U.S. Department of Commerce Computer Science National Bureau of Standards and Technology NBS NBS Special Publication 500-83 PUBLICATIONS Proceedings of the l^lir(|j|j||nL,°!,,??!*'^P * TECH Computer Performance Evaluation Users Group 1 7th Meeting "Increasing Organizational Productivity" 100 'no. 500-83 1981 c. 2 NATIOI^AL BIJREAU OF STANDARDS The National Bureau of Standards' was established by an act of Congress on March 3, 1901. The Bureau's overall goal is to strengthen and advance the Nation's science and technology and facilitate their effective application for public benefit. To this end, the Bureau conducts research and provides: (1) a basis for the Nation's physical measurement system, (2) scientific and technological services for industry and government, (3) a technical basis for equity in trade, and (4) technical services to promote public safety. The Bureau's technical work is per- formed by the National Measurement Laboratory, the National Engineering Laboratory, and the Institute for Computer Sciences and Technology. THE NATIONAL MEASUREMENT LABORATORY provides the national system of physical and chemical and materials measurement; coordinates the system with measurement systems of other nations and furnishes essential services leading to accurate and uniform physical and chemical measurement throughout the Nation's scientific community, industry, and commerce; conducts materials research leading to improved methods of measurement, standards, and data on the properties of materials needed by industry, commerce, educational institutions, and Government; provides advisory and research services to other Government agencies; develops, produces, and distributes Standard Reference Materials; and provides calibration services. The Laboratory consists of the following centers: Absolute Physical Quantities^ — Radiation Research — Thermodynamics and Molecular Science — Analytical Chemistry — Materials Science. THE NATIONAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY provides technology and technical ser- vices to the public and private sectors to address national needs and to solve national problems; conducts research in engineering and applied science in support of these efforts; builds and maintains competence in the necessary disciplines required to carry out this research and technical service; develops engineering data and measurement capabilities; provides engineering measurement traceability services; develops test methods and proposes engineering standards and code changes; develops and proposes new engineering practices; and develops and improves mechanisms to transfer results of its research to the ultimate user. The Laboratory consists of the following centers: Applied Mathematics — Electronics and Electrical Engineering^ — Mechanical Engineering and Process Technology^ — Building Technology — Fire Research — Consumer Product Technology — Field Methods. THE INSTITUTE FOR COMPUTER SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY conducts research and provides scientific and technical services to aid Federal agencies in the selection, acquisition, application, and use of computer technology to improve effectiveness and economy in Government operations in accordance with Public Law 89-306 (40 U.S.C. 759), relevant Executive Orders, and other directives; carries out this mission by managing the Federal Information Processing Standards Program, developing Federal ADP standards guidelines, and managing Federal participation in ADP voluntary standardization activities; provides scientific and technological advisory services and assistance to Federal agencies; and provides the technical foundation for computer-related policies of the Federal Government. The Institute consists of the following centers: Programming Science and Technology — Computer Systems Engineering. 'Headquarters and Laboratories at Gaithersburg, MD, unless otherwise noted; mailing address Washington, DC 20234. ^Some divisions within the center are located at Boulder, CO 80303. comre~ Computer Science National Bureau onri Tor*hnr>lr>nw wATioifAL BUREAU I II of Standards allU tJUl lUIUy y or sTANDAaua UBRAirr Publication 500-83 NBS Special V ' ^^^l Proceedings of the ^ Computer Performance m^'^ Evaluation Users Group (CPEUG) 1 7tli Meeting San Antonio, Texas November 1 6-1 9, 1 981 Proceedings Editor Terry W. Potter Conference Host Headquarters, Air Training Command Department of the Air Force Sponsored by Institute for Computer Sciences and Technology National Bureau of Standards Washington, DC 20234 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Malcolm Baldrige, Secretary National Bureau of Standards Ernest Ambler, Director Issued November 1 981 Reports on Computer Science and Technology The National Bureau of Standards has a special responsibility within the Federal Government for computer science and technology activities. Tne programs of the NBS Institute for Computer Sciences and Technology are designed to provide ADP standards, guidelines, and technical advisory services to improve the effectiveness of computer utilization in the Federal sector, and to perform appropriate research and development efforts as foundation for such activities and programs. This publication series will report these NBS efforts to the Federal computer community as well as to interested specialists in the academic and private sectors. Those wishing to receive notices of publications in this series should complete and return the form at the end of this publication. National Bureau of Standards Special Publication 500-83 Nat. Bur. Stand. (U.S.), Spec. Publ. 500-83,320 pages (Nov. 1981) CODEN: XNBSAV Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 81-600155 U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1981 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402 Price $9.00 (Add 25 percent for other than U.S. mailing) Foreword The theme of CPEUG addresses the principal challenge of the 80 's INCREASING ORGANIZATIONAL PRODUCTIVITY —as well as the direct challenge to information processing professionals of increasing data processing service and quality while minimizing cost. The relevance of this theme is reflected in the topics of recent news accounts and magazine articles touching on the management challenge in all sectors of our economy. Congress and the President clearly set forth the challenge as a goal for the Federal Government in the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980: "automatic data processing and telecommunications technology shall be acquired and used in a manner which improves service delivery and program management, increases productivity, reduces waste and fraud, and reduces the information processing burden on the public and private sectors." Productivity growth in both the private and public sectors is an important factor in achieving our stated national goals of: — reducing inflationary pressures, — raising living standards, — making U.S. goods competitive in world markets, and — protecting the quality of the environment. Productivity is defined as the relationship between the quantity of goods or services produced (output) at a given level of quality and the resources used (input). This relationship can be measured over time for an organizational unit or for an economy as a whole by comparing a specific period with a preselected base period. Productivity improvement, therefore, is an increase in the ratio of outputs to inputs; that is, a higher quantity and/or quality of goods or services at the same cost, or the same quantity of goods or services at a lower cost, without sacrificing quality. It is obvious that productivity improvement is important. For a company, productivity means producing at a lower cost than the competition. For a government, productivity means providing more service for a tax dollar. For a nation, productivity means improving the standard of living, controlling inflation, and competing effectively in world markets. From 1945 to 1970, U.S. productivity increased at an annual rate of 3.2 percent. However, from 1966 on, productivity in the U.S. grew at a much more modest rate of 1.6 percent, and in 1978, the rate slipped below 1 percent. This trend continued in 1979, when productivity actually declined by almost 1 percent. The major factors which affect productivity growth are: Human resources; constituting 70 percent of the input cost in the U.S. economy. Business Week projects that 45 million jobs will be affected by increasing automation before the year 2000 — that's half of the present total. Technological progress; better products, processes, and systems. Promises of office automation and workflow steamlining challenge management to improve the productivity of the 55 million white collar workers in the U.S. (white collar worker productiv- ity increased only 4 percent from 1968-1978, while blue collar productivity improved 84 percent during that period). Investment and economic growth; new tools and capital equip- ment and expanding or declining market for outputs. Business Week recently projected a tripling of U.S. investment in computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing equipment to about $5 billion in 1985. The greatest impediment to reaping the produc- tivity gains from these tools was seen by many experts to be soft- ware development. The theme of CPEUG 80 ~ CPE Trends in the 80 's — reflected on the spectacular growth, progress, and changes in computers and computer applications in the 70 's as well as future trends of the 80 's. This year's theme suggests where the direction of computer usage and performance improvement efforts should be