vvEPA
Vol. 2
January/February
No. 1
IA C Interagency Agreement
IHU Policies and Procedures
Jim Obenschain
More and more federal, state and local
government agencies will need access to
EPA computer facilities as more EPA pro-
jects are computerized. The Inter-
governmental Cooperation Act of 1968
(P.L. 90-577, Stat 1102) provides for
such access. Chapters 1 and 6 of EPA's
ADP Manual and EPA Order 1610.1A outline
EPA's policies regarding access to EPA
computer centers by other government
agencies.
Before any non-EPA government agency can
use the EPA computer centers, these steps
must be followed to establish and imple-
ment an Interagency Agreement (IAG):
• The requesting agency should forward
to MIDSD a proposed statement of
work and a memorandum requesting an
IAG, showing the appropriate manage-
ment approval and commitment of
funds by the user organization. If
the requesting agency wishes, MIDSD
will help in the preparation of this
statement of work.
If an overhead charge is applicable
under EPA Order 1610.1A, Paragraph
9.b.4, this overhead rate should be
incorporated into the statement of
work for the proposed IAG.
The proposed IAG will then be given
to Betty Mingo at MIDSD. MIDSD will
review the statement of work to en-
sure that it does not duplicate
other projects or conflict with
other plans, that it is in line with
policies stated in the ADP Manual,
and that it is in all respects tech-
nically sound.
The proposed IAG will be sent to the
DAA of the Office of Administration
for signing. The IAG will then, be
returned to MIDSD. (The DAA of the
Office of Administration is the only
person authorized to sign lAG's for
use of the EPA data centers.)
MIDSD will next send the IAG to the
IAG Office (Vince Jay) in the Con-
tract Managements Division. The IAG
Office will coordinate the IAG with
the Office of Federal Activities and
the Program Analysis Division and
forward fully executed copies to the
requesting agency, to the EPA office
responsible for performing the work
(MIDSD), to the Budget Operations
Division, and to the appropriate EPA
accounting office.
The Budget Operations Division will
increase suballowance holder 17
(Office of Administration) to the
maximum amount of expected usage.
The new customer will be given an
account number for which the sub-
allowance holder has been increased
by the maximum amount of expected
usage.
For billing, a summary of charges
will be sent quarterly to the Finan-
cial Management Division, unless the
amount is not large enough to make
billing worthwhile. If the charges
are too small, they will be accumu-
lated until the amount is large
enough to bill.
The Financial Management Division
will prepare a Standard Form 1080,
which is used to transfer funds from
one federal agency to another. When
this form is sent to the IAG user,
the Financial Management Division
will authorize MIDSD to spend the
amount of money that has been
billed.
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• Assistant Administrators, Heads of
Staff Offices, and Regional Admin-
istrators are authorized to execute
Interagency Agreements subject to
the limitations and procedures pro-
vided in Paragraph 8 of EPA Order
1610.1A.
These guidelines should be used when
talking to non-EPA agencies about Inter-
agency Agreements for use of EPA computer
centers.
All IAG requests containing detailed
information about statements of work
that will be with the data centers
should be addressed to:
Donald U. Fulford
Chief, Data Center
NCC, U.S. EPA
MD-34
Research Triangle Park, N.C.
27711
The proposed IAG will be reviewed
before being sent to Betty Mingo at
M1DSD in Washington, D.C.
The Director of the NCC has deter-
mined that an IAG with the National
Computer Center will have an over-
head charge of 15 percent on com-
puter runs only.
For IAG information, call Bill Allen
at the NCC (FTS 629-2123) t or Jean
Wilkinson at the WCC (FTS 755-0800).
Any non-EPA government agency must
obtain an IAG to acquire access to
the EPA computer facilities. Fed-
eral agencies should contact the
appropriate data center directly to
obtain an IAG and access to that
facility. State and local agencies
must contact the Regional Adminis-
trator or the Laboratory Director.
A new account number and user-ID/-
password(s) will be established for
the non-EPA user. Funds to cover
computer usage for these new ac-
counts will be added to the appro-
priate suballowance fund for ac-
counting and billing.
