Managing Computers in Large Organizations

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Managing Microcomputers in Large Organizations http://www.nap.edu/catalog/167.html About this PDF file: This new digital representation of the original work has been recomposed from XML files created from the original paper book, not from the original typesetting files. Page breaks are true to the original; line lengths, word breaks, heading styles, and other typesetting-specific formatting, however, cannot be retained, and some typographic errors may have been accidentally inserted. Please use the print version of this publication as the authoritative version for attribution. REGAINING CONTROL THROUGH CENTRALIZED ACTION 93 Regaining Control Through Centralized Action Thomas D. Conrad* The issues involved in managing microcomputers can be summed up in a few words: to standardize or not, to facilitate or not, to control or not, to wait or not. We face aspects of these issues daily in the Air Force. Standardization presents a special problem to the military because of rotation policies. As user-operators move from one assignment to another, they are exposed to different systems, equipment, and database management systems (DBMSs). As a result, we have continual training and logistics problems. How do we resupply a microcomputer in Egypt, Grenada, Korea, the Philippines, or Okinawa? How do we handle backward compatibility? How do we handle the portability of data as we move around the world? How do we handle the portability of the hardware itself? Procurement raises another set of issues. Should it be centralized or decentralized? Do we purchase computers with capital funds or with operational funds? This is not an insignificant problem in the military services. Do we buy or lease? This issue is being debated in Congress. Do we use a lowest-cost acquisitions policy or do we consider technical merit along with cost? For years the military services have been prodded into awarding contracts * Thomas D. Conrad is former deputy assistant secretary, information systems management, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Managing Microcomputers in Large Organizations http://www.nap.edu/catalog/167.html About this PDF file: This new digital representation of the original work has been recomposed from XML files created from the original paper book, not from the original typesetting files. Page breaks are true to the original; line lengths, word breaks, heading styles, and other typesetting-specific formatting, however, cannot be retained, and some typographic errors may have been accidentally inserted. Please use the print version of this publication as the authoritative version for attribution. REGAINING CONTROL THROUGH CENTRALIZED ACTION 94 to the lowest bidder. Are hardware and software acquisitions single or separate procurements? How should the whole proposal and contract award process work? Should a request for a proposal (RFP) be on a requirement basis, in effect designing the computer, or should specifications be strictly functional? Should the development of specifications and the evaluation of proposals be centralized or decentralized? How should we handle multiple awards? Do we choose in-house or contract maintenance? All of these issues grew out of some initial observations I made when I first came to Washington. I realized there was a proliferation of all kinds of microcomputers in the Air Force. In fact, many were not really business computers at all; they were more like home computers, but they were being used in critical areas of our national defense. Sometimes they were purchased with capital funds, sometimes with operational funds, sometimes with slush funds, and sometimes with private funds. Personal computers, owned by individuals, were being used operationally. When those individuals rotated out, they took their computers with them. Such practices did not seem very wise from a business viewpoint, particularly when that business was national defense. My first step was to place a moratorium on the purchase of microcomputers. For almost a year no approval was given to purchase any microcomputers. Besides catching everyone's attention, this step stimulated cooperation in the expeditious development of specifications and a procurement strategy. My next action was to convene an advisory council. The group of about 33 appointees met in November 1982. It was not the usual committee, because I had decision-making power. Thus, council members who had the most influential or convincing arguments would actually determine the direction we would take. We began by developing a requirements contract for microcomputers. No minimum or maximum quantities were specified. Nor did the contract require that any money be available for purchases. Instead, it simply said that if any micros at all were purchased over the period of the one-year contract (with two one-year options for renewal on the part of the Air Force) they would be purchased under the terms of the contract, from whomever won the award. (In fact, when we placed the RFP on the street and even when we awarded the contract we had no assurance that we Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
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