MEETING THE CHALLENGES OF THE NATIONAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW CSL and the Social Security Administration (SSA) are joint recipients of the Federal Applications Medal of Excellence (FAME) for Information Technology Solutions award in the category of saving the government money. Co-sponsored by National Trade Productions, Inc., Government Computer News, and Reed Exhibition Companies, the FAME awards honor individuals, agencies, and contractors whose work has already made progress toward fulfilling the objectives and challenges of the Administration's National Performance Review. The award is based on an information retrieval system prototype that was developed to automate a manual process and improve productivity and service. The prototype system targets the large employer reports (EAMATE data) received by SSA which maintains records of wages earned by every person who has a social security number. These wages can be classified as self-employed wages which are received from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or as employee wages which are received in reports from employers. The employer reports are filed in two different manners: electronically by large employers and on paper by small employers. Large employers range in size from 100 employees to over 400,000 employees, while small employers are those with less than 100 employees. Currently, all of the employer reports are placed on microfilm. When a person's wages must be verified, it is necessary to search the microfilm for this person. This is a cumbersome process as the film is difficult to read, and often employees are listed in no order, therefore requiring a sequential search through the entire report. In addition, the particular reel of film needed is frequently missing or destroyed. The technology developed to automate this process is a unique indexing/searching methodology, termed the search engine, which has the power and flexibility to overcome inconsistencies in data. Even if the input query name is wrong, the search engine returns results of the query in a best-match ranked order allowing the user to locate a target individual regardless of such inconsistencies as misspellings, name ordering, random punctuation, titles, etc. In short, when given a search query which includes a personal name, the retrieval system quickly selects all records with name keys within a certain proximity of the search query name and ranks the records in terms of their similarity to the query name. Natalie Willman, a computer scientist in our Advanced Systems Division, designed and developed the search engine. Co-worker Laura Downey, also a computer scientist in the same division, produced a highly functional user interface which allows users to exploit and interact with the new indexing and searching techniques. The new technology was achieved by applying usability engineering concepts, conducting extensive task analysis, and employing user-centered design. Part of the reengineering effort involved data reorganization and new interaction methods that allow users to perform their tasks in a more productive and efficient manner. The combination of the unique search engine and the highly functional user interface resulted in a successful prototype which is easy-to- use, easy-to-learn, and provides quick access to data -- in a format that makes sense to users. Individuals with little knowledge of the hardware and software incorporated into the prototype learned the system in one hour on average. Additionally, conservative estimates predict that process time would decrease by a ratio of eight to one in an eight-hour day. In other words, tasks that normally take one day could be performed in one hour with a system that utilizes the concepts demonstrated in the prototype. CSL and SSA plan to continue their collaboration with the information retrieval system prototype. An additional benefit of the prototype is that it helps to identify potential problems in automation before moving to a full implementation and provides a vehicle for capturing statistical data useful in the procurement of a full-scale system. FEDERAL INFORMATION PROCESSING STANDARDS (FIPS) ACTIVITIES Proposed Revision of FIPS 172, VHSIC Hardware Description Language (VHDL) A proposed revision to FIPS 172, VHDL, will adopt a revised voluntary standard for the hardware description language specified in ANSI/IEEE 1076-1993, IEEE Standard VHDL Language Reference Manual. The revision is for use by computing professionals involved in high-level digital hardware specification, development, and implementation. We want to ensure that the needs of industry, state and local governments, and the public are considered prior to submitting the revision to the Secretary of Commerce for approval. For a copy of the proposed FIPS providing implementation and applicability information, call our FIPS Office at (301) 975- 2816. Copies of the technical specifications may be obtained from the IEEE Service Center, 445 Hoes Lane, P.O. Box 1331, Piscataway, NJ 08855-1331, telephone 1-800-678-4333. Please send your written comments to Director, Computer Systems Laboratory, ATTN: Proposed FIPS 172-1, VHDL, Technology Bldg., B-154, NIST, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-0001. Comments