October 1999 Y2K Computing Challenge:

Day One Planning and

Operations Guide

GAO

United States General Accounting Office

Accounting and Information

Management Division

G A O

Accountability ✮ Integrity ✮ Reliability

GAO/AIMD-10.1.22
GAO/AIMD-10.1.22 Year 2000 Day One Planning and Operations Guide 1

Preface

Federal agencies are making significant progress racing against time and renovating, validating,

and implementing their mission-critical information systems. Nevertheless, organizations

remain vulnerable to Y2K disruptions. Because most federal agencies are highly dependent on

information technology to carry out their missions, Year 2000-induced failures of one or more

critical systems may have an adverse impact on an organization’s ability to deliver critical

services.

The risk of failure is not limited to an organization’s internal information systems. Many federal

agencies depend on information and data provided by their business partners—including other

federal agencies, hundreds of state and local agencies, private-sector entities, and international

organizations. Finally, every organization depends on services provided by the public

infrastructure—including power, water, transportation, and voice and data telecommunications.

In August 1998, we published a guide to help agencies address business continuity and

contingency planning issues.1 The guide provides a conceptual framework for managing and

mitigating the risks of potential Year 2000-induced disruptions to agency operations. It also

calls for agencies to develop a “day zero” strategy, also known as a “Day One” strategy, to

manage the critical century rollover period.2

A Day One strategy comprises a comprehensive set of actions to be executed by a federal

agency during the last days of 1999 and the first days of 2000. It must be integrated with

agency business continuity and contingency plans, and should describe the key activities and

responsibilities of agency component organizations and staff.

Day One Operations

The objectives of a Day One strategy are to (1) position an organization to readily identify Year

 

1Year 2000 Computing Crisis: Business Continuity and Contingency Planning (GAO/AIMD-10.1.19, issued as

an exposure draft in May 1998; issued final in August 1998). The guide is available at

<http://www.gao.gov/special.pubs/bcpguide.pdf>.

2Agencies should also be prepared to deal with latent post-rollover problems that may emerge days or months

later, and with other key date-sensitive events such as the leap year.

December 1999 January 2000

Wed Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed

29 30 31 1 2 3 4 5

Pre-rollover Post-rollover

Rollover

Tue

28

Thur

Typical Day One Operations
GAO/AIMD-10.1.22 Year 2000 Day One Planning and Operations Guide 2

2000-induced problems, take needed corrective actions, and minimize adverse impact on

agency operations and key business processes, and (2) provide information about an

organization’s Year 2000 condition to executive management, business partners, and the public.

The guide provides a conceptual framework for helping agencies develop a Day One strategy

and reduce the risk of adverse Y2K impact on agency operations. It builds upon our previously

issued Year 2000 business continuity and contingency planning guide, and draws on other

sources, including the Social Security Administration, International Business Machines

Corporation, and the Legislative Branch Y2K Group.

Because each agency is different, there is no single, cookie-cutter approach to Day One

planning. Some agencies are highly centralized, while others operate in a highly decentralized

environment. This guide addresses issues that will be common to most agencies; however, each

agency must tailor its Day One plan in response to its unique needs.

The guide addresses four phases supported by executive oversight:

• Initiation

• Rollover risk assessment, planning, and preparation

• Rehearsal

• Execution, monitoring, responding, and reporting

In addition to executive oversight, the four phases are united by the common thread of

accountability at all levels.

An electronic version of this guide is available from GAO’s World Wide Web at

<www.gao.gov/special.pubs/dayone.pdf>. If you have any comments or questions about the

guide, please contact us, or Mirko J. Dolak, Technical Assistant Director, at (202) 512-6362;

or E. Randolph Tekeley, Technical Assistant Director, at (202) 512-4070. We can also be

reached by e-mail at willemssenj.aimd@gao.gov, rhodesk.aimd@gao.gov,

dolakm.aimd@gao.gov, and tekeleye.aimd@gao.gov.

