The 2010 Census Cost and Progress System (C&P) was the official source for tracking and reporting cost and progress activities for the 2010 Census. The Decennial Management Division Management Information Systems Branch developed and maintained the 2010 Census C&P System.

This assessment determines if the estimated level of effort was sufficient for the lifecycle phases for 2010 Census C&P System reports; if the initial requirements fulfilled the operation managers’ need to monitor census operations; if developed reports met customers’ requirements; if data sources delivered data in the specified format and on-time; which reports were most and least frequently viewed; which were the heaviest periods of user logins; and, the cost to produce the reports.

The Elaboration Phase, when requirements were gathered from managers, was critical to the MIS staffs’ ability to successfully deliver reports to operation managers during the 2010 Census. Management staff must be able to visualize the information elements that will enable them to monitor their operation. Overall, the Transition Phase, when requirements were programmed and tested, showed that the MIS staff developed reports that met requirements. Inaccurate data and late delivery from data sources reflected upon the credibility of the MIS staff to provide up-to-date cost and progress data at critical times when operation managers needed reports to monitor their operations.

The number of reports created for an operation did not necessarily translate into program managers accessing more reports. Regardless of the number of reports, most users accessed about the same number of reports, four to six, across all operations. Several users took advantage of the ad hoc functionality to create new reports tailored to their specific needs once the operations started. Users created nearly 75 percent as many ad hoc reports as the MIS staff created reports.

The peak period for user logins to view reports began with Address Canvassing in February 2009 and concluded October 2010 with Data Capture Part II. The heaviest days of the week when users accessed reports were Monday through Wednesday from 8:00-11:00 AM and slowly decreased during the work day. In all instances when system engineers performed upgrades, the MIS staff verified the system was re stored to a fully functioning state.