must be received by July 11, 1994. We welcome your views. Computer Graphics Metafile (CGM) Test Service Expanded On April 1, 1994, we extended the NIST CGM Test Service to include CGM interpreter testing, as well as testing of metafiles and generators, for conformance to Version 1 CGM as specified in the FIPS 128-1, Computer Graphics Metafile, and the Continuous Acquisition and Life-Cycle Support (CALS) CGM Application Profile (MIL-D-28003A). Interpreter testing ascertains whether an interpreter can correctly and completely parse a binary encoded, Version 1 CGM and produce the intended picture. The Interpreter Validation Test (IVaT) Suite, Release 1.0, consists of over 200 CGM files, an operator test script, and a set of reference pictures. Specifically, CGMs are processed by the interpreter and the resulting picture is compared to the expected reference picture. The focus of the Ivat Suite is single-element testing, rather than multiple elements, allowing for incremental testing and the specificity needed to determine whether the interpreter under test meets the test criteria. CSL issues a certificate of validation for conforming interpreters and a registered report if errors are detected during the validation; all certificates and registered reports are published in our quarterly Validated Products List. The test suite may be purchased for $750; the base price for interpreter validation is $5,000. To receive a CGM Information Pack which describes the test services in detail, call Jacki Schneider at (301) 975-3265. New Fingerprint Standard Approved As Voluntary Industry Standard On November 22, 1993, the Board of Standards Review of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) approved the ANSI/NIST-CSL 1-1993 Data Format for the Interchange of Fingerprint Information standard. Published in March, this revision to ANSI/NBS-ICST 1-1986 defines the content, format and units of measurement for the exchange of information that may be used in the fingerprint identification of a subject. The information consists of a variety of mandatory and optional items, including related record data, digitized fingerprint information, and compressed or uncompressed fingerprint images. Our Advanced Systems Division coordinated the development and public review of the voluntary industry standard using the Canvass Method. More than one hundred federal, state, local, and international law enforcement agencies, criminal justice administrations, and other organizations participated in the development of the standard. The standard will be integral to agencies using Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS) that rely on fingerprint images being electronically interchanged between remote locations. UPDATE ON NEW PUBLICATIONS CSL publishes the results of studies, investigations, and research. The reports listed below may be ordered from the following sources as indicated for each: *Superintendent of Documents U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) Washington, DC 20402 Telephone (202) 783-3238 *National Technical Information Service (NTIS) 5285 Port Royal Road Springfield, VA 22161 Telephone (703) 487-4650 Stable Implementation Agreements for Open Systems Interconnection Protocols, Version 7, Edition 1, December 1993 Albert Landberg, Workshop Chairman; Brenda Gray, Workshop Editor NIST Special Publication 500-214 (supersedes SP 500-206) December 1993 Available on CD-ROM from IEEE Computer Society, Conference Department, (202) 371-1013 Price: $15.00 This product records stable implementation agreements on Open System Interconnection (OSI) protocols developed by organizations that participate in the Open Systems Environments (OSE) Implementors' Workshop (OIW). These stable agreements are the basis for the Government OSI Profile (GOSIP), for industry profiles, and for conformance tests being developed by the Corporation for Open Systems. Introduction to Traffic Management for Broadband ISDN By Yoon Chang, David Su, and Shukri Wakid NISTIR 5214 December 1993 PB94-142494 $17.50 paper Order from NTIS $ 9.00 microfiche This report presents an overview of issues related to the traffic management for the Broadband Integrated Services Digital Networks (B-ISDN), an emerging high bandwidth telecommunications infrastructure with transmission speeds in the range of mega-bit to giga-bits per second. Report of the NIST Workshop on Digital Signature Certificate Management, December 10-11, 1992 Dennis K. Branstad, Editor NISTIR 5234 August 1993 PB94-135001 $27.00 paper Order from NTIS $12.50 microfiche This report summarizes the major topics of discussion at a Workshop on Digital Signature Certificate Management held at NIST on December 10-11, 1992. The purpose of the workshop was to review existing and required technologies for digital signature certification and to develop recommendations for certificate contents and formats. Guide to Software Engineering Environment Assessment and Evaluation By B.B. Cuthill NISTIR 5295 November 1993 PB94-140167 $19.50 paper Order from NTIS $ 9.00 microfiche This guide outlines general approaches to software engineering environment assessment and evaluation. The assessment and evaluation approaches focus on accurately defining the integration and functional capabilities of