An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Programs Fiscal Year 1994 (1994) / Chapter Skim
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8 Computer Systems Laboratory
8 Computer Systems Laboratory
Pages 197-226
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Chapter 8 Computer Systems laboratory
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PANEL MEMBERS O.R. Pardo, Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, Chair Herbert D
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Strategy CSL, improves the productive and reliable use of computers by developing standards, profiles of standarcis, guidelines, conformance tests, technical methods, measurement techniques, and prototypes and by providing advice on planning, deployment, and use of new information technologies. CSL improves security management and technology by developing timely and innovative solutions to security problems and technical, management, physical, and administrative standards and guidelines for the cost-effective security ant!
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However, management must carefully approach the merger in order to maintain staff morale, and, most importantly, maintain and strongly support core capabilities in applied mathematics, statistical engineering, software and communications testing, spoken and written language corpora development, and standards development. The staff of the two laboratories shouts!
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software design stage, however, the Systems and Software Technology Division should give priority to the early stages of the software engineering process rather than continuing this tool's enhancement.
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Each CSL division should upgrade and perfect its multiyear plans, with cletailec! activity descriptions, milestones, forecast completion dates, funding sources, staffing, and relations to other NIST projects.
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CSL collaborated in standards setting, demonstrated open systems applications in the Electronic Commerce Program, and extencled the scope of NIST's open systems activities to cover interoperability among distributed, heterogeneous systems and the use of the Open Systems Environment Profile as a framework for organizing its seemingly disparate activities, as requested in the panel's fiscal year 1993 assessment. Given below are some of the panel's fiscal year 1993 recommendations (quoted from the fiscal year 1993 assessment)
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218~. This issue is acidressed by the administration in The National Information Infrastructure: Agenda for Action (information infrastructure Task Force, ~1 7_ _1 ~ ~.
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DIVISIONAL ASSESSMENTS Information Systems Engineering Division Mission The Information Systems Engineering Division develops standards for information systems and provides technical assistance to government and industry in data administration, data management technology, computer graphics, and the validation of related software standards. Strategy The Information Systems Engineering Division conducts research; develops federal standards and guidelines; provides advisory services to federal agencies; performs technology forecasts; maintains testbed facilities in information systems technology, including tiara moclels, database systems, data aclministration, database design, computer graphics systems, programming languages, and advanced applications development facilities; and develops tools and techniques for testing the functions and performance of information systems software, including programming languages, computer graphics, database software, and data dictionary software both within systems and in computer networking environments.
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Although such testing provides a valuable service to other agencies and industry, it leaves little time to explore emerging technologies anal ad hoc standards that will influence future acquisition · po uncles. Assessment of Technical Programs Both the Information Systems Engineering and the Systems and Software Technology Divisions are acquiring equipment and developing expertise in the area of virtual reality.
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The Information Systems Engineering Division must clarify and better coordinate its joint program on virtual reality with the Systems and Software Technology Division.
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Services that have decreasing or marginal utility should be identified for possible elimination or reduction. Also, the division should explore the gains from planning for joint programs with CSL's Systems and Software Technology Division" (p.
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Systems and Software Technology Division Mission The System and Software Technology Division supports users and industry through promotion and evolution of open systems concepts and technology. Strategy An important aspect of the Systems and Software Technology Division's strategy is its relationships with other CSL divisions.
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Resources Fiscal year 1 994 funding for the Systems and Software Technology Division is estimated at $~.7 million from STRS, $0.2 million from NIST Competence Building Program funds, and $3.6 million from OA sources. The staffing for fiscal year 1994 includes 41 permanent staff, 3 research associates, 4 visiting faculty, 5 students, and ~ guest researcher.
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However, a conflicting NPR goal of reducing the federal work force by some 252,000 translates into a limited opportunity for this division to hire sta~necessary to meet its objectives. Assessment of Technical Programs The Systems and Software Technology Division's individual programs are of good quality overall, but the set of programs lacks cohesion.
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. The Systems anti Software Technology Division should give attention to process engineering; commercial sectors are very active in process engineering, however, there is little guidance in standards.
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. "The Systems and Software Technology Division should play a more proactive role in the [SO 9000 and Software Engineering Tnstitute's Capability Maturity Mode!
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. "The Systems and Software Technology Division should investigate the use of fellows from industry, contractors, and part-time retired NIST staff.
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Assessment of Technical Programs The Computer Security Division has evaluated the relevance of its technical programs to the NI! as well as to trends and changes in the information security environment.
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· The Computer Security Division should use program plans to track progress anti deliverables. The division should dedicate increased resources to virus prevention and detection and clistributed authentication.
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Strategy The activities that are within the scope of work for the Systems and Network Architecture Division include activities that support and strengthen the network infrastructure (e.g., routing and forwarding protocols, management protocols, security protocols) ; result in useful applications or groups of applications (e.g.' ' ' electronic mail' directory services' electronic commerce)
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The laboratory facility should be planned to avoid disruption of the pending network connection, which might necessitate not moving the division laboratory. Assessment of Strategy The mission statement does not suggest a focus for the Systems and Network Architecture Division strategy.
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The following are the panel's recommendations for the Systems and Network Architecture The Systems and Network Architecture Division's planning document should be recast in terms of the NI} and electronic commerce so that the role and responsibility of the division are clear and its projects can be clearly identified with these national initiatives. The division's role in support of the ATP shouic!
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. "In the area of electronic commerce, the Systems and Network Architecture Division should focus on only a few, well-defined pilot projects, because of the large scope of electronic commerce" (p.
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. The Systems and Network Architecture Division should help ensure that tomorrow's open networks provide access to these major systems from workstations that span networks using open and de facto standards".
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Assessment of Technical Programs The Advanced Systems Division's technical programs are conducted in a competent manner. Papers, patents, and peer interaction with other institutions such as commercial laboratories or ARPA point to the high level of technical expertise and relevance accorded Advancer!
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Again, it was difficult to assess the level of achievement of the Distributed Systems Group; however, the group is doing much to help rationalize the speech recognition industry and considerable productivity was indicated in materials the division provided for the panel. The Speech Recognition Group's continued production of new speech corpora CD-ROMs and their cooperation with researchers outside NT ST, both to share software and promote benchmarking, ensure that commercial speech recognition products are being developed within a framework that is universally understood.
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The Advanced Systems Division appears to be collecting considerable data on speech recognition systems . "The Advanced Systems Division should sponsor open competition in the development of speech and handwriting recognition technology, and the division should make better use of its special strengths and expertise to advance speech recognition research in general rather than serve 224
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Systems Division appears to be well involved in speech recognition.
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The division reports annually to the pane] on what it can do given its expertise, funding sources, and time limitations.
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