The AFFIRMation On Line

A MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR FEDERAL INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

AFFIRM, the Association For Federal Information Resources Management, is a Washington, DC-based council of the Federation of Government Information Processing Councils. It is a nonprofit, volunteer organization whose goal is to improve the management of information within the Federal Government.

A MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR FEDERAL INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

The AFFIRMation


AFFIRM, the Association For Federal Information Resources Management, is a Washington, DC-based council of the Federation of Government Information Processing Councils. It is a nonprofit, volunteer organization whose goal is to improve the management of information within the Federal Government.



Data Warehousing: Some Thoughts For Federal Agencies
by Dr. Ramon C. Barquin, President of The Data Warehousing Institute

In our recent publication Data Warehousing: What Works? we recently wrote: "Data warehousing is taking the industry by storm, and is now poised to transform it. In the process, it will generate an immense opportunity domain for those organizations with the clarity of vision and courage to act. For too long, enterprises have been data rich and information poor - technologically condemned to be information mazes... Now this era is ending. In its stead we see the emergence of ... targeted decision systems, enabled through data warehousing initiatives, fast becoming the linchpin of an enterprise's command center." It is clear from this "Data Warehousing Manifesto" that we are true believers.

However, how can an organization separate myth from reality , put into proper perspective the promises of the hardware and software providers, and decide for itself whether data warehousing is a real potential solution to its problems, or just the latest fad in an industry that produces one every month? These tough questions are at the heart of the problem many organizations, especially within the Federal government, seem to face today.

Where to start? First, surveys reveal that about 90% of the Fortune 500 companies are currently engaged in some form of data warehousing activity, or soon plan to. Second, within the Federal government, there are also numerous initiatives already underway (e.g., DOT, USPS, EPA, DoEd, FDIC, and FAA) and several full production (e.g., NSWC, NSF) data warehouses in operation. These organizations, and many others, have moved into data warehousing environments without fully understanding all the issues.

Typical problems data warehousing tries to address (e.g., multiple entry points to data, lack of integrated systems, ambiguous and multiple definitions, the need for analytical processing that doesn't disturb operational systems, and an inability to obtain an enterprise-wide vision) have hounded management for some time. Over the last few years dynamic organizations have developed different types of database constructs for analytical purposes, usually by extracting data from legacy systems and placing them in a separate store with its own distinguishing characteristics. Voila! They have stumbled into a form of data warehousing! These approaches may or may not fit the classical definition of data warehousing, but they do try to provide a decision support environment characteristic of data warehousing.

The difference between where data warehousing is now and the attempts of the past lies in the proliferation of new and powerful tools in almost all relevant areas of the process. Hence, today you can rely on several excellent data extraction, cleaning and transformation tools to reduce the pain of loading the data warehouse. Likewise, a number of solid new tools have emerged to build and manage the metadata repository. Advances in Data Base Management System (DBMS) capabilities, especially in bitmap indices, are substantial. Other advances include intelligent storage systems which started appearing in the open systems world with a strong positive impact; the appearance of relational on-line analytical processing (ROLAP) tools that help obtain multidimensional views from relational databases; and the emergence of powerful data mining techniques. In addition, the new tools that manage the data warehousing process make the production process much less laborious and difficult. In short, while we are not ye
t at the point where we can order a shrink-wrapped data warehouse from a catalog, we can now plan, design and build data warehouses knowing that we have the basic tools to do it with.

Data warehousing: Believe me: it's here to stay!



The President's Corner
As we entered November, expecting to feel the first cold winds of winter, we got a bit more than we bargained for this year - the shutdown of the Federal government caused by a funding crises. I thought it useful to comment on the down and up sides of the experiences we recently shared.

Budget uncertainty is anathema to AFFIRM members, who, as professionals working for Federal agencies and the industry that supports Federal IT, believe in making decisions based on rational arguments, fact-based economics, and an educated view of the future. As a professional organization, our reason for being is to improve the processes and understanding involved in making stable information technology investment decisions. Funding uncertainty leads us to make decisions based entirely on cash flow, rather than more appropriate investment criteria; this results in deferred decisions, and often delayed benefits. These are chiefly organizational impacts. The ultimate result of a funding process that is stalemated, a Federal shutdown, also creates individual impacts. Both Federal and industry employees are whipsawed by the uncertainty of their near-term employment, and sometimes disillusioned by the perceived distinctions caused by the unfortunate labeling of positions as "essential" and "non-essential." I
n this environment, the momentum of a good project team on a project likely to deliver substantial mission benefit, the very focus of many of our Federal and industry members working in partnership, can be lost and made very hard to recapture. These times pose additional challenges to our already difficult leadership positions.

