POLICY ISSUE

INFORMATION

March 17, 2005 SECY-05-0046

FOR: The Commissioners

FROM: Luis A. Reyes

Executive Director for Operations

SUBJECT: AGENCYWIDE DOCUMENTS ACCESS AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM: 

SEMIANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT FOR JULY-DECEMBER 2004

PURPOSE:

To provide an update on accomplishments related to the Agencywide Documents Access and

Management System (ADAMS) during the period July through December 2004, and report on

current initiatives. 

BACKGROUND:

In August 2004, the first ADAMS semi-annual report was sent to the Commission, presenting a

new framework for managing and communicating progress on ADAMS initiatives. As shown in

Attachment 1, “ADAMS Quality Measures and Value Statements,” this framework is based on 13

measures of quality grouped into four key ADAMS components that contribute value to the staff

and members of the public who use the system. Improving ADAMS based on these

components will enhance the usefulness of ADAMS and thereby increase NRC’s efficiency and

effectiveness in achieving the agency’s regulatory mission. The staff intends to continue

reporting progress on ADAMS activities, measuring user satisfaction, and planning future

ADAMS activities based on this framework.

Contact:

Susan W. Johnson, OIS

301-415-6747
The Commissioners -2-

DISCUSSION:

During this reporting period, an event occurred that had a significant impact on the ADAMS

public library, also known as the Publicly Available Records System (PARS). Although no

classified or safeguards material is now or has ever been permitted in ADAMS, on 

October 25, 2004, the NRC decided to widen its review to remove additional information that

could potentially be of use to a terrorist. This action was intended to ensure that documents

which might provide assistance to terrorists would be inaccessible while maintaining public

access to information regarding NRC activities. 

During this “Sensitive Information Screening Project” (SISP), the staff made every effort to

ensure that public access to information on NRC activities was maintained despite the

temporary shutdown of PARS. Efforts are currently underway to restore parts of the public

database that have been reviewed by the appropriate program offices according to the SISP

document review procedures. To date, of about 380,000 documents originally in PARS, over

120,000 have been restored, with an additional 90,000 expected to be restored by the end of

March. Less than 1000 documents have been withheld to date as a result of the reviews, and

both Citrix and Web-based PARS are operational.

 

The SISP review and PARS shutdown presented many challenges for the staff involved in the

ADAMS program, including staff in the Public Document Room working to assist the public,

staff in the ADAMS Support Center assisting the program offices in conducting the reviews, and

technical staff working on approaches to temporarily block and then restoring access to

portions of the database as reviews were completed. To communicate the latest information to

the staff involved in the review process, the staff established an intranet page that provides a

single source of document security review and profiling guidance. In addition, several staff

training sessions were held to assist program and support offices improve their knowledge of

processing agency documents into ADAMS and to ensure consistent application of the new

screening and profiling procedures. 

Another notable impact of the SISP review process relates to meeting the measure of

timeliness in making ADAMS records available to the public. Yellow Announcement 00-59,

published May 22, 2000, established the NRC’s goal to make documents received or generated

by the NRC available to the public five full working days after the date of the cover letter or after

the document is added to the ADAMS Main Library. This five day period provides the staff with

sufficient time to review documents to ensure no proprietary, privacy, or other sensitive

information is made public. Once the SISP review process is fully integrated into agency

business processes, the staff will reevaluate whether the current measure needs to be adjusted

to reflect the review time.

Despite the challenges presented by the SISP review process during this reporting period, the

staff made progress towards improving system performance relative to several of the

established quality measures. Attachment 2 details the specific accomplishments for each

measure and provides information regarding on-going initiatives for this fiscal year.

 
The Commissioners -3-

This report also contains the results of the first ADAMS Public User Satisfaction Survey and an

associated action plan that addresses the issues identified by the public. The survey was

released to the public via NRC’s public web site www.nrc.gov on 5/13/04 and closed on 6/30/04,

a duration of approximately seven weeks. 

