PPG TASKING FOR RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE USE OF THE DEPARTMENT'S AUTOMATED INFORMATION SYSTEM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP83T00573R000300010020-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 5, 2001
• Sequence Number: 20
• Content Type: MEMO

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State Dept. review
completed
MEMORANDUM
STATINTL
TO:
M/MO -
FROM:
A/OPR - Virginia Schafer
SUBJECT:
PPG Tasking for Recommendations to
Improve
Use of the Department's Automated
Information
System
The Foreign Affairs Information System (previously referred
to as Automated Document System) is a cornerstone for the
Department's information future. It represents a modern,
efficient capability for utilizing information assets and
for managing resources demanded by the Department's foreign
affairs information procesE - capabilities that few other
agencies, outside of Defense and CIA, have available or under
development.
One of the greatest values ot,this system is its potential
use to offset human resources demanded by the Department's
information process. This now totally manual process is the
single most dominant and pervading of any in the Department.
It consumes more time of more people than any other single
function.
The system and its information provide a viable alternative to
the present resource-consurning process of how information is
used and maintained throughout the Department. As a viable
alternative, appropriate apllication to,,derive its benefits is
the critical objective. The Department must move to a new
plateau in utilization of -:his valuable resource. It can
reduce personnel burdens and concurrently sustain or increase
the value of information b' more effectively managing the
information assets and resources involved.
The continual need for both additional financial and human
resources demonstrates c]eirly one significant fact: All
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personnel resources are eauzilized at the common denominator
level of position staffing. A messenger or clerical position
counts against the Department's position ceiling equally as that
of a Special Assistant, an I,ssistant Secretary, or an Ambassador
position.
The opportunity is available to make more effective use of the
Department's scarce position resources by allocating them where _
the benefits will be greater. By application of modern infor-
mation technology, routine c:luties can be performed more
efficiently and with less demand on human resources. Significant
portions of an individual's time or entire positions can then
be made available for more _mportant responsibilities and
contributions. Freeing personnel time and positions from the
mechanics of information handling is the objective of the
Foreign Affairs Information System and its Central Foreign
Policy File information resources.
At present, there are over '5,600 file cabinets in the Depart-
ment and another 22,300 at posts. These files contain over
764 million pages of informu:.tion materials. For a 5-year period,
the Central Foreign Policy Pile contains approximately 11.8
million pages of unique information. In a single year, 1979,
over 62 million copies were made for primary distribution of
some 927,000 cables and airc;rams. This redundancy demands a
substantial amount of human effort in existing manually
operated paper systems. It represents a waste of human
resources that can be avoided. Even with this unharnessed
paper explosion, information is still fragmented and combina-
tions of important signals are often lacking, or worse still,
are submerged by massive quantities of tangential information.
There is no efficient or effective solution that can cope
with present proportions of proliferated information in paper
copies. The only solution is to prevent this proliferation
without diminishing the accessibility of information.
The Foreign Affairs Information System can provide this
solution.
To obtain maximum benefits from the system, an investment will
be required. This investment will mini-Mize demands for per-
sonnel by the paper handlincr process and allow the Department to
make better utilization of scarce human resources and more
effective use of information to support the Department's mission.
Briefly, recommendations for achieving these goals are:
1. Demonstrate desirability and benefits of the automated
resource by saturatinq a geographic bureau with terminals
at the country desk and working officer levels. Terminals,
or preferably word processors, should be linked through
the information system to the Department's communications
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resources so that cables, memoranda and other papers can
be sent, delivered, received, and retrieved at terminals.
This will satisfy the requirement for convenience and
provide a prototype for identifying problems and solutions
in moving toward an efficient office of the future.
2. Convert airgrams to AIR CHANNEL cables and implement
optical scanning of memoranda and other important papers.-
This will increase comprehensiveness of the central
resource, increase accessibility and thus reliability as
an authoritative source of information.
3. Improve capabilities cf the user language which provides
access to the information resource, and invest in research
to develop automated indexing from words in message text.
These features will make the system more efficient and
more accessible in providing required information, and
minimize the friction between the user and the system.
4. Provide the capability to identify papers to a case
file and to reorganize and repackage search results to
meet specific needs of users. This will increase responsive-
ness of the system and make it a more viable tool in meeting
information needs of users.
A justification for these recommendations is presented in the
attached analysis of impediments to maximum use of the system.
Attachment:
Constraints and Recommendations for Improving
Use of the Foreign Affairs Information System
and Reducing Demands for Hunan Resources.
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 FOR R,F FFA ORMAOTIOON SYSTEM
AND REDUCING DEMANES FOR HUMAN RESOURCES
In response to the PPG Tasking for recommendations to improve
use of the Foreign Affairs Information System, the following
analysis demonstrates the viability of solutions for impediments
to more effective use of the Department's information system.
