State bulletin board system, Department of Administration : EDP audit survey

44 Pages·1996·0.93 MB·English

by  Montana. Legislature. Legislative Audit Division

s
352.38
L72SBBS
1996
Legislative Audit Division
StateofMontana
ReporttotheLegislature
EDP Audit SUFVCy
September1996
STATEDOCUMENTS COLLECTION
JAN-0
1597
WONTANASTATELIBRARY
State Bulletin Board System
DepartmentofAdministratioii
Thisreportprovidesinformationregardingthestatebulletinboard
systemandtheresponsibilitiesassignedtostatepersonnelforits
maintenance. Itidentinesareas,thatifaddressed,couldimprovethe
effectivenessoftheBBS. Thetopicsdiscussedinclude:
InformationuploadtotheBBS.
MaintenancestandardsofBBSinformation.
UseofBBSandassociatedcosts.
Technicalsupportandtraining.
* TheimpactoftheInternet.
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i "kw \L.\ Ui\s •*
Directcomments/inquiriesto:
L^islativeAuditDivision
Room135,StateCapitol
POBox201705
96SP-49 MT 59620-1705
3 0864 00I0ll9 8038 6
EDPAUDITS
ElectronicDataProcessing(EDP)auditsconductedbytheLegislativeAuditDivisionaredesigned
toassesscontrolsinanEDPenvironment. EDPcontrolsprovideassuranceovertheaccuracy,
reliability,andintegrityoftheinformationprocessed. Fromtheauditwork,adeterminationis
madeastowhethercontrolsexistandareoperatingasdesigned. Inperformingtheauditwork,
theauditstaffusesauditstandardssetforthbytheUnitedStatesGeneralAccountingOffice.
Members oftheEDP auditstaffholddegrees indisciplines appropriateto theauditprocess.
Areasofexpertiseincludebusinessandpublicadministration.
EDPauditsareperformedasstand-aloneauditsofEDPcontrolsorinconjunctionwithfinancial-
complianceand/orperformanceauditsconductedbytheoffice. Theseauditsaredoneunderthe
oversight ofthe Legislative Audit Committee which is a bicameral and bipartisan standing
conmiitteeoftheMontanaLegislature. ThecommitteeconsistsofsixmembersoftheSenateand
sixmembersoftheHouseofRepresentatives.
MEMBERSOFTHELEGISLATIVEAUDITCOMMITTEE
SenatorGregJergeson,ViceChairman RepresentativeErnestBergsagel,Chairman
SenatorSueBartlett RepresentativeBeverlyBarnhart
SenatorReinyJabs RepresentativeA.R."Toni"Hagener
SenatorTomKeating RepresentativeBobKeenan
SenatorKenMiller RepresentativeRobertPavlovich
SenatorLindaNelson RepresentativeBruceSimon
MONTANALEGISLATIVEBRANCH
LegislativeAuditor /x^CS^^^>v% DeputyLegislativeAuditors
ScottA.Seacat MaryBryson
OperationsandEDPAudit
JamesGillett
LegalCounsel:
Financial-ComplianceAudit
JohnNorthey
JimPellegrini
PerformanceAudit
LEGISLATIVEAUDITDFVISION
September 1996
TheLegislativeAuditCommittee
oftheMontanaStateLegislature:
ThisisoursurveyoftheMontanaStateBulletinBoardSystem(BBS). Thesurvey
providesinformationregardingtheresponsibilitiesoftheindividualagenciesandthe
DepartmentofAdministration(DofA)formaintainingtheBBS. Thisreportcontains
suggestionstoimprovetheBBS. Thesuggestionsincludeencouragingconsistencyof
informationforallstateagencies,documentingpoliciesandproceduresonboththe
agencylevelandforDofA,implementingtrainingprogramsforpersonnel,providing
auser-friendlyenvironmentforthepublic,andexploringtheuseoftheInternetinthe
future.
Wewishtoexpressourappreciationtothepersonnelofallstateagenciesandthe
DepartmentofAdministrationfortheircooperationandassistance.
Uysubmitted.
'cottA*. Seacaf
LegislativeAuditor
Room135,StateCapitolBuilding,POBox201705 Helena,MT59620-1705
Phone[phone] FAX [phone]

Legislative Audit Division
EDPAudit Survey
State Bulletin Board System
Department ofAdministration
MembersoftheauditstaffinvolvedinthisauditwereDawnBrewerand
AlanLloyd.

wln96-30280

TableofContents
ListofFigures ii
AppointedandAdniinistrativeOfficials iii
Chapto*I-Introductioii Introduction 1
andBackground
Background 1
DescriptionoftheBBS 2
ScopeoftheSurvey 2
OrganizationofReport 3
Chaptern-Statutory
Requirements Introduction 5
StatutoryRequirements 5
Definition 5
Establishment 5
DepartmentofAdministrationResponsibilities 6
SoftwareStandards 6
FileTransfer/MessageServices 6
BBSProcedures 6
BBSSecurity 7
BBSCosts 7
IndividualAgencyResponsibilities 8
m
Chapter -Survi^ Introduction 11
DepartmentofAdministrationAreasofImprovement 11
InformationMaintainedontheBBS 11
StatutorilyRequiredInformation 11
OtherUsefulInformation 12
MaintenanceStandards 13
SystemProblems 14
TrainingProcedures 15
UtilizationofBBS 16
AgencyAreasofImprovement 17
SYSOPAssignment 17
BackupOperatorandProcedures 18
StaffAwareness 19
FutureontheInternet 19
Summary 20
AgracyResponse DepartmentofAdministration 23
Paget
ListofFigures
Figure 1 BBSTollFree(800)Costs 8
Figure2 StateBulletinBoardSystem 9
Figure3 BBSTollFree(800)Usage 16
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