Joel C. Willemssen Keith A. Rhodes

Director Director

Civil Agencies Information Systems Office of Computer and Information

Technology Assessment
GAO/AIMD-10.1.22 Year 2000 Day One Planning and Operations Guide 3

Contents

____________________________________________________________________________

Day One and the Year 2000 Problem 4

____________________________________________________________________________

Initiation 5

____________________________________________________________________________

Rollover Risk Assessment, Planning, and Preparation 7

____________________________________________________________________________

Rehearsal 11

____________________________________________________________________________

Execution, Monitoring, Responding, and Reporting 12

____________________________________________________________________________

Glossary 15
GAO/AIMD-10.1.22 Year 2000 Day One Planning and Operations Guide 4

Day One and the Year 2000

Although agencies are making significant progress in renovating and testing their missioncritical systems, crossing the century boundary will nevertheless present many challenges. To

address these challenges, each agency should develop a Day One strategy for reducing risk to

its facilities, systems, programs, and services during the weekend of the critical century rollover.

Such a strategy should focus on actions to be taken shortly before, during, and after the

rollover.

This guide presents a structured approach to aid federal agencies in Day One planning and

management. The guide draws on (1) the Day One plan of the Social Security Administration,

(2) the rollover guidance3 developed by the International Business Machines Corporation, and

(3) the Day One Guide drafted by the Legislative Branch Y2K Group. It describes four phases

--supported by agency executive management--with each phase representing a major Day One

planning project activity or segment.

Year 2000 Day One Planning and Operations Structure

 

3Planning for the 1999 to 2000 Rollover of IT Systems, Year 2000 Global Initiatives, International Business

Machines Corporation, June 1999. The guide is available at

<www.ibm.com/ibm/year2000/docs/rollover/rollover_english.pdf>.

Establish a Day One project work group and develop an

overall Day One planning strategy. Develop master schedule

and milestones and obtain executive support.

Initiation

Assess the risk of internal and external Y2K failures.

Develop Day One plans and establish command center(s).

Identify activities and processes for the pre-rollover and

post-event periods. Develop communications plan.

Rollover Risk

Assessment,

Planning,

Preparation

Define and document rehearsal plans and rehearse selected

Day One operations and teams. Update and revise Day One

plan as needed.

 Rehearsal

Executive

Oversight

Execute rollover procedures and tests. Identify and resolve

problems, report status.

Execution,

Monitoring,

Responding,

Reporting
GAO/AIMD-10.1.22 Year 2000 Day One Planning and Operations Guide 5

Key Tasks

1.1 Establish a Day One project work group, define roles, and assign responsibility

1.2 Develop and document a high-level Day One planning strategy, and establish schedule

and milestones

1.3 Establish Day One leave and compensation policy

1.4 Establish or activate mechanisms for planned reviews of Day One activities

1.0 Initiation

Executive management needs to be fully aware that the century rollover period can pose risks

to an agency’s ability to deliver services. Executives responsible for the agencies’ core business

processes should work with the Chief Information Officer, the Chief Financial Officer, and the

Year 2000 program manager to develop a Day One strategy. Agency executives must dedicate

sufficient resources and staff for this task, and ensure that senior managers support this effort.

1.1 Establish a Day One project work group, define roles, and assign responsibility

Establish a Day One work group. The group should report to executive management

and work closely or be aligned with the business continuity and contingency planning

group. This group should also include representatives from the IRM office, major

business units, and field organizations.

Manage the Day One planning tasks and activities as a sub-project. Define roles and

assign responsibilities for leading the planning effort and for performing analyses and

developing Day One procedures and plans.

Determine what major business units and field organizations need to develop Day One

plans. The principal candidates are organizational components responsible for key

business processes—usually components that were required to develop individual

business continuity and contingency plans, and large field organizations. Appoint

individuals to lead the development of Day One plans for each of the designated

organizational components.