There is a major constraint to using this electronic or
digital medium as a surrogate for paper files. It can best
be characterized as the lack of system "accessibility".
Terminals accessing the system are not located where they are
needed and there are not enough terminals to compete with
paper files. And, because they are accessible, "personal"
copies of papers in office or working files are difficult to
compete with even though their upkeep, use and disposition
are unnecessarily demandinc; of human resources.
The lack of terminals where they are needed, i.e. lack of
convenience, is one of four factors that can inhibit or
increase use of the system. The four key requirements of
accessibility and use are:
o Convenient - as nearby as a filing cabinet.
o Comprehensive - coriplete in scope of relevant
information.
o Responsive - on recruest, provides the right infor-
mation needed without missing pertinent information
or without overburc.eninq with irrelevant information.
o Efficient - needed information can be found and
used quickly and eE.sily with a minimum of effort.
These requirements, and recommendations for meeting them are
as follows:
The system must be as convEr.ient as-paper office files to
compete effectively with and replace these files.
A. CONSTRAINT
The single greatest impediment to accessibility through
convenience is security anc its associated costs. A standard
terminal for accessing the system costs between $2,000 and
$4,000. It can be linked to the computer system with existing
telephones in offices. Hovever, since the system contains
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classified information, special TEMPEST cleared (non-electro-
magnetic radiating) terminals must be used. This raises the
cost of terminals by a factor of 3 to $10,000 or $12,000.
In addition, secure'conduit must be installed to link each
terminal with the central c-rnputer system. Total price of
an installed terminal is approximately $24,000.
At this price, relatively few terminals have been installed
in the Department. Most ar? located adjacent to Assistant
Secretaries' offices. Howe-,7or, a greater use of this facility
can be made at the country desk and working officer levels
where most of the paper file:; are located. To some
extent, Assistant Secretari,-~s do not need an information
system - they already have one in the form of country desk
and staff officers. The la-_er require an information system
- one that is as convenient is present paper files.
B. SOLUTION ALTERNATIVES
A secure telephone network s the most viable solution to this
constraint. Another possib =pity is the use of secure voice
boxes to scramble or encrypt= information over existing phone
lines. This would allow any- telephone in the building to be
used with a terminal to access the system. A third possibility
is the use of fiber optics, in lieu of shielded conduit, to
link terminals with the sysieem. A fourth, less desirable,
possibility is to separate unclassified from classified infor-
mation and allow low cost terminal and telephone access to
unclassified material.
The latter alternative would produce a minimal benefit and
thus, at best, a marginal solution. As put by one of the
geographic bureaus, "It's the classified information that is
of greatest interest and need. Access limited to unclassified
information would be of minimum use." Fiber optics as an
alternative would not substantially reduce costs over those
presently incurred for shielded conduit. And there is still
uncertainty as to whether or not fiber optics is vulnerable
to penetration.
At $10,000 per unit, secure voice boxes-do not presently
offer a substantial reduction in cost. However, this
alternative offers quick inEt.allatich, and it is immune to
the diminishing space required for installing conduit or fiber
optics throughout the buildinq. Lower cost versions of the
secure box are supposed to to available in 1982. The secure
telephone network is some years away, and does not offer an
immediate or short range solution.
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C. RECOMMENDATION
To prototype a "paperless", electronic office, one geographic
bureau should be saturated at country desk level with terminals.
Where possible, existing word processors should be used as
terminals. This will avoid additional costs and proliferation
of devices, each addressing a single facet of a multi-use
information environment. These terminals, or word processors,
will access the system to retrieve information from the central
file. One objective is to replace as many bureau files as
possible. However, equally as important an objective is
linking terminals, through he computer system, with OC
communications to allow for direct and paperless routing of
cables for transmission, and for receipt of incoming cables.
The same facilities can be used for delivery and receipt of
memoranda.
The use of existing word processors as terminals and cost
and installation options fo_- secure linkage should be examined
by ISO and OC.
Saturation of a bureau will trovide a live working environment
for identification of problems that must be resolved in
moving toward an efficient office of the future. Paper will
not be fully replaced as a means for delivering information.
However, the retention of this information should be paperless.
The automated central information resource can compete with,
and become a viable replacement for, paper files if it is as
complete and comprehensive as these office files.
At present, the system is complete in its capture of cable
and airgram traffic. However, it is lacking in important
memoranda. This shortcominux is repeatedly demonstrated in
response to Congressional oversight and FOI requests for
information. It is highlighted by cases such as the Crown of
St. Stephen, Moscow Radiation, and the recent Billy Carter-
Libya Congressional inquiry. In all three instances, the
preponderance of information resided in memoranda obtained
from bureaus rather than from the Central Files. Answering
requests, such as these, ha:; imposed a search burden on bureaus,
and has required more effor-_ to identify and discard duplicates
than the original overlapping effort required for searching.
