INFORMATION MANAGEMENT IN THE DESIGN OF MATERIALS CONTROL AND ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEMS*

In the initial stage of a materials accounting system design, fundamental decisions are made about the data to be acquired, the means for acquisition, and the location and timing of the acquisition. The data to be acquired are determined by their intended use in the analysis, reporting, and decision processes. This paper presents information management methods for materials accounting systems based on experience in system development at DOE facilities. Specifically, we describe principles for the acquisition and organization of data for a materials control and accountability (MC&A) system. Many of these principles are drawn from software engineering. These include the preparation of a requirements document, a functional specification, and the application of structured analysis and design. Our experience shows that insufficient effort and detail to these early fundamental activities for identifying and acquiring the appropriate data cause many problems later. Failure to provide for complete acquisition of all required information leads to potentially costly revisions to the data acquisition system or to a materials accounting system that cannot complete its intended functions. Likewise, unrealistic analyses requirements can cause catastrophic problems later on. The results of this research should produce a functional description of a modern MC&A system to serve as a guide for developing or upgrading MC&A systems.