Re: Simple **non** GUI data entry screens for CEA -- BPCS-L

We are 405 CD which means no official GUI.keyboarding that are not fully functional in BPCS terms, rather many people are using PCs on green screens. We are not in CEA but some of what you speak of is relevant to other applications such as Inventory data entry, Labor Tickets data entry, other places where very busy screens of data to go in

I hope that one or more of my suggestions here will strike a nerve with you as something worth trying * Automated input of standardized data * Use an AS/400 keyboard for AS/400 work * Review hardware options with the monitors ... both real and emulated * Review User Profile settings that impact data entry productivity * Review data flow from forms to BPCS screens ... would rearranging something help? * Review options available to 400 programming with respect to the rules by which fields interact with the users * Don't forget Ergonomics

If the data that is being entered is pretty straightforwards, and you transcribing it from some place else on-line, like it could come from vendor invoices that got faxed to you, or you could have scanned in, or customer orders that are on their web site, and all you are doing is rearranging this standard input in BPCS screen format arrangements ... check out FOXTROT ... this is add on software that can run on PC attached to 400 to automate the keystrokes that are routine. Let the user work with the data that is variable.

An AS/400 keyboard can be attached to a PC ... it uses a non-standard port ... I not know the technical terminology ... anyhow you have this PC with its keyboard, and also attached to it is an AS/400 keyboard and both keyboards simultaneously are fully functional.

The advantage of the AS/400 keyboard is that you can do stuff in native 400 that is a single keystroke, when on the PC keyboard it takes 2-3 keys, such as getting a function key above F12, or doing high speed scroll, or when you upper shift backspace it goes through the fields on the screen where you want it.

AS/400 keyboards connected to PCs tend to be a bit higher priced than your standard PC keyboard, so it is a company judgement call who this is worth while doing for.

Depending on the application the user working with, we also have those interfaces where a user can have a split screen ... see two BPCS programs at same time, rapidly jump back and forth between which is the "active" input ... I not like, because I have aging eyes ... I like my screens nice and big characters.

Like the keyboard deal, this also is a hardware solution.

I am not familiar with the Client Access BPCS so this might not be relevant to you, but in PC 400 Client Access vs. Green Screens, the PC can emulate a variety of dumb terminals that attach to the 400 and different dumb terminals have different features that can translate into user productivity.

When your users see on the screen the word F24 does this or ENTER does that. Can they click on that place on the screen and it is the same as pushing that key? The ability to do that depends on what kind of emulation defaults the PC is pretending to be what device.

Do your users see a green screen on their PC that is just like Green screen on a dumb terminal? Or are the colors friendly where blinking underlining etc. translates into color combinations that are meaningful?

By experimenting with PC settings for what dumb terminal device it is pretending to be to the 400, you can alter how the PC works for the user, to find the arrangement that is most productive for them.

If a user sign on is doing pretty much heads down keying of a string of screens where the next screen stuff is pretty predictable, it may pay to alter the User Profile defaults so that they have full key ahead buffer ... meaning before you see the next 400 screen, you keying data for it. This is not a good option when next screen somewhat unpredictable.

Some of this stuff I almost tempted to have a menu option to change a limited set of User profile settings optimized for different kinds of keyboarding input realities ... I have not yet done that, still toying with whether or not it is a wise idea.

There's a lot of stuff in the 400 User profile that has to do with screen productivity. I have my defaults set so that if I do F1 help, it is immediately full sized screen, I not have to do F20 ... one less keystroke every time I do F1 help I have my defaults set so that if I do F4 prompt, it immediately charts for me a list of what all those parameter values MEAN I have my defaults set so that if I generate a report, and someone else prints it, I get a message when the report is finished, and which printer they did it on

I periodically review what settings available, then tweak one and try it out for a while, then if I like it, I give a heads up to co-workers whom I think might also like this feature

I suggest you explore the User Profile settings that are not required to be a particular way for BPCS to work right ... you too may see some that if set a little differently could enhance productivity

I have mine set so that if someone tried to guess my password since the last time I was on the 400, it tells me ... most users not want to be bothered with that extra screen of info at sign on time

Implementing User Profile changes is pretty simple, unless you got a lot of people who want the same change, in which case, it might make sense to alter this stuff in the WRKSYSVAL defaults for the whole company. If you WRKSYSVAL F4 select *PRINT ... the listing flags those values that have been changed for your company, differently than how they came from IBM

We have made our own listings of data recently keyed in for checking in which the "edit list" arranges the data very similar to the sequencing on the screens, so that if corrections need to be made, the folks do not have to jump trhough hoops to find where to make the corrections.

