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... ? Possibly... but I still don't believe so. Could it reduce the workload by 30 %?
Quite likely. " Tools are available, but are only tools, not cures or quick fixes. How will this affect society and the industry in 2000? How stable will software design companies be as more and more competitors offer huge "incentives" for people to "jump ship" and come work for them on their problems! ? Cash flow problems will put people out of business. Computer programmers will make big bucks from now until 2000, as demand increases for their expertise. What about liability issues that arise because company "A" reneged on a deal because of a computer glitch.
Sue! Sue! Sue! What about ATM lockups, or credit card failures, medical emergencies, downed phone systems. This is a wide spread scenario because the Yk 2 problem will affect all these elements and more. As is obvious, the dimensions to this challenge are apparent.
Given society's reliance on computers, the failure of the systems to operate properly can mean anything from minor inconveniences to major problems: Licenses and permits not issued, payroll and social service checks not cut, personnel, medical and academic records malfunctioning, errors in banking and finance, accounts not paid or received, inventory not maintained, weapon systems malfunctioning (shudder! ), constituent services not provided, and so on, and so on, and so on. Still think you " ll be unaffected... highly unlikely. This problem will affect computations which calculate age, sort by date, compare dates, or perform some other type of specialized task. The Gartner Group has made the following approximations: At $ 450 to $ 600 per affected computer program, it is estimated that a medium size company will spend from $ 3. 6 to $ 4. 2 million to make the software conversion. The cost per line of code is estimated to be $. 80 to $ 1.
VIASOFT has seen program conversion cost rise to $ 572 to $ 1, 204. ANDERSEN CONSULTING estimates that it will take them more than 12, 000 working days to correct its existing applications. YELLOW CORPORATION estimates it will spend approximately 10, 000 working days to make the change. Estimates for the correction of this problem in the United States alone is upward of $ 50 to $ 75 Billion dollars. Is it possible to eliminate the problem? Probably not, but we can make the transition much smoother with cooperation and the right approach.
Companies and government agencies must understand the nature of the problem. Unfortunately, the spending you find for new software development will not be found in Yk 2 research. Ignoring the obvious is not the way to approach this problem. To assume that the problem will be corrected when the system is replaced can be a costly misjudgment.
Priorities change, development schedules slip, and system components will be reused, causing the problem to be even more widespread. Correcting the situation may not be so difficult as it will be time consuming. For instance, the Social Security Administration estimates that it will spend 300 man-years finding and correcting these date references in their information systems - systems representing a total of 30 million lines of code. (ITAA, p. 3) Common sense dictates that a comprehensive conversion plan be developed to address the more immediate functions of an organization (such as invoices, pay benefits, collect taxes, or other critical organization functions), and continue from there to finish addressing the less critical aspects of operation. Some of the automated tools may help to promote the "repair" of the systems, such as in: line by line impact analysis of all date references within a system, both in terms of data and procedures; project cost estimating and modeling; identification and listing of affected locations; editing support to make the actual changes required; change management; and testing to verify and validate the changed system. Clock simulators can run a system with a simulated clock date and can use applications that append or produce errors when the year 2000 arrives while date finders search across applications on specific date criteria, and browsers can help users perform large volume code inspection. As good as all these "automated tools" are, there are NO "Silver Bullets" out there.
There are no quick fixes. It will take old fashioned work-hours by personnel in order to make this "rollover" smooth and efficient. Another area to look at are the implications for public health information. Public health information and surveillance at all levels of local, state, federal, and international public health are especially sensitive to and dependent upon dates for epidemiological (study of disease occurrence, location, and duration) and health statistics reasons.
The date of events, duration between events, and other calculations such as age of people are core epidemiologic and health statistic requirements. (Seligman, p. 1) Along with this, public health authorities are usually dependent upon the primary data providers such as physician practices, laboratories, hospitals, managed care organizations, and out-patient centers etc. , as the source for original data upon which public health decisions are based. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) for example, maintains over 100 public health surveillance systems all of which are dependent upon external sources of data. (Issa, p. 5) This basically means that it is not going to be sufficient to make the internal systems compliant to the year 2000 in order to address all of the ramifications of this issue. To illustrate this point, consider the following scenario: in April 2000, a hospital sends an electronic surveillance record to the local or state health department reporting the death of an individual who was born in the year " 00 "; is this going to be a case of infant mortality or a geriatric case? ? Finally, let's look at one of the largest software manufacturing corporations and see what the implications of the year 2000 will be for Microsoft products. Microsoft states that Windows 95 and Windows NT are capable of supporting dates up until the year 2099.
They also make the statement however: "It is important to note that when short, assumed dates (mm / dd /yy) are entered, it is impossible for the computer to tell the difference between a day in 1905 and 2005. Microsoft's products, that assume the year from these short dates, will be updated in 1997 to make it easier to assume a 2000 -based year. As a result, Microsoft recommends that by the end of the century, all PC software be upgraded to versions from 1997 or later. " Microsoft further states that its development tools and database management systems provide the flexibility for the user to represent dates in many different ways. Proper training of developers to use date formats that accommodate the transition to the year 2000 is of the utmost importance. For informational purposes, I have included a chart that represents the more popular Microsoft products, their date limits, and date formats. (Chart on previous page) (Microsoft, p. 3) So...
is everyone affected? Apparently not. In speaking with the owners of St. John Valley Communications, an Internet-Access provider based in Fort Kent, they are eagerly awaiting the coming of 2000.
They, Alan See and Dawn Martin had enough foresight to make sure that when they purchased their equipment and related software, that it would all be year 2000 compliant. It can be done, as evidenced by this industrious couple of individuals. The key is to get informed and to stay informed. Effect the changes you can now, and look to remedy the one's that you can't. The year 2000 will be a shocker and thriller for many businesses, but St.
John Valley Communications seem to have it under control and are holding their party hats in one hand and the mouse in the other. As is obviously clear from the information presented, Yk 2 is a problem to be reckoned with. The wide ranging systems (OS) and software on the market lend credence to the idea that a "silver bullet" fix is a pipe dream in the extreme. This is not however, an insurmountable problem. Efficient training and design is needed, as well as a multitude of man-hours to effect the "repairs" needed to quell the ramifications and repercussions that will inevitably occur without intervention from within. The sit back and wait for a cure-all approach will not work, nor is it even imaginable that some people (IS people) with advanced knowledge to the contrary, would buy into this propaganda of slow technological death.
To misquote an old adage, "The time for action was 10 years ago. " Whatever may happen, January 1, 2000 will be a very interesting time for some, a relief for others... and a cyanide capsule for the "slackers. " What will you do now that you are better "informed?" Hopefully you will effect the necessary "repairs and pass the word to the others who may be taking this a little too lightly. It may not be a matter life or death, but it sure as heck could mean your job and financial future.
Free research essays on topics related to: public health, p 3, health information, year 2000, microsoft products
Research essay sample on Public Health Microsoft Products