1.2 Develop and document a high-level Day One planning strategy, and establish schedule and

milestones

A high-level Day One planning strategy provides the agency’s executive management

with an overview of key activities. The strategy should address the project management

structure, the number and location of information coordination and/or command centers,

the project’s relationship with the business continuity and contingency planning effort,

metrics and reporting requirements, and initial cost and schedule estimates.

Develop a schedule and milestones for the planning effort. Ensure time for rehearsing
GAO/AIMD-10.1.22 Year 2000 Day One Planning and Operations Guide 6

the key teams needed to carry out each phase and function of the strategy.

Coordinate Day One planning with the agency’s business continuity and contingency

planning effort, and ensure that the Day One plan incorporates appropriate procedures

and processes identified in the agency’s continuity of operations plan.

1.3 Establish Day One leave and compensation policy

Address rollover leave and compensation issues. Work with human resources

departments to determine special compensation requirements to deal with unused annual

leave, overtime, holiday work, and standby. Consult the Office of Personnel

Management for further guidance at <www.opm.gov/y2k/index.htm>.

1.4 Establish or activate mechanisms for planned reviews of Day One activities

Establish or activate mechanisms to review the Day One planning process and strategy

for omissions, feasibility, and key assumptions. Use vehicles such as quality assurance

office staff to ensure that the business resumption teams established during the business

continuity and contingency planning process are ready, and that the individual business

continuity plans were adequately tested.
GAO/AIMD-10.1.22 Year 2000 Day One Planning and Operations Guide 7

2.0 Rollover Risk Assessment, Planning, and Preparation

Day One planning integrates and acts on the results of the rollover risk assessment. The output

of this process is a Day One plan for headquarters and--if required--for each of the designated

organizational units responsible for key business processes. The plan should focus on the key

Day One functions (monitoring, responding, and reporting) implemented within the framework

of the pre-rollover and post-rollover phases. Each plan should provide a description of the

activities, resources, staff roles, and timetables needed for its execution.

2.1 Assess failure scenarios documented in business continuity and contingency plans and

identify key risk areas, including risks faced by business partners

Identify key risk areas, including facilities, critical infrastructure components, and

systems supporting core business processes, that should be addressed by the Day One

plan. Rely on the results of Year 2000 risk assessment and testing activities to identify

the most likely failure modes and scenarios. Consider the potential impact of external

events, including the loss of electric power, telephone communications, water, and

natural gas. Consider risks faced by business partners.

Key Tasks

2.1 Assess failure scenarios documented in business continuity and contingency plans

and identify key risk areas, including risks faced by business partners

2.2 Establish information coordination and/or command center(s)

2.3 Define the pre-rollover and post-rollover responsibilities for the command center(s),

major business units, facilities, and critical infrastructure components

2.4 Develop agencywide schedule of key events for the pre- and post-rollover periods

2.5 Develop or acquire and document facilities infrastructure checklists and templates

2.6 Develop post-rollover test plans and procedures for testing of key business systems

and processes

2.7 Establish rapid response procedures; develop rules for the deployment of business

resumption teams and for the execution of contingency and disaster recovery plans

2.8 Develop rollover staffing plan

2.9 Review vendor service agreements and availability

2.10 Establish rollover security procedures for coordination/command center(s) and

designated Day One sites

2.11 Develop and document internal communications procedures; establish process for

monitoring external events

2.12 Develop external communications strategy and procedures
GAO/AIMD-10.1.22 Year 2000 Day One Planning and Operations Guide 8

2.2 Establish information coordination and/or command center(s)

Establish information coordination and/or command center(s) to coordinate and report

on agencywide rollover activities.

2.3 Define the pre-rollover and post-rollover responsibilities for the coordination/command

center(s), major business units, facilities, and critical infrastructure components

Define, for each organizational component responsible for a key business process, its

pre- and post-rollover responsibilities, staffing, and problem resolution and escalation

procedures. Specify events and conditions defined in the business continuity and

contingency plan that will trigger contingency plans and activate business resumption

teams. Review procedures and triggers for activating contingency plans to deliver

services to constituencies served by business partners experiencing Year 2000-induced

system and process failures.

