NCJ Number
74574
Date Published
1980
Length
76 pages
Annotation
This General Accounting Office (GAO) review of the Senate's current word processing needs and the methods used addresses three objectives and offers recommendations for improving the Senate's management of current word processing capabilities.
Abstract
The review sought to determine the cost effectiveness of the Senate Correspondence Management System (CMS) as compared with the recently approved standalone video-display systems, assess the word processing needs of senatorial offices and the staffs' satisfaction with their current word processing systems, and determine whether other word processing approaches are feasible. The review also assessed the planning, management, and cost effectiveness of the communications network that is being developed to link Senators' field offices with the CMS computer. GAO found that standalone systems were the least costly in letter production. CMS, however, offers features which go beyond simply producing correspondence. These features include management reporting, casework management, mailing list maintenance, and high-speed production printing. Although it costs 34 percent more to produce a letter on CMS than on the standalone system, the additional CMS features appear to justify the cost. GAO found that there had been inadequate planning for the development of the Senate network even though funds were allocated specifically for that purpose. GAO recommends that the Senate consider testing alternative word processing systems in Senators' offices, deferring its consideration of purchase of the CMS until the design study is completed, and evaluating alternative commercial data communications network structures to determine potential benefits and costs. A glossary, footnotes, diagrams, and tables are provided. Appendixes present comparisons of Senate word processing capability with the state of the art, a cost analysis of word processing in the Senate now and in the future, a survey of Senate word processing systems, and a letter. (Author summary modified)