Although bureaus are required to send copies of important
memoranda and papers to FAIM for inclusion in the Central File,
this policy and practice is not always observed. When they
are sent in as paper media, they become microfilm records in
the system, and the full text cannot be obtained on bureau
terminals. Thus, there is no incentive for forwarding
memoranda to FAIM for inclusion in the central resource.
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To compete with paper files, these types of documents must
be included in the central resource and they must be available
in digital or electronic farm.
Also related to comprehensiveness is the duration of time in
which information is available from the system. When the
system was originally implemented, full text of cables were
to be kept on line for 3 years. However, demands for system
storage space have caused :,able text to be removed from the
system after 18 months. After_ this time period, message text
can be obtained only from microfilm. And microfilm recovery,
as it is structured on reeL film in this application, is
extremely inefficient and demanding of human effort. For
example, a comparison of retrieval from the system and
retrieval from microfilm identified a 7:1 difference in time
and effort needed to retrieve 35 cables. As the number of
messages increases, the effort required for retrieval from
microfilm reels increases at a. disproportionate rate.
This human resource demand problem is more apparent in FAIM
than in user bureaus. As an information service center, FAIM
must frequently locate information dating back to the early
1960's. Microfilm, in this; application, is only marginally
more efficient than paper iiles.
B. SOLUTION ALTERNATIVES
There are two approaches available for obtaining information
in memoranda and other paper media: (1) through word processors,
or (2) through optical scarring of papers. Both will provide
information in digital or Electronic form.
The first alternative woulc require linking existing word
processors with the system. These devices are used to prepare,
create, and originate the documents in question. The system
could automatically capturE these information materials in
electronic form directly from the source. However, as
previously mentioned, the single impediment to this type of
linked network is the cost of conduit or other secure linkage.
The second alternative would require that memoranda and
other papers be prepared in a specified format, and in an
optically recognizable typewriter font. Acquisition by the
system would not be automatic as with direct capture from
word processors. Originators would have to forward paper
copies to FAIM where they would be optically scanned and input
into the system. This would make information materials avail-
able to bureau terminals and provide an immediate incentive
for bureaus to include them in the central information resource.
A more comprehensive resource will provide greater accessibility
to information.
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FAIM is installing an optical scanner to capture these types
of papers for the post information protection program. This
program will provide properly organized microfiche copies of
cables, airgrams (AIR CHANNEL cables), memoranda, and other
essential documents to replace paper files at high risk posts.
The scanner will also be used to capture similar information
originated within the Department. A new memorandum form is
currently being designed for testing this process.
With a more comprehensive central resource, the system will be
more responsive and of more value to user needs. When an
appropriate level of comprehensiveness is attained, bureaus
will no longer be required to search office files in response
to Congressional and FOI rEecuests. At that point the Central
File will have replaced the necessity for consulting office
files.
In relation to comprehensiveness as it concerns availability
over time, ISO is continuiriq its investigation of low cost, mass
storage. Recent advancements in Very Large Scale Integrated
(VLSI) circuit technology are drastically reducing costs and
increasing storage capacitves by orders of magnitude. VLSI
chips, half the size of a domino, can store millions of
characters of information. Low cost technology will soon offer
storage for extended time periods, and thus increase comprehen-
siveness and accessibility in this domain.
Effort required to identify and find needed information must
be minimized by an efficient, powerful user query language
and a more flexible vocabu-ary of subject terms.
OnQ form of the system's inefficiency can be characterized as
the experience and knowledge required of the user. This,
however, is not a major deficiency or constraint of the system.
Users must learn the query language as-well as the thesaurus
(controlled vocabulary of words) used for indexing subject
content of communications and documents. The query language
could be improved by providing simpler, multi-functional
commands and by combining several related tasks into a single
command. Although efficiency in the user language or commands
is already acceptable, ref=_nement would make usage more
efficient and more desirab=_e.
The system indexing vocabulary does require more user knowledge.
There is no response from the system to key words or subject
terminology that are not in the vocabulary. The correct terms
must be used.
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Changes and improvements in the user command language are already
being defined by FAIM. However, only minimal changes can be
made to the present system before such changes become a major
system redesign effort.