Monthly, each EPA office will moni-
tor the IAG computer usage and
charges for each of its non-EPA
users and be responsible for any
overruns created by these users.
This monitoring is done so the non-
EPA user can be advised when funds
are almost exhausted.
Changes in
Telecommunications
Support
Fred Kastner
Elimination of 2000 boa RJE Support at
MCC
Effective March 1, 1979, NCC will dis-
continue support of 2000 bps RJE access.
In the place of 2000 bps (201-A modems),
NCC will only support 4800 bps for dial-
up RJE access. If you are now using a
201-A modem to access NCC at 2000 bps,
you need to get a 201 -B modem before
March 1, 1979 to access NCC at 4800 bps.
The NCC provides 4800 bps WATS lines
(800-334-9761) and 4800 bps commercial
lines (919-541-2094).
Questions or problems with this should be
directed to Fred Kastner at the NCC (919-
541-2932 or FTS 629-2932).
Conversion to Full-Duplex 1200 bos
Support
Due to the popularity, availability, and
enhanced operating characteristics of
1200 bps full-duplex telecommunications
access, NCC will not support 1200 bps
half-duplex access after March 1, 1979.
This means that the 202-type modems at
NCC currently accessible via 549-8691
and FTS 629-2473 will be removed after
March 1.
If you are currently dialing either of
these numbers to access NCC, you need to
make arrangements to replace your 1200
bps half-duplex modem or acoustic coupler
(e.g., Anderson-Jacobson ADAC 1200) with
a full-duplex type. Information regard-
ing available procedures may be obtained
from Fred Kastner at the NCC (919-
541-2932 or FTS 629-2932).
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Life Cycle
Training
Vic Cohen
The December EPA Data Talk introduced
life cycle training as a new EPA training
approach for NADP1. Here 1 want to ex-
pose EPA data processing users/management
to the life cycle training model and its
principles, show how it works, demon-
strate its potential effectiveness in
EPA, and urge its actual application for
subsequent analysis.
The life cycle training model directs a
variety of information systems and man-
agement training toward people with dif-
ferent backgrounds and capabilities. The
model must be redeveloped for each new
set of conditions.
This development procedure consists of
six steps. The first three steps define
and link the variables of audience
(trainee) categories, courses (modules or
mini-courses), and the phases (or events)
of any given life cycle. For example,
the audience categories could be project
officer, contractor, user, and senior
manager. The courses might be project
management, security, data bases, and
executive seminar. And the phases of a
system life cycle could be called project
initiation, feasibility study, system
design, test and implementation, and
maintenance and audit. These variables
are used here because they are reasonably
self-explanatory.
The fourth step is to determine where
audiences and courses converge. For ex-
ample, project officers will benefit from
a course on project management. And all
audiences, save senior managers, should
review security considerations. (Senior
Managers should have a security discus-
sion during the Executive Seminar, but it
need not comprise a separate course.)
Step five ties the audience-course link-
age to a phase in the life cycle. The
project officer will benefit most from a
project management course taken during
the feasibility study, in time to prepare
for contractor management duties during
system design. Likewise, project offi-
cers and contractors need a security
briefing during the feasibility phase,
and users need security appreciation just
prior to system acceptance.
The final step is to summarize the matrix
content. These data are invaluable in
designing programs of instruction, bal-
ancing attendee profiles, scheduling
sessions, etc.
The matrix below portrays a five-phase
system life cycle, but this can be easily
expanded, as can the number of audience
categories and courses. This matrix con-
forms to the life cycle we are now using.
However, we are not limited to a system
life cycle, but could overlay the matrix
with a ZBB development schedule, program
planning calendar, or whatever.
