Robert V. Head

Papers, 1956-1998

CBI 170

 

COLLECTION SIZE:  11.4 cubic ft. (12 boxes)

 

CREATOR: Head, Robert V.

 

BY: Prepared by Carrie Seib and Amanda Schwarze, July 2002.

 

ACQUISITION: The records were given to the Charles Babbage Institute by Robert V. Head in October 2001.

 

ACCESS: Access to the collection is unrestricted.

 

COPYRIGHT: The Charles Babbage Institute holds the copyright to all materials in the collection, except for items covered by a prior copyright (such as published materials). Researchers may quote from the collection under the fair use provisions of the copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code).

 

PREFERRED CITATION: Please cite the collection as follows: Robert V. Head Papers (CBI 170), Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

 

Biographical Note

Robert V. Head (1929 - ), information systems specialist, information technology consultant, editor.  Head received a B.A. in Government from George Washington University in 1952 and in the same year went to work for General Electric, Inc. (GE) in its Business Training Course in Schenectady. He left GE for a brief period to work as a programmer for Univac in Detroit, before rejoining the company’s Computer Department in 1957 as Manager of Deposit Accounting Systems, where he directed programming for GE’s ERMA (Electronic Recognition Method of Accounting) Banking System.

 

In 1959, Head joined IBM in New York City as a senior planning representative where he supervised development of data format and program specifications for the American Airlines SABRE System. In 1961 he transferred to the Data Processing Division as a senior systems engineer in charge of the IBM Systems Engineering effort at Eastern Airlines. In 1962 he assisted in coordinating the Advanced Systems Course for IBM’s Systems Research Institute, and was appointed to the IBM Systems Research Institute staff in the same year.

 

Head left IBM in 1963 to become vice president and manager of the systems planning division at Security First National Bank, where he stayed for two years. From 1965 – 1966 he worked as a manager of Advanced Business Systems at the accounting firm of Touche, Ross, Bailey & Smart. He left in 1966 to serve for one year as manager of Management Information Technology at Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) in El Segundo, California, where he assisted in new business development.

 

In 1967, Head left CSC and, with Dom Nigro, founded Software Resources Corporation (SRC).  SRC’s mission was to build and market a portfolio of high quality software application packages by acquiring the marketing rights from computer users who had developed the applications for their own use. This business model turned out to be difficult to implement because it required not only marketing the software packages to customers but also convincing potential contributors of products that they should entrust them to SRC for marketing at a reasonable return. Undercapitalized and under pressure from investors to achieve profitability on an overly ambitious schedule, SRC was sold to Programming Sciences Corporation (PSC) of New York City in 1969. (Source: Software History Center Web site.)

 

PSC combined their contract programming activities with SRC to create a new company called Consolidated Software, Inc.  Head served as executive vice president of Consolidated Software until late 1969 and on the company’s board of directors until February 1970.

 

After spending some time working as an independent information systems consultant and author, Head entered government service in 1971 as an information resources management executive with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). He served at the USDA for fourteen years, where his positions included assistant director of the Office of Automated Systems and deputy director of the Office of Information Resources Management.  Under USDA sponsorship, he served as a Federal Executive Fellow at the Brookings Institution from 1980-1981.

 

In 1985, Head left government service to work as an information systems consultant and an editor and journalist for information technology magazines. He was a contributing editor of the Journal of Systems Management, 1967-1971, Government Computing News 1985-1990, Datamation, 1965-1971, and Government Data Systems, 1980-1983, as well as Government Imaging, which he co-founded in 1992. From 1996-1997, he edited INFORM (journal of AIIM). He is the author of more than 200 articles and seven books, including Real-Time Business Systems (1964) and Strategic Planning for Information Systems (1982).

 

In 1981 he founded and served as president and principal consultant for CAPIT (Company for the Analysis and Planning of Information Technology).  Head also served as president, editor, and publisher of FEDINFO, The Federal Information Systems Marketing Service, from 1989-1992.

 

Head’s service to professional organizations has included his tenure as a president of the Society for Information Management, of which he was also a founder, 1969-1971; and as a national lecturer for the Association for Computer Machinery, 1966 and 1970.

 

Scope and Content Note

The Robert V. Head Papers document Head’s work with airline, banking and government systems; his editorial work; his activities with a variety of professional organizations and industry groups; and his work as an information systems specialist.