candidate software engineering environments and the requirements of the customer. Computing Effects and Error for Large SPT Screenings By Nathalie Drouin, Raghu Kacker, and Gordon Lyon NISTIR 5296 December 1993 PB94-139623 $17.50 paper Order from NTIS $ 9.00 microfiche This report surveys the calculation of the effects of Hadamard matrix designs used in statistical experiments involving synthetic perturbation screening (SPS), a powerful, statistically based method of performance improvement for parallel computer programs. A Context Analysis of the Network Management Domain By Christopher Dabrowski and Susan B. Katz NISTIR 5309 December 1993 PB94-142528 $19.50 paper Order from NTIS $ 9.00 microfiche This report describes the application of the first phase of a domain analysis effort to the domain of network management systems--software systems that manage communications networks. Created to investigate domain analysis methods, the Domain Analysis Case Study presents a pivotal technique for developing reusable products that can be used to engineer software systems. Report on Application Integration Architectures (AIA) Workshop Robert Hodges, Craig Thompson, and Elizabeth Fong, Editors NISTIR 5326 January 1994 PB94-142536 $27.00 paper Order from NTIS $12.50 microfiche This report provides the proceedings of a workshop on Application Integration Architectures (AIA) held on February 8-12, 1993, in Dallas, Texas. The workshop addressed various means of coordinating and improving information technology (IT) standards to achieve open systems interoperability. Applying Virtual Environments to Manufacturing By Sandy Ressler NISTIR 5343 January 1994 PB94-142502 $17.50 paper Order from NTIS $ 9.00 microfiche This report presents case studies covering a wide range of applications for virtual environment technology. The application of virtual environments to help solve manufacturing problems gives manufacturing engineers new tools to solve complex problems. The report discusses two types of applications in the manufacturing domain which appear to have great potential, particularly for rapid prototyping. UPCOMING TECHNICAL CONFERENCES Federal Wireless Users Forum (FWUF) This new users group was established to address wireless digital interface issues in the federal government. Although focusing on the requirements of federal wireless telecommunication users, the forum encourages the participation of state and local government, other interested users, product providers, and service providers. Sponsors: NIST and the National Communications System (NCS) Dates: June 7-9, 1994 September 26-28, 1994 Place: NIST, Gaithersburg, MD Contact: Tish Antonishek (301) 975-2922 E-mail: tish@dsys.ncsl.nist.gov Open System Environment (OSE) Implementors Workshop (OIW) This workshop is part of a continuing series to develop implementation specifications from international standard design specifications for computer network protocols. Sponsors: NIST and the IEEE Computer Society Dates: June 13-17, 1994 September 12-16, 1994 December 12-16, 1994 Place: NIST, Gaithersburg, MD Contact: Brenda Gray (301) 975-3664 E-mail: gray@osi.ncsl.nist.gov North American ISDN Users' Forum (NIUF) The NIUF addresses many concerns over a broad range of Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) issues and seeks to reach consensus on ISDN Implementation Agreements. Participants include ISDN users, implementors, and service providers. Dates: June 20-24, 1994 October 3-7, 1994 Place: NIST, Gaithersburg, MD Contact: Dawn Hoffman (301) 975-2937 E-mail: dawn@isdn.ncsl.nist.gov COMPASS '94, Ninth Annual Conference on Computer Assurance COMPASS '94 focuses on technology for computer assurance for systems that require properties such as security, safety, integrity, availability, timeliness, and fault tolerance in combination to satisfy mission requirements. Sponsors: IEEE and the IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society, in cooperation with the British Computer Society Date: June 27-July 1, 1994 Place: NIST, Gaithersburg, MD Contact: Laura Ippolito (301) 975-5248 E-mail: ippolito@sst.ncsl.nist.gov 17th National Computer Security Conference This year's conference will focus on security issues relating to new Presidential initiatives such as the Information Highway and the National Information Infrastructure (NII). Sponsors: NIST and NSA's National Computer Security Center Date: October 11-14, 1994 Place: Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, MD Contacts: Irene Gilbert Perry (301) 975-3360 E-mail: igilbert@csmes.ncsl.nist.gov Dennis Gilbert (301) 975-3872 E-mail: dgilbert@csmes.ncsl.nist.gov Lecture Series on High Integrity Systems This lecture series addresses problems and solutions for developing and operating high integrity systems. Date: Lecture series resumes in October 1994. Place: NIST Green Auditorium Time: 2:00 p.m. Contact: Dolores Wallace (301) 975-3340 E-mail: wallace@swe.ncsl.nist.gov Applications Portability Profile (APP)/Open Systems Environment (OSE) Workshop This workshop is designed as a user's forum to discuss the latest developments in the APP/OSE. Dates: November 15-16, 1994 May 9-10, 1995 November 7-8, 1995 Place: NIST, Gaithersburg, MD Contact: Joe Hungate (301) 975-3368 E-mail: hungate@swe.ncsl.nist.gov