Farmers Home Administration's Computer-Based Unified Management Information System

The Farmers Home Administration has dramatically expanded from a small credit agency for low income farmers to a major Federal agency providing financial assistance for agricultural and other rural development. The agency requires a responsive computer-based accounting and information system to meet its mission and program needs. The information must be timely, accurate, and available to the agency's top management and Congress. Previous problems which existed in the original antiquated system were that information was not available or easily accessible, was not reported on a timely basis, was frequently inaccurate, and was fragmented in independently maintained computer files resulting in conflicting and inconsistent reporting. The design precluded automating many tasks and necessitated considerable operator intervention. The present system rejected data which resulted in a considerable backlog. This cannot be adequately improved without a major redesign of the current information system. The goal of the proposed information system is to provide more complete and timely information and to help monitor program effectiveness and identify possible abuses. The new system should also be able to handle increases in transactions resulting from newly enacted loan programs, meet demands for better management information and program direction, and increase productivity when the workload increases without a corresponding increase in the number of employees. The program could produce significant personnel savings, freeing staff to spend more time with borrowers. Top agency management has not been adequately involved in this project. A formal control mechanism for the project was lacking, and the cost benefit analysis was incomplete because adequate total development and operating costs had not been determined. The agency should redefine its requirements, establish performance criteria for evaluating alternatives, submit its study for congressional review, identify alternatives, and develop and implement standard project control techniques. The most recent draft of the agency's task force on this matter does not adequately address the use of good management principles or the organizational issues, provide a requirements study, or address all the major technical design problems.