Specify data backup requirements, and identify systems and infrastructure components

that are to remain operational, remain idle, or be shut down. Develop start-up plan for

idled or shutdown systems and infrastructure components.

2.4 Develop agencywide schedule of key events for the pre- and post-rollover periods

Develop agencywide schedule of key events and activities, including a schedule for

closing business areas, shutting down systems, and facilities inspections.

2.5 Develop or acquire and distribute facilities infrastructure checklists and templates

The century rollover may affect the availability of public utilities and the operations of

building services, including elevators, air conditioning, and building security systems.

Agencies should develop or acquire infrastructure checklists, data capture and reporting

templates, and reporting procedures to assist building managers in assessing the rollover

impact on agency facilities.

2.6 Develop post-rollover test plans and procedures for testing of key business systems and

processes

The post-rollover test and assessment process must be well defined and scripted to

ensure adequate coverage and proper sequencing. For example, evaluation procedures

may call for sequential evaluation beginning with hardware (mainframes, servers, PBX

systems, routers, and switches), followed by connectivity testing (LANs and WANs), and

ending with end-to-end evaluation and testing of mission-critical systems with live data.

Where possible, use existing troubleshooting and problem reporting processes and

procedures during the rollover period, including those specified in agency Continuity of

Operations plans.
GAO/AIMD-10.1.22 Year 2000 Day One Planning and Operations Guide 9

2.7 Establish rapid response procedures; develop rules for the deployment of business

resumption teams and for the execution of contingency and disaster recovery plans

Define risk-escalation procedures, activation thresholds, and action plans for predefined

failure scenarios, including the activation of business resumption teams. Consider

activating and terminating a response based on risk-escalation thresholds for the

degradation or loss of business systems and applications.

2.8 Develop rollover staffing plan

Develop a rollover staffing plan to support Day One activities. Ensure that key technical

staff are available to handle infrastructure problems, and that business resumption

teams will be available to respond to problems affecting agency core business processes.

Assess the availability of key staff to support Day One operations. Develop procedures

for reaching all employees, including on-duty and on-call staff.

2.9 Review vendor service agreements and availability

Review contract support arrangements to determine availability and coverage. Confirm

the availability and contact information for key vendors. Avoid entering into an

exclusive service arrangement with vendors serving other clients.

2.10 Establish rollover security procedures for coordination/command center(s) and designated

Day One sites

Review security plans to ensure their support for rollover activities. Ensure access to

facilities in the event of security system failures, and provide additional physical security

for critical facilities.

Assess system and network security during the rollover period. Consider risks posed by

remote access services and public web servers. Modify or reduce remote access to

network resources during the rollover period. Develop plans to monitor, resolve, and

report network security incidents.

2.11 Develop and document internal communications procedures; establish process for

monitoring external events

Develop and document internal communications strategy and process, both for intraand inter-component communications, including communications between the Day One

sites and the coordination/command center. Define status indicators and identify

reportable events. Define modes of communication and reporting channels. Ensure that

key Day One teams and staff have access to emergency communications equipment in

case of the failure of public telecommunications networks.

Establish process for the monitoring of external events, including communications with

the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion’s Information Coordination Center, to
GAO/AIMD-10.1.22 Year 2000 Day One Planning and Operations Guide 10

obtain information about major infrastructure problems. Ensure that the

coordination/command center(s) have access to information on the status of business

partners, key suppliers, and service providers.

2.12 Develop external communications strategy and procedures

Develop and document external communications strategy and process. Designate

agency Day One spokesperson, and define the process for issuing public announcements

and communicating with the media. Establish communication links with Information

Coordination Center.
GAO/AIMD-10.1.22 Year 2000 Day One Planning and Operations Guide 11

3.0 Rehearsal

The Day One plan describes a wide range of complex, interrelated activities and geographically

distributed processes that must be executed within a very short time frame. To ensure that the

Day One strategy is executable, the Day One plans and their key processes and timetables

should be reviewed, and, if feasible, rehearsed. Similarly, agencies may wish to rehearse the

operations and integration of the Year 2000 coordination/command center(s) and teams

responsible for the Day One activities in major business units, facilities, field organizations, and

infrastructure components.