 

Head titled his papers according to subject headings, and his personal filing system has, for the most part, been preserved.  The collection is organized in ten series: Airline Systems; Banking Papers; Business and Consulting; Committees and Groups; Computer Sciences Corporation; Conferences and Speeches; Correspondence; Government Systems; Management Information Systems; and Publications Files. There is some overlap among the series, and researchers searching for certain topics or themes may need to consult several series.  For example, “banking” related materials may be found in Banking Papers, Conferences and Speeches, Correspondence, and Publications Files.  Similarly, correspondence may be found throughout the collection; it is not limited to the formal Correspondence series.

 

Aside from a small amount of materials, including marketing planning documents, sample contracts, a sales commission plan, American Bankers Association project files, and correspondence, the records of the Software Resources Corporation, Head’s early foray into the proprietary software marketing business, are absent from the collection.  Also absent from the collection are the complete files from his fourteen-year career with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

 

Series Descriptions:

 

Series I: Airline Systems, 1959-1966

Airline Systems files consist almost entirely of materials documenting Head’s work at IBM on the American Airlines SABRE system and on systems engineering for Eastern and Delta Airlines.  Materials include programming standards, planning specifications, reports, memoranda, and meeting minutes.  Arranged alphabetically.

 

Series II: Banking Papers, 1957-1996

Banking Papers contain memoranda, proposals, procedures, client correspondence, and reports documenting Head’s work with banking systems, including his years at the Security First National Bank and Touche, Ross, Bailey & Smart, as well as his work on the ERMA (Electronic Recognition Method of Accounting) Banking System at General Electric.  “American Bankers Association” (ABA) files include correspondence, memoranda, and reports documenting the Software Resources Corporation’s work with the ABA, as well as Head’s work with the ABA while employed at the Computer Sciences Corporation.  Arranged alphabetically.

 

Series III: Business and Consulting, 1958-1997

Business and consulting files include correspondence and memoranda, reports, background information, and planning documents concerning Head’s employment with companies and organizations such as AIIM, the IBM Systems Research Institute, Security First National Bank, and Consolidated Software, Inc.; his information technology and systems consulting work for companies such as Advanced Technology Systems and BDM International; and his business ventures, such as Datamation Associates, Inc. and the Corporation for the Anticipation and Planning of Industry Tactics (CAPIT).  A small amount of marketing planning materials, sample contracts, and a sales commission plan from the Software Resources Corporation materials are included here as well.  Arranged alphabetically.

 

Series IV: Committees and Groups, 1964-1998

Committees and Groups files document Head’s involvement with professional organizations, task forces, and committees, including the Data Processing Management Association, the Association for Computing Machinery, General Electric Computer Alumni, and the Society for Information Management (Head was a founder and president, 1969-1971).  Materials include correspondence and memoranda, meeting minutes and agendas, membership lists, planning documents, and background information.  Head’s USDA files on Profit Oriented Systems Planning Programs (POSPP), an information services planning research and information service, are also included.  Arranged alphabetically.

 

Series V: Computer Sciences Corporation, 1966-1967

Computer Sciences Corporation materials include memoranda, reports, proposals and other documents concerning Head’s involvement in several projects during his one-year tenure as manager of Management Information Technology.  Arranged alphabetically.

 

Series VI: Conferences and Speeches, 1956-1991

Head gave speeches, presented workshops and seminars, and led sessions at conferences sponsored by a variety of organizations throughout his career, including the American Bankers Association, the American Management Association, the Data Processing Management Association, the Systems and Procedures Association, and the Office Automation Society International.  Files include correspondence with conference organizers, conference brochures and press releases, meeting agendas, background materials, and notes.  Not all files include specific information as to the content of Head’s presentations.  Information regarding Head’s national lectureship for the Association for Computing Machinery, consisting mainly of correspondence, is also included.  Arranged alphabetically.

 

Series VII: Correspondence, 1963-1997

Correspondence files contain professional correspondence, mainly outgoing, from 1963-1997, including business correspondence from Head’s work with Security First National Bank (1963-1965), Touche, Ross, Bailey & Smart (1965-1966), and Computer Sciences Corporation (1966-1967).  Outgoing business correspondence from Head’s tenure as president of the Software Resources Corporation (1967-1968) is also included.  Other topics include the role of computer scientists in the national debate regarding anti-ballistic missiles and Head’s copyright infringement lawsuit against Harvard involving his book, Strategic Planning for Information Systems.  Arranged chronologically.