As every cloud has a silver lining, so do these times of shutdown. Almost without exception across the Federal sector, organizations delivering IT services kept the infrastructure operating during the shutdown period. Agency planning efforts identified IT services as necessary to support those personnel required to shutdown the government and to keep selected functions operating. Like never before, the shutdown period focused attention on the fact that the Federal government today is nearly impossible to operate without computing services, electronic mail, PC desktops, voicemail, and the like. It was also rewarding to view the demand for electronic public access services, primarily Web sites, during the shutdown period. In a short time, we as a community have worked with our program counterparts to make Federal Web sites a critical link to millions of citizens. This point was especially driven home by a recent editorial in an IT industry publication that called on Agencies to leave Web sites operational
during any future shutdowns.

Despite the great turnout for Roger Johnson at our November luncheon seminar, a number of our members were unable to attend due to the Federal shutdown. Mr. Johnson's basic theme was that Federal executive leadership was almost entirely focused on policy, at the expense of professional management. He suggested several fixes, but the suggestion that most hit home with me dealt with the focus and experience requirements for Department and Agency deputies. In short, he proposed that the #2 ranking officials in Federal organizations be made more accountable for managing their organizations, and that they bring to their CEO appointment roles prior experience where they managed sizable organizations and were responsible for profit and loss. By implication, I think his proposal also suggests that these Agency CEOs also be directly responsible for championing and overseeing process simplification and reengineering. The implications to the IRM community of such an approach, if it could be successfully implemente
d, are immense, especially in terms of creating a natural alliance for IT and IRM executives with senior officials positioned to lead a business-focused examination of processes and practices. I hope he is able to create interest in this proposal among his peers and am pleased he chose AFFIRM as the venue to launch it.

Finally, I am quite pleased to recognize several more corporate sponsors for AFFIRM. Joining us as Sustaining Partners in recent months have been: Systems Integration Group; MCI Government Markets; DynCorp; and Grant Thornton. Supporting AFFIRM as Seminar Sponsors in recent months have been Unisys and American Management Systems. It is gratifying to see the industry interest in supporting the efforts of AFFIRM, and we thank each of these organizations for their support.

Paul Wohlleben



Editor's Notes

This issue of AFFIRMation is a combined issue for November, December and January. This is due to the Federal furlough and subsequent time loss due to the devastating snow storm. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused our members. We will be back on track in February and will publish every month. If you have any comments or recommendations for the newsletter, please contact Ava Arnone or Joe Lentini. You'll find our numbers on the back page.


Sponsorship Committee News
Corporate support for AFFIRM remains strong as evidenced by a continuing line up of industry sponsors. Such Sustaining Partners join AFFIRM in a year-long effort to promote Federal IRM excellence.

For December, AFFIRM welcomes Grant Thornton LLP as a Sustaining Partner. We also appreciate Unisys' support for our December seminar which highlighted an IRM topic of current interest - "The technological Edge--Redefining How USDA Does Business."

Sponsorship opportunities continue during the coming calendar year. Contact either of the Sponsorship Committee co-chairs listed in this issue for more information.



November's Seminar Recap
"In Washington, D.C. there is no political constituency for political management, but there IS a constituency for policy issues, and those in (the Federal government) have no background in HOW to implement or manage these policies." These were some opening points Roger Johnson, Administrator of the General Services Administration, made at AFFIRM's November luncheon held in spite of the government shut down. He added that, while the private sector mandates professional management, there is no benefit or penalty for either good or bad Federal management.