3.1 Develop and document Day One rehearsal plan

Define and document the Day One rehearsal plan. Ensure that management approves

the plan. Disseminate applicable guidance and establish a help desk, preferably in the

coordination/command center(s). Rehearsal plans should address objectives, scope,

required equipment and personnel resources, likely scenarios, schedules and locations,

and procedures.

3.2 Rehearse selected Day One operations and teams

Rehearse the operations of the coordination/command center(s) and of selected Day One

teams to ensure that the coordination/command center staff and team member are

familiar with Day One procedures and their roles. Test emergency communications and

security procedures designed to deal with the loss of electric power and public

communications networks.

3.3 Update and revise Day One plans and procedures based upon lessons learned

Identify and resolve shortcomings and problems noted during the rehearsals and testing,

and revise the Day One plan and procedures accordingly. Retest, if feasible, critical

processes, and update plans.

Key Tasks

3.1 Develop and document Day One rehearsal plan

3.2 Rehearse selected Day One operations and teams

3.3 Update and revise Day One plans and procedures based upon lessons learned
GAO/AIMD-10.1.22 Year 2000 Day One Planning and Operations Guide 12

4.0 Execution, Monitoring, Responding, and Reporting

Unlike schedules for most other plans, the Day One schedule is immovable, with the rollover to

occur at 12:00 A.M. on Saturday, January 1, 2000. The status—and success—of an agency’s

Year 2000 program will first be evident immediately after the rollover, with more detailed

information on the status of mission-critical systems and on the viability of agency core business

processes emerging during the post-rollover phase. The status information gathered during the

post-rollover phase needs to be communicated to executive management as well as to external

parties.

4.1 Activate information coordination/command center(s) and designated Day One sites

Activate coordination/command center(s) and designated sites, perform connectivity

checks, and test reporting procedures and tools. Ensure that each site has accessible

emergency contact information for local utilities, public safety organizations, key

vendors, technical consultants, and contractors servicing critical equipment. Ensure

that each site and business area addressed by a rollover strategy has a designated crisis

intervention contact and that communication is established to the coordination/command

center(s). Ensure that response teams are in communication, ready and awaiting

dispatch.

4.2 Implement pre-rollover procedures specific to each site

Implement pre-rollover procedures at all designated sites. Conduct operational

inspections and readiness checks for normal and emergency backup services, including

electric power, lighting, water, communications, and transportation, as appropriate.

Key Tasks

Pre-rollover

4.1 Activate information coordination/command center(s) and designated Day One sites

4.2 Implement pre-rollover procedures specific to each site

4.3 Implement planned risk prevention and risk reduction measures

Post-rollover

4.4 Conduct facilities inspection using infrastructure checklist

4.5 Perform post-rollover tests, evaluations, and assessment

4.6 Identify and report incidents, including problems, failures, and outages

4.7 Perform problem and crisis management

4.8 Implement recovery procedures and change control

4.9 Activate, if necessary, business continuity and contingency plans

4.10 Implement internal and external reporting procedures
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4.3 Implement planned risk-prevention and risk-reduction measures

Implement planned measures to prevent and reduce risks in business processes, systems,

and applications. For example, perform backups of all critical files and data, including

automated workflow rules, system configurations, database journals, system data, and

application data.

Implement shutdown or partial shutdown of processes and applications that may not be

able to process correctly across the rollover event.

4.4 Conduct facilities inspection using infrastructure checklist

Inspect facilities using infrastructure checklist. Report status and problems, and initiate

corrective action.

4.5 Perform post-rollover tests, evaluations, and assessments

Initiate post-rollover test and evaluation procedures. Test key business processes and

supporting systems. Coordinate tests and evaluations with designated Day One sites and

business partners.