The objective of the survey was to evaluate public user satisfaction with ADAMS and identify

areas for improvement. A total of 167 people responded to the survey. The two largest groups

were NRC licensees (39.5%) and nuclear industry representatives (16.2%). The remaining

individuals represented law firms, consultants, researchers, the media and others. 

The survey contained questions about user satisfaction with ADAMS and related services, as

well as user level of experience with the system. Responses to the survey will enable the staff

to identify areas for improvement in future upgrades for both Citrix and Web-based ADAMS. 

The survey will be repeated periodically in order to monitor progress toward making ADAMS a

more useful and effective document access tool. Attachment 3 contains a tabular summary of

the survey results.

Seventy-two respondents reported using Citrix-based ADAMS, while 136 reported using Webbased ADAMS on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. Comments from some respondents point

to the difficulties associated with using Citrix-based ADAMS in a corporate environment (i.e.,

corporate policies regarding their network firewalls) to explain the difference in usage or

preference between the two search systems. Citrix-based ADAMS users considered

availability, ease of use, and ease of navigation of moderate to high importance; but on a four

point scale, only availability received a high score (3.7). Ease of use scored 2.2 and ease of

navigation scored 2.4, showing that more work needs to be done in these two areas. In the

Web-based version of ADAMS, all three areas were considered important, but again only

system availability received a high mark (3.6). Ease of use scored 2.4 and ease of navigation

2.3. These marks for the Web-based version are not as high as the staff had anticipated. A

similar Web-based search capability is being developed for staff use on the ADAMS Main

Library and will provide an opportunity to improve the user interface. We intend to incorporate

any lessons learned from the staff version to improve the public version. 

The comments portion of this first poll for both Citrix and Web-based ADAMS generally mixed

an equal amount of praise and criticism coupled with strong suggestions for improvements. 

The respondents observed that the assistance provided by the Public Document Room staff is

excellent and they appreciated PDR assistance defining search strategies. Although several

respondents noted that ADAMS is better than when originally released to the public, they clearly

felt that there is room for improvement. Issues cited for needing improvement included:

• System response time. 

• Excessive display time for author affiliation lists. 

• Conversion of ADAMS’ TIFF files to PDFs.

 

• Delays opening PDF files. 
The Commissioners -4-

• Retrofitting older documents into ADAMS, specifically NRC Publications in the

NUREG series, Branch Technical Position Papers, and Licensee Event Reports.

Planned actions in response to the above issues are:

Issue 1: System response time.

The system response time is dependent on a number of variables. From the users’

perspective, much depends on whether the user accesses ADAMS from a 56K modem, cable,

or a T1 line. The NRC Document Processing Center (DPC) will break larger documents into

files of no more than 250 pages to reduce the file size of the document and create packages, if

necessary. Also, implementation of “byte-serving”, described under issue 4, will improve

response time for accessing PDF files.

Issue 2: Excessive display time for author affiliation lists.

The staff will investigate with the ADAMS software vendors if there is a way to reduce the

display time for author affiliation lists.

Issue 3: Conversion of ADAMS’ TIFF files to PDFs.

As of June 2003, the NRC only uses a PDF format for new documents in ADAMS. This fiscal

year monies have been allocated to convert the remaining TIFF files to PDFs. The expected

completion date is September 2005.

Issue 4: Delays opening PDF files. 

The NRC will implement a “byte-serving” capability that should correct this problem in Webbased ADAMS. Byte-serving allows PDFs to be accessed more quickly by displaying the PDF

in chunks rather than waiting until the whole PDF is available before displaying it to the screen. 

Thus, the beginning pages of a document can be read by the user while the rest of the file is

loaded. The expected completion date is September 2005. 

Issue 5: Retrofitting older documents into ADAMS.

Retrofitting documents into ADAMS is most frequently done at the request of individual offices. 

However, as a result of the survey comments, the staff will further investigate the interest in and

cost/benefit of retrofitting the document types specifically requested by members of the public. 

