|
Prepare
for the Y2K Bug:
The
problem arises from the fact that millions of electronic devices
have been programmed—in order to save memory—only to recognize
the last two digits of a year, the "19" has been dropped.
Therefore, on January 1, 2000, computers interpreting only the
"00" will understand the year as 1900 not 2000—unless
the problem is fixed. It is important because data processing
systems used in all types of businesses rely heavily on dates
and date processing. If the computer code does not recognize
that one date is greater than another, it may not be able to
process properly and may produce erroneous results. For example,
if a loan is entered into a program with a start date of 1998
and a payoff date of 2005 (98 and 05), the program may subtract
98 from 05 resulting in a term of -93 years, rather than 7 years.
This problem may put a business at risk because it could effect
its cash flow, inventory, taxes, interest calculations, financial
forecasting, customer relations and many other areas.
Who
is Affected?
Whether you call it the Y2K problem, the Y2K Bug or the Millennium
Bug, its affects reach from companies using large mainframe
computers to hospital intensive care units. The Y2K program
will affect all Federal and state government, banking, insurance
and manufacturing industries. Small businesses without Y2K compliant
computer hardware or software are also at risk. Additionally,
small firms with manufacturing, inventory and accounting systems
where data dated after January 1, 2000 has already been entered.
Equipment with time-dependent embedded computer chips may be
vulnerable, as well. This includes cash registers, telephones,
elevators, refrigeration systems, gas and water facilities and
security systems. Also, a wide range of manufacturing and production
equipment. Small business owners should not forget their dependence
on suppliers, customers, building managers and financial institutions.
Be aware that a business that has addressed its own Y2K problem
may still suffer consequences or fail because a key outside
firm with its own Y2K problem fails to perform.
What
Should Your Business Be Doing to Protect Itself?
Self-assessment.
Find out whether or not you or your small business has a Y2K
problem. No small business should assume that it is exempt from
the Millennium Bug without proper testing. There is a Y2K
Check List available on the U.S. Small Business Administration's
Web site to help you determine the extent of your vulnerability
and if you need assistance.
Take
Action Immediately.
Fixing most Y2K problems is not necessarily complicated, but
it can be time consuming and labor intensive. Everyone is facing
a deadline on this problem that cannot truly be moved—January
1, 2000. Be certain to act quickly if you determine you have
a Y2K problem.
Stay
Informed.
Keep up-to-date on new developments related to the Y2K problem.
Make realistic assessments based on what is central to your
company's operations. Don't be stampeded into paying for remedies
you don't need. Alternately, you may find it more cost-effective
to purchase entirely new equipment than to repair what you currently
have. Logging on to various Y2K Internet
Sites is an excellent way to stay current.
Some questions to help assess system readiness
1.
Can the system perform projections through time? For example,
can it calculate interest or payments or make inventory projections?
2.
Does the system allow for entering dates? If yes, is the year
2 or 4 digits? What happens if you enter "00" or "01?"
3.
Will the system operate differently depending on the day of
the week? Will it operate differently at month-end, quarter-end,
or year-end?
4.
Can the system put things in order by date?
5.
Does the system allow you to retrieve things by date?
6.
Can the system perform date-based calculations?
7.
Does the system have a security feature that includes date checking?
Suggested Testing Criteria
The
following list is not all inclusive. You should add others based
on your business's needs and ignore those that are not appropriate.
1.
Test the changed system with dates before the year 2000 to insure
that it is working properly
2.
Test that the changed system rolls over from 12/31/1999 to 1/1/2000
properly
3.
Validate the first business day of the year 2000 (1/1/2000,
1/2/2000 or 1/3/2000 depending on your business needs)
4.
Validate that the system operates correctly at end-of-month
(1/31/2000 and will roll over to 2/1/2000 properly.
5.
Test that the system rolls over from 2/28/2000 to 2/29/2000
properly, operates correctly on 2/29/2000, then rolls over and
operates properly on 3/1/2000.
6. Test 3/31/2000 and 4/1/2000
to show that end-of-quarter processing operates correctly
7.
Test 1/7/2000 and 1/10/2000 to insure that the system operates
correctly on the first Friday of the new century, and on the
Monday after the first Friday.
8.
Validate year display fields, including data entry
9.
Validate the year in reports
10.
Test that the system sorts in correct order, validate all sort
processing
11.
Validate correct calculation of dates
12.
Validate the correct acceptance of dates from the operating
systems
13.
Validate calculated resultant values from dates
14.
Test that ages are calculated correctly
15.
