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APPENDIX A WORK STATEMENT PHASE I In Phase lithe committee will evaluate the status of the Systems Modernization Plan and assess the Agency Strategic Plan for the year 2000. The committee will perform the following tasks during Phase I: Review the current status of the SSA's information systems facilities. This review should establish a baseline for subsequent committee tasks and include the existing hardware and software architecture, technical personnel resources, and financial and physical resources. Early attention should be given to (1) the capability of SSA's physical and software infrastructure to accommodate present and future communication loads and (2) structural changes (e.g., distribution of functions) and fault corrections (e.g., replacing inadequate software) that may promptly improve operations and performance. ~- 4. Examine the three Chases (survival. transition. and state of the art) of the SSA's current modernization program. This examination should review the results of the completed survival phase, assess the status of the transition phase, and identify the remaining work to move to the state-of-the-art phase. The examination should also define the additional work needed to attain a state-of-the-art environment that supports the ASP. Review the software engineering methods being used at the SSA. This review should assess the adequacy of the software engineering methods and their level of use throughout the development life cycles. The review should identify the work required to complete the analysis and definition of SSA's information and data requirements for current and future SSA operations. The review should also embrace the approach and status of the information flow and data analysis methods employed. Review the SSA's statement of Systems Modernization Plan requirements. This effort should evaluate the adequacy of the current information architecture and database strategy to meet those requirements in light of current technology trends. This work should also identify attractive alternative information and database architectures. 57
56 card technology is a so-called write-once-read-many (WORM) device, so it is not currently intended for applications that require data to be readily alterable. It is an inexpensive technology to mass produce, and current estimates place the cost of a card at about 4 cents. In the long run the neural network might also have potential for the SSA. Since the neural net acquires its capability by Being taught~--in effect watching an individual(s) perform the process that it is intended to replicate--it is conceivable that decision processes for which an ill-defined knowledge base exists might be implemented with neural nets. Neural network technology is not now as well developed as expert systems, but its progress should be monitored. To summarize regarding advanced information technologies, we recommend that: The Social Security Administration study and inventory its technological base with a view toward establishing the relevance and candidacy of promising new technologies to its systems and needs, identify opportunities to exploit them to reduce costs and enhance services, and incorporate the results of such studies and examinations into revised editions of its Agency Strategic Plan. REFERENCES Feigenbaum, E. A., P. McCorduck, and H. P. Nii. 1988. The Rise of the Expert Company: How Visionary Companies Are Using Artificial Intelligence to Achieve Higher Productivity and Profits. New York: Times Books. Social Security Administration. February 1989. Report on Social Security Admi~zistration's Computer Modernization and Related Expenditures. Prepared for the Senate Appropriations Committee, Washington, D.C. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration Office of Strategic Planning. 1988. 2000: A Strategic Plan. Washington, D.C.: The Office of Strategic Planning, Baltimore, Maryland. -
