retention of electronic records                     1995
----------------------------------------------------------------------

      ENHANCE ELECTRONIC
      COMMUNICATIONS
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2:3.3

Accomplishing this initiative will link regional and headquarters
units, provide staff direct access to one another regardless of
location, and enhance teamwork by more easily sharing information
within teams.
Table 3 explains this more completely. 

Description                                         Estimated Date
--------------------------------------------------  ------------------
Completing the implementation of voice processing   3rd quarter, FY
in all audit sites and sublocations                 1996

Linking the local voice-processing systems in a     2nd quarter, FY
GAO-wide system                                     1995

Enhancing field telephone systems by providing a    4th quarter, FY
PBX or an electronic key system in all locations    1997

Developing applications for the network linking     Ongoing
GAO and the rest of the legislative branch

Applying videoconferencing and voice processing     Ongoing
creatively to GAO's work and using them as tools
to reengineer its work processes

Expanding videoconferencing and investigating the   Ongoing
use of desktop video
----------------------------------------------------------------------

      PUBLISH AND DISTRIBUTE
      INFORMATION AND PRODUCTS
      ELECTRONICALLY
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2:3.4

Accomplishing this initiative will expand GAO's capacity to provide
its products and information about its products in electronic as well
as paper formats.  This capacity will give staff and external
customers a greater ability to search and review GAO's past work on
an issue.  In addition, it will allow GAO to reach new customers
through mass electronic distribution on widely used database
services.  Table 4 explains what this initiative will include. 

Description                                         Estimated Date
--------------------------------------------------  ------------------
Improving customer services and reducing            1st quarter, FY
inventories by reprinting products on demand        1997

Enhancing the full-text database of GAO products    4th quarter, FY
and information about GAO products                  1997

Distributing GAO's products in the electronic       4th quarter, FY
formats that best meet its customers' needs         1996
----------------------------------------------------------------------

      SUPPORT ADMINISTRATIVE AND
      MISSION APPLICATIONS
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2:3.5

Accomplishing this initiative will help staff substantially improve
their work processes by using the network to reengineer their
operations.  In addition, when savings can be achieved, GAO will test
the feasibility of moving some smaller administrative applications,
as well as essential standalone systems maintained by individual
units, to processors residing on the network.  Finally, the agency is
investigating alternative, cost-effective solutions to time-sharing
while maintaining technical support for its users.  This initiative
will include the items shown in table 5. 

Description                                         Estimated Date
--------------------------------------------------  ------------------
Moving corporate systems' functions from time-      4th quarter, FY
shared mainframes to in-house servers whenever      1997
appropriate

Moving local standalone administrative systems to   4th quarter, FY
more-flexible systems with access to official       1995
corporate data

Completing development of alternative sources of    4th quarter, FY
statistical-processing capacity                     1995
----------------------------------------------------------------------

*** End of document. ***