Validate interest and other time-based financial calculations
16.
Test expiration date processing
17.
Test historical decision analysis
18.
Validate time reporting processing
19.
Test workflow/materials requisition and inventory processing
20.
Verify that billing calculations are correct
21.
Validate cycle processing, including day-of-week and/or first
business day of the month
22.
Verify that the system forecasts correctly
23.
Test forward processing - process dates after the year 2000
(2001, 2002, &c.)
24.
Validate backward processing - process dates prior to 2000
25.
Verify historical or archival date processing
26.
Validate that the system purges the correct records
27.
Validate date and data error handling routines
28.
Validate date expansion, if used, both within the application
and between interfacing applications.
29.
Validate windowing, if used, both within the system and between
interfacing systems
30.
Validate proper handling of special values in dates - 99/99/9999,
88/88/8888, 00/00/000
31.
Validate that the system works with the date 1/1/1999 - first
date with "99" in the year field
32.
Validate that there are 366 days in the year 2000, and 365 days
in the year 2001.
33.
Validate that 9/9/99 (September 9th, 1999) is handled
properly.
Some
additional dates that may impact businesses:
1.
7/1/1999 - 46 out of 50 states start their Fiscal Year 2000
2.
10/1/1999 - start of Federal Government's Fiscal Year 2000
3.
2/15/2000 - W2 due
4.
4/15/2000 - Tax day
5.
4/30/2000 - first month ending on a weekend
6.
5/1/2000 - tax withholding report due, unemployment tax due
7.
9/30/2000 - Federal Government's end of fiscal year 2000
8.
10/10/2000 - first '6-digit' date for systems storing date as
MDDYY
9.
12/31/2000 (Sunday) - first year end - check that year contains
366 days
10.
1/1/2001 - test that the system has been instructed to roll
over to 2001
11.
2/29/2001 - invalid date
12.
12/31/2001 - second year end - check that year had 365 days
How to check a personal computer for year 2000 readiness
The
following steps are suggested to determine if a personal computer
will roll over to the year 2000 correctly.
The
test presented here requires a bootable DOS floppy diskette.
This is a safer method to test your PC's system clock because
it leaves the data and programs on your PC's hard disk unaffected.
If you boot to your C: drive, you may end up loading Windows®
or Windows® 95 and other applications from your startup routine.
Using a bootable diskette will ensure the integrity of the data
and programs on your PC's hard disks. The test script presented
here will check your PC's ability to transition to the year
2000 and recognize it as a leap year.
Do
not perform the tests by changing your system's BIOS Setup screen.
Create
a bootable test diskette. Insert a blank floppy diskette into
the PC's A: drive. From a DOS prompt, type FORMAT A: /S. Or
from Windows File Manager, click on DISK/FORMAT and check MAKE
SYSTEM DISK.
With
the bootable diskette created in Step 1 still in your PC's floppy
drive, shut down your system (close Windows) and the power off
your PC. Don't just hit the reset button or warmboot (CTL-ALT-DEL).
Turn
the power on your PC, and allow the PC to boot from the diskette.
After
bootup, DOS automatically shows the current date. Make sure
that the correct date is displayed. Otherwise, you may have
to set the correct date on your PC's BIOS.
At
the Enter new date (mm-dd-yy) prompt, type 12-31-1999.
After
changing the date, the current time will be displayed. At the
Enter new time: prompt, type 23:55:00.
Turn
the power off on your PC and wait at least 10 minutes. If you
don't, DOS will appear to transition correctly to the year 2000.
However, once you reboot the PC, it will display the incorrect
date if your system's RTC has the flaw described above.
Turn
the power back on and wait for the boot process to complete.
Type
in Date at the ready prompt. If Sat 01-01-2000 is displayed,
your PC's BIOS passes the test.
At
the Enter new date (mm-dd-yy): prompt, type 02-28-2000. This
will test your system's ability to recognize the year 2000 as
a leap year.
After
changing the date, the current time will be displayed. At the
Enter new time: prompt, type 23:55:00.
Power
off your PC again and wait at least 10 minutes.
Turn
the power on the PC. Type in Date at the Ready prompt. If Tue
02-29-2000 is displayed, your PC's BIOS passes the leap year
test.
To
conclude testing, at the Enter new date (mm-dd-yy): prompt,
enter the correct date, e.g., 07-04-1997.
After
changing the date, the current time will be displayed. At the
Enter new time: prompt, type correct time, e.g., 06:00:00.
Remove
the bootable diskette from the floppy and power off your PC.
|