There are about 2.1 million pre-ADAMS legacy documents in existence. Some of these have

been already retrofit into ADAMS but it is not feasible nor practical to add all of them in full text.
The Commissioners -5-

COORDINATION:

This paper has no legal or resource implications and has, therefore, not been reviewed by OGC

or OCFO. 

/RA by Ellis W. Merschoff for/

Luis A. Reyes

Executive Director

 for Operations

Attachments: 1. ADAMS Quality Measures and Value Statements

2. ADAMS Program Initiatives Progress Report #2

3. ADAMS Public Satisfaction Survey Results
The Commissioners -5-

COORDINATION:

This paper has no legal or resource implications and has, therefore, not been reviewed by OGC

or OCFO. 

/RA by Ellis W. Merschoff for/

Luis A. Reyes

Executive Director

 for Operations

Attachments: 1. ADAMS Quality Measures and Value Statements

2. ADAMS Program Initiatives Progress Report #2

3. ADAMS Public Satisfaction Survey Results

DISTRIBUTION:

D/OIS r/f

DD/OIS r/f

IRSD r/f

EDO r/f

200400006

04-054 (CIO)

T. Rich, OIS

A. Levin, OIS

C. Turner, OIS

B. Shelton, OIS

G. Lauffer, OIS

ADAMS Accession No. : ML050630229 

ADAMS DOCUMENT TITLE: SECY-05-XXXX, Agencywide Documents Access and Management System:

Semiannual Progress Report for July-December 2004

*See previous concurrence

OFFICE OIS/IRSD/ISB OIS/IRSD/ISB OIS/IRSD/ISB OIS/IRSD/ISB OIS/IRSD

NAME TESmith: TES* ECShelburne: ECS* WEDavis: WED* SWJohnson: SWJ* FFGoldberg: FFG

DATE 3/03/2005 3/04/2005 3/03/2005 3/03/2005 3/07/2005

OFFICE DD/OIS D/OIS EDO

NAME JBSchaeffer:

JBS ETBaker: JBS for LAReyes: EWM for 

DATE 3/14/2005 3/14/2005 3/17/2005

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
ADAMS Quality Measures and Value Statements

ADAMS

Component Quality Measure Value Statement

 ADAMS

System

Information

Technology

(IT)

Components

Availability ADAMS is available when I need to use it.

Performance ADAMS response time is adequate for me to interact efficiently

with the system.

Functionality ADAMS provides the functions I need to interact efficiently and

effectively with the system.

Ease of Use The ADAMS user interface makes it easy for me to use the

system.

 ADAMS

Support

Services

Policy and

Procedures

ADAMS policies and procedures are clear, up to date, and

readily available to me.

Training and

Documentation

ADAMS training and documentation makes me aware of my

roles and responsibilities related to records management and

ADAMS, and helps me use the system efficiently and effectively. 

User Support Support for using ADAMS is easily available, timely, and

accurate.

User Input OCIO is soliciting my feedback and working to continuously

improve the value of ADAMS. 

 ADAMS

Document

Capture and

Distribution

Services

Timeliness of

Document

Processing

The documents I work on are processed by the Document

Processing Center in a timely manner.

Timeliness of

Incoming

Document

Delivery to the

Staff

As an NRC staff member, I can rely on ADAMS to deliver

incoming documents to me and/or my staff in a timely manner.

Timeliness of

Public Release

As a member of the public, I can rely on ADAMS to provide

newly released documents to me in a timely manner in the

ADAMS Publicly Available Records System (PARS) library and,

for certain document types, on the NRC Web site.

 ADAMS

Collections

and Profile

Data

Document

Collection

Completeness

I have confidence that the collection of documents in each

ADAMS library is complete.

Quality of Profile

Data I have confidence that the profile data is accurate and complete.

