Harlan Smith wrote:

"Contingency plans are necessary to tell people what they should do, other than mill around, when the system they normally work with is broke. Usually, or at least often, nothing can be defined for them to do that will allow them to perform "essential mission functions". That is often a "false hope". A leader in contingency planning is SSA. One perhaps can get the flavor of understanding what can be done by reading http://www.gcn.com/gcn/1998/May18/cov3.htm."

As Harlan said, it's a good brief article. Eventually (in a confusing way), it leads to these places...

GSA'a main y2k directory.
http://www.itpolicy.gsa.gov/mks/yr2000/cioy2k.htm

SSA contingency planning guide.
http://www.gsa.gov/gsacio/ssay2kb1.htm

The General Accounting Office's Business Continuity and Contingency Planning Guide is available at http://www.gao.gov/special.pubs/bcpguide.pdf

A related tool (on the front end of the process) is the GAO's report: Year 2000 Computing Crisis: An Assessment Guide. It is available at http://www.gao.gov/special.pubs/y2kguide.pdf.

The GAO reports are pdf files. You will need Adobe Acrobat reader to view or print them. If you don't have Acrobat Reader (or would like to upgrade to the latest version) you can get a free copy at http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html.

(All of these URLs are "live links" by the way. Clicking on them will download the GAO reports, and using your browser's Back button or Go menu will return you to this thread from the other addresses.)

-- Bill (billdale@lakesnet.net), June 06, 1998