As to the vocabulary, the use of automated indexing, to select
nouns, qualifiers, and proper names from message text, will
produce precision indexing and consequential efficiencies in
retrieval. Automated indexing must be accompanied by synonym
linkage since this method of indexing is prey to the vagaries
of language occurring in message text. Combined automated
indexing and synonym linkage would in essence provide free
retrieval from free indexing. With any subject word entered
by a user, all related words would be shown by the system to
facilitate maximum recall cf pertinent information. Retrieval
of information will then be based on natural language.
A third alternative is the use of "private" indexing, i.e.,
indexing by originators and recipients of cables and memoranda.
Present indexing by FAIM can be considered "public" in nature
since it is performed for a broad range of users. Private
indexing will supplement tle information resource with the
user's perspective of important subjects.
The goal of all of these fcrms of indexing is to make retrieval
of needed information not cnly possible but relatively simple.
The retrieval task must be made as natural to the user as
possible. Simplicity and Efficiency of retrieval are dependent
on substantial organizing and indexing of information. However,
easy and effective retrieval is illusive because language is
dynamic -- words and their meanings change. Indexing finding
aids must also be refined to keep pace with dynamics of the
reporting language used by Foreign Service Officers.
FAIM currently is encouragj.nq private indexing by users.
It is being performed on a limited bastrs by the USUN and by
some posts. To increase the value of the post microfiche
program (to replace paper files), posts will be given
instructions and will be encouraged to index messages they
originate.
FAIM is also developing specifications for automated indexing
and synonym linkage. To date, neither industry nor government
has developed a system and r.!ethodology that performs satisfactorilly.
The problem is not computer related. It is an intellectual
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problem dealing with language, ambiguities in word relationships,
and the ability to recover specific as well as conceptual level
subject information. Add.i-ional financial resources will be
required to bring the best expertise (consultants) to bear on
this problem.
The system must deliver all of the right information when
demanded, and it must present this information in an organized
structure that facilitates its use.
A. CONSTRAINT
Responsiveness involves some of the principles of efficiency.
The system must deliver all information relevant to a subject
- not miss important information. It must also deliver the
right information, and not overload the requester with
tangential or irrelevant irfor_mation. In this respect, indexing
must be in-depth and of hich quality. The better the quality
of indexing, the less effort required to identify, find, and
retrieve required information.
The present quality of indexing will provide an acceptable
level of responsiveness. However, the FAIM staffing level is
inadequate for the volume of communications that must be
indexed on a timely basis. Information cannot be retrieved
if messages have not been indexed, and as a consequence the
resource suffers from lack ;-)f comprehensiveness. The value
in being current and comprei-iensive has been weighed against
the value of quality, in-de.-)t.h indexing, i.e., not being able
to find information versus The potential for finding it with
increased effort. As a res-iit, FAIM has opted for quick,
shallow indexing to keep cu-rent. This surface indexing has
diminished quality to the e-tent that broader, general searches
are required to find specif c information. Consequently
the proportion of non-relevant to relevant information in a
search response is greater Than it should be. Solutions to
this. constraint are include(? with those to make system use
more efficient.
Another more serious constraint to responsiveness is presented
by the inability to restructure or sort retrieved information
into a logical, usable order. This is serious where large
quantities of information are retrieved for a single request.
Examples are the People's Temple case (over 1,000 documents),
Libya-Billy Carter case (over 2,500 documents), and special
Tehran analysis (over 17,OOC cables). In each of these
cases, as well as numerous ethers, retrieved paper copies of
cables had to be manually scrted in an order that would
facilitate use and analysis. The effort required has been
substantial - 2 to 4 people for up to 8 days depending on
quantity.
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This inability to sort and reorganize information also
diminishes the potential fnr replacing office paper files.
In L, for example, there are over 270 file cabinets.
Portionsof these files deal with extradition cases, and a
sampling indicates that approximately 80 percent of their
contents consists of cable traffic. These types of paper
files would be ideal candicates for the central system.
But the inability to organize documents by case, and then
organize within a case, nullifies system potential for
replacing paper files.
B. SOLUTION
Provide users with a capability to identify documents to a
case file and to reorganize and repackage search results
to meet specific needs.
C. RECOMMENDATION
Modify the present system t-) allow for user initiated sorting
of key features identifying the characteristics of messages
and their content. These k~v features should include date,
originator, addressee, security classification, subject terms,
personal names, TAGS, case -)r file number, etc. In conjunction
with recommendations for im:-)rnving the user query language
and subject terminology for access, the need for a new system
should be investigated. This need will be predicated on
the ability to implement changes to the present system and
the impact of these changes en the operational integrity of
the system.
These recommendations should he accorded a main thrust effort
with the best expertise ava-.table. Each recommendation will
require financial investment and some marginal need of human
resources for a short time nnE~riod. The investment can benefit
the Department by providing the basis to better manage the
utilization of scarce human resources and more effectively use
the Department's information assets.
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