Page 1 of 1 Attachment 1
Page 1 of 4 Attachment 2

ADAMS Program Initiatives Progress Report

ADAMS Quality

Measures

Recent Accomplishments Current Initiatives

ADAMS System Information Technology (IT) Components

Availability

Limited Re-Deployment of the Public

ADAMS Library 

Both Citrix and Web-based PARS were

redeployed after the SISP Task Force

began its document review. [Q2/FY05] 

Server Improvements 

Acquire new hardware and

software to improve system

availability. [Q4/FY05]

ADAMS 4.3 Upgrade

Upgrade the ADAMS desktop

software as one step in the plan

to bring the ADAMS software to

the most recent supported

version. [Q2/FY05]

Web-based access to the

ADAMS Main Library 

Develop, test, and implement a

pilot project to provide Webbased search of the ADAMS

Main Library for the staff.

[Q2/FY05]

System Security

Complete ADAMS Security

reaccreditation so that ADAMS

can continue to operate.

[Q3/FY05]

Performance

Revisions to Web-based Search

Upgraded version of Web-based search

interface, correcting a problem with

certain search results, was released to

the public [Q2/FY05]

Server Improvements

Acquire new hardware and

software to improve system

availability. [Q4/FY05]

Improve access to PDF Files

Implement byte-serving for PDF

files and a new package

interface to shorten access time.

[Q4/FY05]

Convert TIFF to PDF Files

Convert older TIFF files in

ADAMS to PDF to shorten

access time. [Q4/FY05]
ADAMS Program Initiatives Progress Report

ADAMS Quality

Measures

Recent Accomplishments Current Initiatives

Page 2 of 4 Attachment 2

Quality of ADAMS System Information Technology (IT) Components (Continued)

Functionality

Automated Tools for DPC 

New tools allow the DPC to assess

whether documents received via

Electronic Information Exchange (EIE)

or on CD-ROM are submitted in

accordance with the E-Rule guidance.

[Q4/FY04]

ADAMS 4.3 Upgrade

Major changes include:

• Upgrade the “Create Report”

functionality to make it possible

to produce reports containing

large numbers of documents.

[Q2/FY05]

• Upgrade the ADAMS Viewer

capabilities. [Q2/FY05] 

Ease of Use

None. Web-based access to the

ADAMS Main Library 

Develop, test, and implement a

pilot project to provide Webbased search of the ADAMS

Main Library for the staff.

[Q2/FY05]

ADAMS Support Services

Policy and

Procedures

SISP Review Procedures

Agency-wide procedures were created

to review documents that could be of

potential use to terrorist.

Update of MD 3.4, “Release of

Information to the Public”

Update guidance for the staff on

what documents to make public. 

[FY05]

Update of information about

handling of e-mails as Federal

records

Update guidance for the staff in

the ADAMS Desk Reference

Guide. [Q2/FY05]

ADAMS Desk Reference Guide

Update instructions for the staff

for release 4.3. [Q2/FY05]

Training and

Documentation

ADAMS Training Courses 

Updated courses are available in PDC

Training Center. [Q2/FY05]

SISP training 

SISP training for Program and Support

offices was held to assist staff with new

screening and profiling rules.[Q2/FY05]

SISP Web Site

Intranet site created as a central source

of guidance for SISP review and

document profiling.
ADAMS Program Initiatives Progress Report

ADAMS Quality

Measures

Recent Accomplishments Current Initiatives

Page 3 of 4 Attachment 2

Support Services

ADAMS Support Center Assistance

Provided support to offices in

developing search strategies and

electronic document handling

approaches in support of SISP reviews.

ADAMS Support Center Staff

Assistance 

Continue to support program

offices during the document

sensitivity review process. Q1-2

[FY05]

User Input

ADAMS Public User Survey 

A survey was posted on the public Web

site for six weeks, ending June 30. The

analysis of survey responses was

finished Q2/FY05.

Semiannual meetings of the ADAMS

Public Users Group 

Presentations at this and other

stakeholder forums provide

opportunities for feedback. [Ongoing]

The last meeting was January 12, 2005.