4.6 Identify and report incidents, including problems, failures, and outages

Report significant failures and outages. Provide status reports on key business processes

and supporting systems. Identify and report on potential impact of failures and outages.

4.7 Perform problem and crisis management

Document all reported incidents, assign priority, and dispatch appropriate problem

response team. Periodically review and escalate response as appropriate. When called

for, invoke emergency procedures. Track incidents, problems, and crises to closure.

4.8 Implement recovery procedures

Follow recovery procedures for the rollover period. Pay special attention to systems and

applications that were fully or partially shut down as a preventive measure. Test and

implement corrections.

4.9 Activate, if necessary, business continuity and contingency plans

Use escalation thresholds to invoke contingency plans. If a problem remains unresolved

for a specific length of time and the impact to operations exceeds a predefined threshold,

activate business resumption teams.
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4.10 Implement internal and external reporting procedures

Implement internal reporting procedures. Ensure that the coordination/command

center(s) are provided with timely and accurate information on the rollover status of

each designated site. Use standard data collection and reporting templates and tools to

gather and report status information.

Implement external communications strategy and process. If required, prepare and issue

public announcements and communicate with the media. Ensure that the Information

Coordination Center is provided with timely and accurate status information.
GAO/AIMD-10.1.22 Year 2000 Day One Planning and Operations Guide 15

Glossary

The definitions in this glossary were developed by the project staff or were drawn from other

sources, including the Computer Dictionary: The Comprehensive Standard For Business,

School, Library, and Home, Microsoft Press, Washington, D.C., 1991; The Year 2000

Resource Book, Management Support Technology Corp., Framingham, Massachusetts, 1996;

The Year 2000 and 2-Digit Dates: A Guide for Planning and Implementation, International

Business Machines Corporation, 1997; and Denis Howe’s “Free On-line Dictionary of

computing at <foldoc.doc.is.ac.uk/>.

Business area A grouping of business functions and processes focused on the

production of specific outputs.

Business function A group of logically related tasks that are performed together to

accomplish a mission-oriented objective.

Business plan An action plan that the enterprise will follow on a short-term and/or

long-term basis. It specifies the strategic and tactical objectives of the

enterprise over a period of time. The plan, therefore, will change

over time. Although a business plan is usually written in a style

unique to a specific enterprise, it should concisely describe "what" is

planned, "why" it is planned, "when" it will be implemented, by

"whom" it will be implemented, and "how" it will be assessed. The

architects of the plan are typically the principals of the enterprise.

Business resumption Teams responsible for managing the implementation of contingency

teams and business resumption plans.

Contingency plan In the context of the Year 2000 program, a plan for responding to

the loss or degradation of essential services due to a Year 2000-

related problem in an automated system. In general, a contingency

plan describes the steps the enterprise would take--including the

activation of manual or contract processes--to ensure the continuity

of its core business processes in the event of a Year 2000-induced

system failure.

Infrastructure In the context of the Day One plan, the hardware, software, facilities,

and public utilities supporting the enterprise’s information

management functions.

Metrics Measures by which processes, resources, and products can be

assessed.
GAO/AIMD-10.1.22 Year 2000 Day One Planning and Operations Guide 16

Mission-critical A system supporting a core business activity or process.

system

Quality assurance Planned and systematic actions necessary to provide adequate

confidence that a product or service will satisfy given requirements

for quality.

Risk assessment An activity performed to identify risks and estimate their probability

and the impact of their occurrence; used during system development

to provide an estimate of potential damage, loss, or harm that could

result from the failure to successfully develop individual system

components.

Risk management A management approach designed to prevent and reduce risks,

including system-development risks, and lessen the impact of their

occurrence.

Test The process of exercising a product to identify differences between

expected and actual behavior.

Year 2000 problem The potential problems that might be encountered by computer

hardware, software, or firmware in processing year-date data for

years beyond 1999.