The life cycle training model has several
advantages over traditional training ap-
proaches. The model gives structure and
direction to a customized mix of training
sessions that meet the specific needs of
a single program office. It also guaran-
tees the assessment of user/management
(continued on page 5, column 2)
LIFE CYCLE TRAINING MODEL
AUDIENCE COURSES
CATEGORY PER AUD COURSES OR SESSIONS
Proj Data Secur- Exec
Mat Base itv Sem
Project
Officer
Contractor
User
3
3
2
FS
FS
FS
FS
TI
D
D
MA
Senior
Manager
FS,
MA
Audience per
Course 2 3 3 1, 1
SYSTEM LIFE CYCLE PHASES:
PI - Project Initiation
FS - Feasibility Study
D - System Design
TI - Test and Implementation
MA - Maintenance and Audit
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NCC
Highlights.
V
Tom Rogers
The overall stability at NCC con-
tinues to be excellent - almost unbeliev-
able. For November, the NCC had only 14
failures, an all-time record. During
this period, the NCC installed several
system tapes as well as several hardware
modifications. As of December 20, there
have been only five failures for the
month.
In mid-December, a new disk sub-
system was implemented on the floor sys-
tem. This subsystem will be brought to
full utilization over the next few weeks.
A second system is planned for implemen-
tation during January and February.
\ Recently, an outside computer secur-
ity consulting firm reviewed the NCC.
The results were generally favorable with
some areas needing attention.
The User Orientation Seminar has
been quite successfully presented in
Kansas City and Boston. It is presented
monthly at RTF and Headquarters and will
be presented at a user site if sufficient
interest is shown.
Network
Update
Fred Kastaer
Significant progress has been made in
providing 1001 RJE access to NCC through
the network facilities. The four test
sites will undergo a test and acceptance
period beginning January 2. Several
sites, including New York, Seattle, and
Minneapolis, are receiving priority at-
tention to resolve repeated problems.
For 1200 bps (Bell 212 only) users in the
RTF area, six Bell 212 modems have been
installed at NCC for accessing either NCC
(NCCMSPD) or WCC. That number is 541-
2071.
NADPI pr°J'ct
™vr* Management
NeWS
NADPI's ADP Project Management course
will be offered again this winter in RTF
and Washington. This course, presented
by Robert Gilbertson of Data Architects
and formerly of the Harvard Business
School, is a prerequisite for Applied
ADP Project Management.
Applied Project Management, a new course,
will commence at RTF in March and then
proceed to Washington. This course is
designed as a sequel to the Gilbertson
course. Schedules of the project manage-
ment curriculum will be distributed at a
later time, probably in
Nolan Study Seminar
and Workshop Planned
Ed Franklin
M1DSD has scheduled a Nolan study seminar
and workshop for February 9, 1979 at EPA
Headquarters. The Nolan study is an
assessment of the substantive content and
effectiveness of EPA information systems,
so this seminar and workshop should be of
special interest to the EPA data process-
ing community.
During the morning, a seminar is sched-
uled to present Nolan, Norton and Com-
pany's preliminary analysis, the status
of this study, and some emerging issues.
Workshop sessions following the seminar
will allow EPA representatives to review
and comment on Nolan's analysis of their
organizational applications portfolio,
and to relate each organization to
Nolan's stage hypothesis.
For more information about the meeting
and registration, contact Morris Yaguda
or Ed Franklin at FTS 755-0811.
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DM&O
Dei&piut, Haotuaue, ati Opgitioas Coatiatt
Anne Parkis
EPA's use of the DM&O contract Increased
tremendously during the fall of 1978.
Two hundred Computer Science Corporation
(CSC) employees are now providing ser-
vices to about 80 EPA project officers on
115 tasks. The EPA contract value now
exceeds five million dollars.
To support this rapid increase in growth,
CSC augmented and restructured the DM&O
project organization to emphasize quality
assurance and software management. CSC
recently opened a new office in Ann Arbor
to support the Motor Vehicle Emissions
Laboratory. Other CSC offices supporting
the DM&O contract are in Falls Church,
Virginia and RTP. Through computer cen-
ter facilities management tasks, CSC per-
sonnel also provide services on-site at
laboratories in Athens, Gulf Breeze,
Las Vegas, Corvallis, Grosse lie and
Narragansett, at Regional Headquarters in
New York and San Francisco, and at EPA
Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
The popularity of the DM&O contract
results from its extensive technical
scope and its short procurement cycle.