ADAMS NRC Public User

Surveys 

Analysis of feedback is finished

and will be made available in

ADAMS and posted on the public

Web site. [Q2/FY05]

2nd Public User Satisfaction

Survey-Under Preparation

To be issued in FY06 [Q4/FY05]

Semiannual meetings of the

ADAMS Public Users Group 

Presentations at this and other

stakeholder forums provide

opportunities for feedback.

The next meeting is July 20,

2005. [Ongoing]

ADAMS Capture and Distribution Services

Timeliness of

Document 

Processing

None. None.

Timeliness of

Incoming Document

Delivery to the Staff

None. None.

Timeliness of

Public Release

None. Update of MD 3.4, “Release of

Information to the Public” 

Update guidance to the staff on

what documents to make public. 

[FY05]
ADAMS Program Initiatives Progress Report

ADAMS Quality

Measures

Recent Accomplishments Current Initiatives

Page 4 of 4 Attachment 2

ADAMS Collections and Profile Data

Completeness of

Document

Collections

None. ADAMS Quality Control 

Developing a more systematic

approach for ensuring

completeness and accuracy of

the ADAMS record collections. 

[FY05]

Conduct ADAMS Records

Quality Control Audit 

Develop audit plan, conduct the

audit, and issue audit report.

[Q3/FY05]

ADAMS Collections and Profile Data (Continued)

Quality of

Profile Data

Spell-Checker Capability

The DPC can now spell check the

“Title” field in the ADAMS profile. 

[Q4/FY04]

None.
Page 1 of 2 Attachment 3

ADAMS 2004 PUBLIC USER SATISFACTION SURVEY CONDUCTED MAY – JUNE 2004

Respondent Affiliation:

167 respondents participated in the survey. 8 (4.8%) did not identify their affiliation. Those that did

specify an affiliation are grouped as follows with the number of respondents and their respective

percentages:

NRC Licensee 66 (39.5%)

Nuclear Industry 27 (16.2%)

Consultant 20 (12.0 %)

State/Local Governments 13 ( 7.8%)

General Public 11( 6.6%)

Law Firm 6 ( 3.6%)

Researcher 5 ( 3.0%)

News Media 2 (1.2 %)

Others 9 (5.3%)

No Affiliation 8 (4.8%)

Total 167 (100%) 

Results:

Citrix-based Usage 

Of the 167 respondents, 154 commented on using Citrix-based ADAMS. 23 of the respondents

reported using Citrix-based ADAMS daily, 18 used it weekly, and 31 used it monthly for a total of

72 respondents. 78 of the respondents reported never using this mode. Overall satisfaction based

on the average of the six rating factors was 2.6.

Citrix-based ADAMS

Total Respondents-150 Average Importance

(1-4) - 4 is the

highest

Average Satisfaction

(1-4) - 4 is the

highest

Assistance provided by the Public Document

Room

3.1 3.1

Availability 3.7 3.7

Ease of Use 3.3 2.2
Page 2 of 2 Attachment 3

Ease of Navigation 1.5 2.4

Help Screens 2.6 1.9

Reference Materials 2.5 2.0

Average of All Factors N/A 2.6

Web-based Usage 

The number of respondents who reported using Web-based ADAMS was slightly higher. 157 of

the 167 total respondents reported using Web-based ADAMS. 31 of the respondents used Webbased ADAMS daily, 50 used it on a weekly basis, and 55 used it monthly for a total of 136

respondents. 21 of the respondents report never using this mode. Overall satisfaction based on

the average of the six rating factors was 2.6. 

Web-based ADAMS 

Total Respondents -157 Average Importance

(1-4) - 4 is the

highest

Average Satisfaction

(1-4) - 4 is the

highest

Assistance provided by the Public Document

Room

2.9 2.9

Availability 3.6 3.6

Ease of Use 3.6 2.4

Ease of Navigation 3.4 2.3

Help Screens 2.6 2.1

Reference Materials 2.6 2.1

Average of All Factors N/A 2.6