 

Series VIII: Government Systems, 1964-1993

Government Systems files include correspondence, reports, proposals, and background information documenting Head’s service and activities as a federal employee, such as his participation in the annual Federal Data Processing Expo and other conferences, and his work on the USDA Information Technology Resource Center. A few files from his work as president, editor and publisher of a federal information systems marketing service called FEDINFO are included, as well as correspondence, course descriptions and outlines, and course materials from classes he taught at George Washington University in 1982-1983.  Arranged alphabetically.

 

Series IX: Management Information Systems, 1960-1966

Management Information Systems consists of a single file, which contains correspondence, memoranda, and background materials on management information systems.

 

Series X: Publications Files, 1958-1998

Head’s publications files span forty years (1958-1998), and include the text of publications, background information, and correspondence with publishers and publications.  Head’s editorial files for the Journal of Systems Management, Government Computer News, Datamation, Government Data Systems and Government Imaging are also included.  Arranged alphabetically by title of publication or publisher when possible.

 

Copies of several of Head’s books are grouped together under “Books” in this series. More information about some of these books can be found by searching the rest of the Publications Files by title of publication or publisher.

 

Acronyms used in this finding aid

ACM = Association for Computing Machinery

ADP = Automated Data Processing

AFIPS = The American Federation of Information Processing Societies Inc.

AIIM = Association for Information and Image Management

ARDI = Analysis, Requirements determination, Design and development, and Implementation and evaluation

ASM = Association for Systems Management

ASPA = American Society for Public Administration

ATS = Advanced Technology Systems

CALS = Computer-aided Acquisition and Logistic Support

CAPIT = Corporation for the Anticipation and Planning of Industry Tactics

CSC = Computer Sciences Corporation

CCIA = Computer and Communications Industry Association

DPMA = Data Processing Management Association

ERMA = Electronic Recognition Method of Accounting

EDP = Electronic Data Processing

EDI = Electronic Data Interchange

FGIPC = Federation of Government Information Processing Councils

FJCC = Fall Joint Computer Conference

GCN = Government Computer News

GDS = Government Data Systems

GISDEX = Geographic Information and Spatial Data Exposition

GTEI = General Technology Enterprises, Inc.

IEEE = Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

IFIP = International Federation for Information Processing

IPE = Institute for Professional Education, Inc.

IRAC = Information Resources Administration Councils

IRM = Information Resource Management

MIS = Management Information Systems

SAGE = Semi-Automatic Ground Environment

SIM = Society for Information Management

SMIS = Society for Management Information Systems

SPA = Systems and Procedures Association

TAWPI = The Association for Work Process Improvement

TIMS = The Institute of Management Sciences

 

Index Terms

Head, Robert V.

SABRE (Computer system)

ERMA (Computer)

Management information systems

Banks and banking--United States--Automation

Airlines--Reservations systems

Government information--United States

Administrative agencies--United States--Data processing

Society for Information Management

 

 

Box and Folder List

 

Airline Systems 1959-1966

 

Banking Papers 1957-1996

 

Business and Consulting 1958-1997

 

Committees and Groups 1964-1998

 

Computer Sciences Corporation 1966-1967

 

 

Conferences and Speeches 1956-1991

 

Correspondence 1963-1997

 

Government Systems 1964-1993

 

Management Information Systems 1960-1966

 

Publications 1958-1998

o       Document Management:  The Essentials.  Silver Spring:  Association for Information and Image Management International, 1997. (Box 12)

o       Federal Information Systems Management.  Washington D.C.:  The Brookings Institution, 1982. (Box 12)

o       Federal Information Technology 1990 Acquisition Trends and Issues.  Stafford:  FEDINFO Inc., 1989. (Box 12)

o       Government Computer Glossary.  Silver Spring:  Ziff-Davis Publication, 1988. (Box 12)

o       A Guide for the Evaluation and Selection of Software Suppliers.  New York: American Bankers Association, 1968. (Box 12)

o       A Guide to Packaged Systems.  New York:  Wiley-Interscience, 1971. (Box 12)

o       Manager’s Guide to Management Information Systems.  New Jersey:  Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1972. (Box 12)

o       Planning and Implementing Information Resource Centers for End-User Computing.  Wellesley:  QED Information Sciences, Inc., 1985. (Box 12)

o       Planning Techniques for Systems Management.  Wellesley:  QED Information Sciences, Inc., 1984. (Box 12)