We have modified some forms so that the data is arranged in a close match to the BPCS screens, so that when people are transcribing data from form to screen, their eyes not have to jump around the form to get needed data, or their fingers jump around the screen to follow the form.

We have modified some BPCS screens to help with the end user productivity.

Some users are more able to think outside the box than others when it comes to this kind of thing. "Can I have a command key that I would use on this screen that would take me to that screen so I not have to go through these other ones?" "Can you take the info that is on this screen here, and the info that is on that screen there, and create a compound screen that has the both of them? This way I could just enter each screen, and go to the next one, with less jumping around." "When I take command key from this type of screen to that kind of screen, and then I am done, can I have a command key to accelerate my return to where I was, without going through that other stuff?"

In the best case, there was a screen of data in which the same stuff gets entered as always entered, except it is done with 25% as many keystrokes ... the user can go 4 times faster and get the same amount of work done ... most scenarios were not that good of an improvement.

You might want to visit some of the lists, either at www.midrange.com or hosted by one of the AS/400 programming magazines with respect to programming techniques for screens.

A programmer can modify so that field exit out of last field on the screen automatically advances the program to the next screen.

Discussion with users identified fields we NEVER use so we modified to make them non-visible on screen with automatic fill in whatever we wanted so the users only see the fields they work with

There were fields in which almost always same data there
many records in series

so we altered what is cleared
so input from last record there for option of copying or changing

Discussion with users identified fields we RARELY use so the screen got remapped so that the RARELY used fields were to the top of the screen the ALWAYS used fields at the bottom of the screen and the cursor starts in the middle

normally keying starts were cursor is, and do the stuff then next screen

on those occasions other fields needed, move cursor up there and do them

this means that the volume of fields the user has to go through
significantly reduced

We found that there were patterns of data entry When doing this kind of a customer product family ... we use this bunch of fields but not that bunch So we added to the collection of command keys

Key in one value that says what family of transactions you doing and take the command key that remaps the input screen so that it is optimized for that family of transactions

After a while, get to mixture different kinds
make the field blank that is for what family of transactions
do the command key
and get the standard default input screen for that application

The way some BPCS data entry programs work The user keys in 20 fields and oops 3 of them are wrong The program checks the 20 fields one at a time, until it gets to one that is wrong returns screen to user with THAT field highlighted and error message User fixes that, now program returns with next error

In some cases we modified to expand the error message line(s) to provide compound info on field mismatches ... faster for user to deal with corrections

In other cases we saw that for input to some field ... it has to be a valid date, it cannot be alphabetical, minus is not allowed

You can put rules at the field level on the screen ... what is allowed here
such as "Yes" "YES" "NO" "No" "Y" "N"
or more generic rules like # in the range of 1 2 3

Then if someone keys invalid to field, it catches them before the program even processes the data

And don't forget ergonomics with arrangement of how screen is facing relative to fluorescent lights in ceiling so as to avoid any unwanted glare or flickering ... rotating the seating arrangements by 90 degrees can dramatically reduce eyestrain, if the office space will allow it.

, you wrote:

Hi


We are using BPCS V6.0.02.

We are using the GUI for data entry in CEA (manual
vouchers etc)

The GUI is rather *in*-convenient when it comes to
navigation and data entry
- we are forced to use the mouse often
- entering notes means moving to other screens etc


Are there simpler green screens available - JUST for
data entry ?
- where a simple field exit would move the next filed
- no mouse is required
and validations are the same as GUI ?


Thanks in advance for your time and efforts


=====
Regards
Subu

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