Tasks-to-date cover a wide range of ADP
services; however, the support is gen-
erally classified as research and analy-
sis, system design and development, soft-
ware conversion, software maintenance,
documentation, or data entry/operations.
Several DM&O tasks directly support EPA's
emphasis on ADP standards and the sharing
or exchange of data and software. Morris
Yaguda from MI DSD, and Jack Sweeney and
Dr. Richard Baker from Region 2 are the
project officers for the common codes
pilot study. This study will provide ex-
perimental data for analyzing the prob-
lems, costs, and benefits of a common
naming and coding scheme for EPA informa-
tion systems.
In the pilot study, an automated cross-
reference file is being created for two
facilities in New Jersey by extracting
data, such as facility name, identifica-
tion code and location, from multiple EPA
data files. Records of the guidelines,
control procedures, and hours spent will
be maintained throughout the task. From
this information, a comprehensive assess-
ment will be made of the effort and money
required to identify and maintain common
data elements.
The pilot study parallels a feasibility
study in progress for the Interagency
Regulatory Liaison Group (IRLG), consis-
ting of EPA and other agencies concerned
with regulating chemicals. The feasibil-
ity study, scheduled for completion in
the spring of 1979, requires the defini-
tion, introduction, and maintenance of
standard names and codes for data ele-
ments common to information systems in
all of the IRLG agencies. The experi-
mental data provided by the DM&O pilot
study will help in EPA's review and
analysis of IRLG'3 feasibility study.
RPA Data Talk is published 00011117 by
the National Computer Center, Manage-
ment Information and Data Syatema
Division, for EPA personnel and con-
tractor a interested in general ADP
topics.
Comments and suggestions are soli-
cited and should be addressed to:
William G. Allen
Editor, EPA Data Talk
National Computer Center
Research Triangle Park,
North Carolina 27711
To ensure that our distribution list
is up-to-date, please indicate any
required changes on the mailing label
attached to this issue and mail It to
the above address.
(Continued from page 3, column 2)
awareness of information management and
acknowledges that certain features of the
project are more important than others
and need repeating. In essence, the
model focuses attention on the "human
resource development" of the project team
and on those considerations which become
important at different times throughout
the life of the project.
Certainly the model variables need expan-
sion and refinement, and we need to vali-
date and tune the approach by applying it
to a program office. The life cycle
training model could be a very effective
training tool. But without an examina-
tion of it in practice, its use and ac-
ceptance will be minimal.
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Highlights
from the WCC
V
Curt Lackey
MIDSD is now reviewing a draft ver-
sion of the WCC Policies and Procedures
Handbook provided by COMNET. Selected
users have been asked to comment. When
complete, this document will provide a
single reference source and guide for WCC
operation and management.
If COMNET has been improving its man-
agement reporting to EPA. Suballowance
holders are now receiving a Monthly
Analysis Report and a comprehensive FY79
budget has been provided to MIDSD. A
Computer Performance Evaluation Report
has been received and will be the vehicle
for pointing out system constraints. And
a comprehensive equipment inventory has
been received and is being reviewed.
V
Version 3.1 of ALPHA was made avail.
able to the user community on December 6,
1978. The conversion to 3.1 proceeded
smoothly with little adverse effect on
the user community. Many people were in-
UNITID STATES
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
National Computer Center
Research Triangle Park
North Carolina 27711
OFFICIAL BUSINESS
PENALTY FOR PRIVATE USE S3OO
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYE*
strumental in this effort, but special
thanks should go to Lee Manning of the
STORET group for assisting with ALPHA
testing.
V
The new 45-day DASD archiving policy
was implemented at the end of November
with noticeable results. The inconven-
ience to users caught by this change must
be weighed against the increase in user
and work space. Weighing the pros and
cons has proven this new policy to be
worthwhile.
The deadline for the March/April
issue of EPA J2a£a. Talk is February
28, 1979. Contributions received
after that date will be published at
the discretion of the editor.
POSTAGE AND FEES PAID
U S ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY
EPA-339
THIRD CLASS
BLK. RT.
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