This issue interests AFFIRM since its many public and private sector members are in professional management and operations. Rules, regulations, and laws are often substituted for professional management practices in government, and often get in the way of efficient, cost effective operations. Mr. Johnson feels solutions lie in infusing different views of organizational management, basic accounting, and internal and external marketing into Federal operations. He cites AFFIRM's NPR book "Linking IRM and Mission" as an example of the type of needed infusion and recommends Vice President Gore's book, "Common Sense Management," as a blue print for government.

In summary, Mr. Johnson said "it's time to do things differently." He believes AFFIRM members control the most important resource available today - an electronic government operation - and proposes that we promote the political importance of professional Federal management.



December/January Seminar Recaps
December Seminar

Anne Thomson Reed, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture addressed the AFFIRM members and guests at our December luncheon. Ms. Reed discussed "The Technological Edge--Redefining How USDA Does Business" in an era of significant change and challenges in both her agency and across the Federal Government.

Ms. Reed assumed her current duties December, 1993. Her office manages USDA's personnel, information technology and telecommunications, civil rights, property, and procurement activities. She is also the USDA Environmental Executive and the representative on Vice President Gore's Information Infrastructure Task Force. Focusing on promoting a government that works better and costs less, Ms. Reed discussed how USDA has translated the principles of the NPR into action.

January Seminar

Cynthia Rand, the Principal Director for Information Management, Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence at the Department of Defense, was the speaker at AFFIRM's January luncheon. As co-chair of the Software Management Initiative, Ms. Rand shared her experiences and "lessons learned" in the software development and management arena.



Members In The News
Beth Koehler was recently elected Vice President - Europe for the Federation of Government Information Processing Councils (FGIPC). FGIPC is a professional organization comprised of 27 government IRM councils throughout the United States. FGIPC supports communication and education between national government entities, our government, and industry.

Beth supports the Chairman of the International Council for Information Technology in Government Administration (ICA), Mr. Frank McDonough of the General Services Administration. She also supports the FGIPC President's role of U.S. representative to the ICA. She will keep AFFIRM informed on FGIPC efforts related to emerging IT and IRM trends and technology issues.


Sustaining Partners

Ogden Professional Services

DynCorp Information and Engineering Technology

Lotus Development Corporation

MCI Government Markets

Systems Integration Group, Inc.

Software AGFederal Systems, Inc.

Grant Thornton LLP

Financial Issues
AFFIRM's financial results from June 1, 1995, through November 30th, 1995, are:

Income $11,936.99
Expenses $ 9,783.50

The income is approximately 1/3 memberships, 1/3 sponsorships, and 1/3 luncheon receipts. Major expenses include the luncheons (covered by the luncheon income), the Emerging Issues White Paper that was received so well, and membership communications. A detailed Treasurer's Report is available to all members by request to: Chris Folger @ Voice 703/847-2709 or E-Mail folgerc@federal.unisys.com.



Webmaster Update

AFFIRM Website

AFFIRM will soon have a subsite on FedCenter, a Webpage devoted to Federal information technology news, services, and products. In addition to our FedCenter Webpage presence, AFFIRM will have its own private domain homepage in the near future.

According to David Beers of Neumann Marketing, FedCenter represents a new paradigm by co-locating Federal Information Technology (IT) information in one cyber location. A powerful search engine provides FedCenter browsers with rapid access to hardware, software, services, training, documents of interest, and links to major vendor pages. FedCenter is accessed at http://www/fedcenter.com.

For additional information, contact David Beers @ (703) 893-4000.


Service Provider Liability

Digital Gateway Systems (DGS), a local Internet service provider and donor of AFFIRM member benefits and raffle items, recently received a great deal of press coverage regarding a suit brought against it by the Church of Scientology. A disgruntled former Scientologist who used DGS as a service provider, posted derogatory information regarding the sect, as well as copyrighted church educational documents intended for provision only to church members and at a cost. These documents were also provided to the Washington Post, a co-defendant in the suit.

DGS is strongly supported by the Internet community worldwide. According to DGS attorneys, a small provider was targeted as a test case because of the potential for a quick decision which would set precedent for cases brought against larger firms. For this reason, and because of the First Amendment and cost implications for service-providers monitoring of millions of Internet accounts, information business and legal circles are following this case closely. For additional information, or to express support for an AFFIRM benefactor, contact Rob Carder, DGS President @ carter@dgs.dgsys.com .