State officials identified the need to revise the automated information system by evaluating both technical and political realities. The technical features considered included the maintenance costs of the existing system, the need for increasing numbers of special reports that the current system could not produce, and the need for complex reprogramming to achieve even minor enhancements of existing programs. Other technical issues considered included the increasing time involved for particular transactions and the growing dissatisfaction of users. The political realities of management, user commitment, and funding were also explored in detail. State staff also considered the advantages and disadvantages of three basic approaches to converting a system: total commitment, limited enhancement, and the support of dual systems. Washington State is following a limited enhancement approach involving making only essential improvements to the existing system while designing and developing a new system.