[LINK] US Census software plagued by defects

[stephen at melbpc.org.au]

US Census software plagued by defects

By HAYA EL NASSER and PAUL OVERBERG | Last Updated: February 18, 2010 
<http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20100218/AGENCY03/2180303/-1/>


A key software system for the 2010 Census is behind schedule and full of 
defects, and it will have to be scaled back to ensure an accurate count 
of the U.S. population, according to a government watchdog report.

Even as Census takers have begun the decennial head count in Alaska and 
other remote areas, the system is still not ready to handle the paperwork 
and payroll data for what eventually will be a half-million Census takers.

The software to schedule, deploy and pay Census takers is at risk, 
according to the report released this week by the inspector general for 
the Commerce Department, which includes the Census Bureau. If changes are 
not made, the Census risks ballooning costs, delays and inaccuracies.

The Census Bureau must deliver a complete count of the nation's 
population to President Obama by Dec. 31. The counts are used to allocate 
each state's seats in the House of Representatives every 10 years and 
more than $400 billion a year in federal aid.

Census forms will be mailed to more than 130 million households next 
month. One-third are not expected to send them back. Census workers will 
have to visit all those addresses to collect demographic information.

The Census got a late start designing a paper-processing system because 
it initially had planned to equip workers with handheld computers to 
record data from households that don't mail back questionnaires.

Those were scrapped in 2008 because of technical problems, forcing the 
bureau to fall back on a paper-based system for door-to-door follow-up 
visits, the Census' most expensive phase. So far, the Census Bureau has 
budgeted $2.74 billion for this phase of the operation and an additional 
$411 million in case costs rise.

"This is a risky endeavor," Census Director Robert Groves said. "We know 
it. We're watching it very carefully. We're trying to manage it."

Because time is running out, the Census Bureau must work around the 
system's shortcomings, according to the inspector general. That could 
mean printing more administrative forms and speeding up worker training.

The glitches continue despite staff "working two shifts per day, extended 
hours, weekends and holidays," the report says.

The audit found that the software had 80 critical defects Jan. 12, up 
from 26 a month earlier. Both testing and development were about three 
weeks behind schedule at that point.

"We now are facing trade-off decisions," says Groves, who is scheduled to 
testify before Senate and House committees next week.

Haya el Nasser and Paul Overberg report for USA Today.

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Cheers,
Stephen