Re: BPCS documentation

Ok, I'll bite ... where did you get a BPCS files poster?  Since I think
you're on 4.0.5, I'm assuming this is for that release?  I've never heard of
such an animal, but not only would it be very helpfull, but I have a new IS
conference room that definitely needs some wall decorations!

-----Original Message-----
From: MacWheel99@aol.com <MacWheel99@aol.com>
To: BPCS Users Mailing List <BPCS-L@midrange.com>
Date: Saturday, April 03, 1999 1:09 AM
Subject: Re: BPCS documentation


>Dennis - I have a number of suggestions, based on the fact that we do use
>that documentation & are not satisfied with it.
>
>Summary
>
>Ask your security officer to help you access DOC software - check out
WRKOBJ
>DOC* in your BPCS execution library, so you know what you might be missing
if
>your security is denying you access.  Our security is deliberately more of
a
>joke in our education environment, because one of the things we are
teaching
>is why we need good security.
>
>Tell your SSA customer representative about the BPCS Files Poster that I
>describe & ask if you can have one of them, then insist that it go in your
>company where easily accessible by end users who NEED that information,
>instead of being a pretty picture in a top manager office.
>
>Check out alternative BPCS documentation sources I mention at the end of
this
>e-mail posting.
>
>Ask OGS to confirm what I understood them to tell me & the practicality of
>getting at the PC format that drives what arrives in BPCSDOC.
>
>Get the HELP for SEU & teach your end users how to access its keyword
search
>capability, in addition to encouraging use of helpful keys in general.
>
>Tell end users that you can print out the help text for any program they
>wish, without anyone having to actually run the program.
>
>Detail Al-o-gram
>
>To access the "print engine" that BPCSDOC is designed for, you have to have
>an SSA security officer on your deconstructing team.  When first installed,
>BPCSDOC seems to be invisible to the software - you have to run the
document
>index reorg to make the data magically appear.
>
>The formatting codes worked on BPCS/36 in concert with system rules for
sizes
>of forms, but DOC, at least at the V4 level, does not obey either its own
>formatting codes, or the SYS013 user settings for favorite printer,
on-hold,
>etc.  We do not use separator pages, we have different printers in
different
>facilities & departments, we use non-standard sized green bar paper, and
>while BPCS has a system so end users can select where they want their
output
>to go, onto what kind of form, DOC is one of several areas of SSA exception
>to their own rules - SFC730 is another we just found.
>
>If you think I am long winded, you have not read any of these documents.
>
>However you print them, be prepared for in excess of 100 pages per
>application, although not all of the approx 75 documents are that long, in
>which there is a truely massive volume of either totally blank or half
blank
>pages, and some documents are too large to view in SEU.  When I asked SSA
>Help line about some of this stuph, I learned that they now write these
>documents on a PC and transport them to AS/400 objects, and something is
lost
>in translation, so a trick question is whether the original PC versions are
>accessible to BPCS customers who only want a PC version, and what PC
software
>was involved, in case the same kind would be helpful to end user.
>
>Most of my users forget what the HELP key is for until we are walking them
>through the solution to a problem & they never get into the habit of using
>F1.  Such individuals are not going to get any benefit out of hundreds of
>pages not only poorly cross-indexed, the purpose of some of the formatting
>codes is to capture sub-title heading lines to generate an index to
contents
>similar to Table of Contents in Word.
>
>At best, the BPCS documentation should be used as a reference tool on a
>department by department basis. We use it when researching how BPCS
intended
>some codes to be used & what the significance are of fields & terminology
we
>stumble over.  It is not practical for helping end-users - the HELP key is
>1,000 times more helpful & who uses that?
>
>Suppose someone wants to create a query over some BPCS files - the official
>documentation does not get into sufficient structural detail to be of much
>help - IBM external file definition reports are needed, along with an
>understanding of the application file structure & where do you get that
>understanding - check out the SSA Poster used when implementing BPCS - it
>charts what files are dependent on what other files & how they are
>inter-related.  We used to have two of them & I think we now have managed
to
>misplace both.  The posters became manager perks, lost when ready for some
>other wall decoration, not easily accessible months later by end users for
>which there is an on-going serious need.
>
>If you are not familiar with the SSA Poster, it is a wall sized color coded
>chart of files by application, showing the flow of data by application,
with
>well thought out icons indicating nature of files inter-relationships.  For
>example, when labor is reported via SFC600 or JIT600 - which files get the
>scrap history, and cost updates --- when we find weird costs - show us a
list
>of the suspects --- what is the flow of data through shipping files, to
help
>us add some reports.
>
>During our Y2k conversion, we used colored markers to indicate like a pert
>diagram, which of these files had a problem waiting on some modification or
>BMR or conversion issue to be resolved, which were being re-keyed because
we
>were changing codes, and which were being translated by which collection of
>software.
>
>For the BPCSDOC documents to have value, the user has to have access to SEU
&
>know how to use search capability to FIND where the text is that is
relevant
>to what they need, then just LP (think DOS inside AS/400 text editor) the
few
>pages on that topic, and also know which of the documents explain what
those
>codes on the screen mean, how to get to what you want to do navigating
>through the tree of options, how the files are interrelated etc.  If you
are
>in the wrong document for the info that you want, there is no pointer
telling
>you which one explains MIS under the covers, what those funny codes mean,
or
>what to do when something is messed up.
>
>For those users who do check out HELP - some of them are interested in what
>some program DOES without actually executing them & for those individuals I
>sometimes print out the SOURCE code for help screens of the programs of
their
>choice, from QPNLSRC (UIM Panels).
>
>Check out the alternative BPCS documentation offered by
>http://www.unbeatenpathintl.com/bpcsconsulting.html
>which includes both V4 and V6 - pricing on individual application areas
>varies from $60.00 to $275.00 & comes with a guarantee that you will get
>benefit out of this or your money back.  Several key areas that we need
>better documentation for does not appear to be listed on their web page.
>
>and
>David Slicker
>DS Solutions
>(414) 251-6010 - phone
>(414) 251-6011 - fax
>dslic@aol.com
>
>for V6.0.02 and V6.0.04 - he offers a more comprehensive perspective for a
>larger sticker price, but I would suggest that the costs of these manuals
are
>peanuts compared to the hassles of trying to pretty print SSA documentation
>whose value is questionable for any but the most gung ho MIS person.
>
>and the 3rd alternative offered by George in another posting
>
>Al Macintyre
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