Developing A Quality
Assurance Program For
The US Census Bureau’s
Business Register
David. D. Chapman
US CENSUS BUREAU
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What I Want to Talk About
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Overview
Business Register Quality Team
Team Projects
Recommendations
Lessons Learned
OVERVIEW
 US Census Bureau
 Economic Area
 Business Register
Business Register Purpose
“to served as a comprehensive central
source of list frames for the business
censuses and surveys”
Secondary Purposes
 Central Administrative Record
Repository
 Central facility (data and services)
 Data Source for County Business
Pattern and Nonemployer
Tabulations
 Source of Data for Economic
Research and Custom Tabulations
Statistical Universes
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Employer Identification Number (EIN)
Social Security Number (SSN)
Employer Units
Survey Units
Business Register Quality Team
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Purpose
Membership
Oversight
Projects
Team Purpose
“… to develop a plan that ensures the
continuous quality, reliability, and integrity
of all business register processes,
information, and products.”
Team Membership
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BR Designers/Managers
BR Programmers
BR Users
Quality and Process Improvement
Staff
Team Oversight
 Team Leader
 ADC Research and Methodology
 Chief, Economic Planning and
Coordination Division
 Steering Group
 Census Managers
Team Projects
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Transition to New Business Register
Administrative Records Processing
How Surveys Use Business Register
Identify Customer Problems
Recommend Changes
Transition To New
Business Register
Coverage
Compare Data Values
Anecdotal Comments
Critical Variables
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Team Projects
 Transition to New Business Register
 Administrative Records Processing
 How Surveys Use Business Register
 Identify Customer Problems
 Recommend Changes
Admin Records Processing
Team examined the current system for
administrative records processing and
recommended changes
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Admin Records Sub-team
Recommendations
Create Centralized Admin Record
Tracking System
Systematic Review of Post-Processing
Admin Record QA
Increase Focus on Key Business
Register Variables
Standardize and Automate QA Reports
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Team Projects
 Transition to New Business Register
 Administrative Records Processing
 How Surveys Use Business Register
 Identify Customer Problems
 Recommend Changes
Current Survey Use
of Business Register
 What do programs need from BR?
 Looked at three(3) Surveys
 Business Sample Revision (BSR)
 Annual Capital Expenditures (ACES)
 Industrial Research and Development
(IRDS)
Current Survey Requirements
 Each survey documented use
 Purpose to identify similarities and
differences in use of BR
 Great differences in detail, definitions,
and terminology
 Difficulty in consolidating information
Team Projects
 Transition to New Business Register
 Administrative Records Processing
 How Surveys Use Business Register
 Identify Customer Problems
 Recommend Changes
Identify Customer Problems
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Focus Group versus Questionnaire
Focus Groups with BR Users
Different Surveys – Different Jobs
Focus Group – 12 people – two hours
Focus Group Comments
Two Types of Comments
 Quality
 Management
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Comments on Quality
 More Accurate and Timely Contact
Information
Add 2002 Economic Census and
Current Survey Data to Business
Register
Mergers and Acquisition /
Company Structure
“BAD” data
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Comments on Management
 Communication
 Documentation
 Training
 Interactive Use of the Business
Register
 Management
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Team Projects
 Transition to New Business Register
 Administrative Records Processing
 How Surveys Use Business Register
 Identify Customer Problems
 Make Recommendations
Determining
Final Recommendations
Reviewed Individual Recommendations
Consolidate Recommendations
Added New Recommendations
Created Final List
Ranked Entries on Final List By:
Importance
Difficulty
Final Set of Recommendations
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Recommendations
Short Term (Next 6 Months)
Administrative Records
Administrative Record Repository
“Wrap-Up” Edit
Business Register Quality Checks
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Recommendations
Long Term (Over 6 Months)
Identify a clear list of activities associated
with Business Register QA plan
Problem / Issues Log
Annual Meeting with Customers
Periodic Audit of Business Register
Processes and QA plan
Monitor Quality of key variables
Monthly Analytical Tables
Identify Current State of Business Register
Determine Trends and emerging problems
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Lessons Learned
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Lessons Learned
1. Project was too “BIG”
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Lessons Learned
2. “You can get a lot done when you
don’t care who gets the credit.”
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Lessons Learned
3. All quality problems are management
problems.
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Lessons Learned
4. Introducing a “Quality” approach is a
wearing experience.
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Lessons Learned
5. Team members should be
accountable for their work.
The team should be blend of junior
staff and enlightened senior staff
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Lessons Learned
6. Need for both Technical Documentation
and Management Documentation
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Lessons Learned
7. Focus Groups are worth the effort
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Lessons Learned
8. Similar processes in different programs
should be documented with common
format and common definitions
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Questions?
David.d.chapman@census.gov
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