Social Security Administration (SSA) Case Study

1 Pages 332 Words

The first major problem the Social Security Administration (SSA) had was with software. SSA software resulted from decades of programming techniques. The software was a product of unplanned patchwork, with no regard give to its deterioration over time. The SSA’s files and programs were maintained on over 500,000 reels of magnetic tape. This caused problems because the magnetic tape was not very durable, and began to crack and deteriorate. There were 76 different software systems making up SSA’s basic computer operations. There were more than 1,300 computer programs, encompassing over 12 million lines of COBOL and other code. Most of the code was undocumented. Although they worked, not many people knew how or why they worked. The maintenance of the system was were complex and costly.

The second major problem was the hardware. By 1982, most of the computers the SSA used had not been manufactured for over 10 years. Today, if your computer is 3-4 years old, many people would consider replacing it. New equipment would have cost approximately one million dollars annually for maintenance, but the SSA was spending more than four million dollars to keep their antiquated machines in working order. This ancient hardware forced the SSA to rely one third-party maintenance services. Hardware failure would force more than 25 percent of jobs to be abandoned before completion.

The third major problem for the SSA was their telecommunications. Its 1,300 field offices need timely access to data stored at the central computer facility in Baltimore. In 1982, the telecommunications system they used was from 1966. Their primary system, Social Administration Data Acquisition and Response System (SSADARS) was designed to handle 100,000 transactions per day. One year after it was built, the system was overwhelmed. Each year teleprocessing grew by 100 percent. By 1982, the (SSADARS) network was no longer of any use due to its consta...