Summary: Following the date change on January 1, 2000, federal, state, and local governments as well as key sectors reported that they successfully met the Year 2000 challenge. Although Year 2000 failures occurred--most of them minor--these groups reported that almost all of these failure were mitigated, either through the correction of systems or by the implementation of contingency actions. The upshot is that few Year 2000 failures adversely affected the public. Although the Year 2000 challenge is still not over because some key business processes have yet to be fully executed and other risky dates remain, the nation's success so far is a very positive indicator that these hurdles will also be overcome. The leadership shown by the legislative and executive branches and the partnerships formed by myriad organizations were crucial to this success. The federal government now faces the challenge of applying the lessons learned from the Year 2000 challenge to improve information technology management. This testimony discusses (1) the reporting structure established by the government to gather information on Year 2000 failures reported during the rollover period, (2) examples of Year 2000 errors and their resolution, and (3) the lessons from the Year 2000 effort that can be useful to strengthen the management of information technology activities.
