Year 2000 Update

Akiyah Clements (akiyah.clements@ualberta.ca)
Year 2000 Project Co-ordinator
Computing and Network Services

While a great deal of work has been done to address Year 2000 issues at the University of Alberta, a number of areas of uncertainty remain. Given that the Year 2000 initiatives on campus continue to receive the support of the University administration, the known exposures, while significant, are not overwhelming. Careful planning and mitigating action can eliminate most of the risk.

Areas of Uncertainty

At this point, the remaining areas of uncertainty are what we need to focus on, while maintaining an ordered move toward Year 2000 compliance by the third quarter of 1999. The areas of uncertainty are:

1. Administrative Systems Renewal Program (ASRP) - We need to assess the risk of moving into the next century with University written custom code that has not been tested for Year 2000 compliance. We also need to ensure that the supporting architecture for the ASRP is Year 2000 compliant.
2. Desktop Applications - We need to inventory and analyze suspect applications, in both the administrative and research areas.
3. Desktop Embedded Processors - We need to inventory and assess suspect electronic devices with embedded processors.
4. Compliance Testing - Critical and important applications and embedded processors need to be measured against a testing protocol that includes significant dates before and during the next century.
5. Contingency Planning - Faculties and departments need to consider what to put in place to be ready for unexpected circumstances created by shortfalls in our Year 2000 activities and/or shortfalls in the Year 2000 efforts of those companies and individuals that we rely on.

The draft schedule for the remaining phases of the Year 2000 compliance project follows:

1. Complete the inventory and assessment process by January/February 1999.
2. Plan and implement remedies by July 1999.
3. Complete compliance testing by October 1999.
4. Ensure contingency plans are in place by October/November 1999.
5. Undertake emergency "fix-as-it-fails" work from September 1999 through March 2001.

Embedded Processors

One of the key activities of the Year 2000 team at present is an attempt to accelerate the inventory and assessment of University equipment that contains embedded processors. We have made presentations to a few departments regarding our concern over this part of the methodology process, and we thank Biological Sciences, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Civil and Electrical Engineering, Renewable Resources, and Earth and Atmospheric Sciences for their efforts to facilitate this acceleration.

The Year 2000 team cannot provide people knowledgeable in the myriad types of equipment that are installed throughout the University. We need to communicate with the knowledgeable professors and technicians in the departments to address the problem of embedded processors. What we propose is that if you can provide access to someone who knows the equipment and can make the risk assessment decision for each device, we can provide someone to help with the documentation and central inventory. While the departmental people communicate with known vendors, we can search the web for compliance information. There is very little time left to inventory this equipment and still have time to order upgrades if any is found to be non-compliant.

Any department that is ready to co-operate in this way (by providing the time of technicians and/or researchers), please contact me at 492-1364 or via e-mail.

External Vendors

The Vendor Compliance Task Force has progressed in its activities by developing a letter requesting Year 2000 information from 500 major suppliers of the University. Suppliers were included in the mailing list according to the dollar value of transactions and the frequency of transactions over the last three years, and using information provided by departments on their key vendors and suppliers.

A letter outlining our own progress and Year 2000 readiness is currently in draft form and being reviewed by the committee. Our intention is to respond to requests and questionnaires on our own situation with this standard letter.

More Y2K Information

A Personal Awareness and Planning Committee has been struck to develop a strategy for the delivery of education to campus and the greater community dealing with Year 2000 issues and what can be done. This committee has representatives from the Workplace Wellness division of Human Resources, the Technology Training Center, the University Libraries, and the Office of Public Affairs. Look for more information on this initiative in future issues of HyperDispatch and at the University's Year 2000 website at:

http://www.ualberta.ca/CNS/Y2K

In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns about Year 2000 compliance, feel free to contact me.