>In either case there are DOCUMENTS. The documents are not retired, fired, died.
But, they are lost, incomplete, or misunderstood. >We're not talikng about group of PFCSK and bunch of PCs for gaming, we're >talking about professional team. >Mainframe specialists! Who, unfortunately, are only human. Sh*t happens! People, docs, source code, contracts, libraries, etc., are lost, misplaced, or (in some cases) destroyed, all the time. I've had many instances where (on mainframes) discovery tools have found things nobody no longer knew were installed. The (human) mainframe specialists, who are just as flawed as everybody else lost track. >Not perfect, but reasonably organized. Ha! I've seen many unorganised IT departments. Worked for some, and observed others. They've put the 'fun' in dysfunctional. >Software portfolio is neither black magic, nor rocket science. >It is simple list. Software portfolio management is more than a simple list. Knowing what you have can be tricky, given all the caveats I've presented, in this (and previous) post(s). But, knowing what you have is only one aspect and, to do it right, you have to do more: 1. Contract Management, which includes, but is not limited to, understanding the T&C's. 2. Configuration Management, which is more than just customisation of the product. It also includes: MSUs; seats; processors/LPARs allowed to run it; and others. 3. Document Management -- which should be self-explanatory. 4. Contact Management; who installs; who manages; who uses; vendor support; admin (vendor and internal). >The list is "naturally audited" during every system upgrade. I'm not sure what you mean by "naturally audited"; somebody has to do the legwork. I've been imvolved in two major (for us due to shop size and outsourcing, which has a tendency to non-communicating towers supporting many sites and products). And, even though I tried to manage a complete list of everything needed for each product run, it was always incomplete. And, this was not just due to the mainframe specialists not doing their job, which they were (in most cases). But, it was also due to: o- Link & Phone Number Rot o- Vendor acquisition o- Product discontinuation o- Documentation loss/change/incorrect o- Staff turnover (internal & vendor) o- Confusion & misunderstanding by all/some participants o- Incorrect/missing procedures (including back-ups) o- Others You, obviously, work in a small shop, have a small portfolio to manage, have been lucky, or have perfect 'mainframe specialist' who make no mistakes and remember everything. In other shops, errors and omissions happen all the time. Tools like SOFAUDIT (or whatever it is called today) can help, but (usage issues aside), they are only one aspect of any portfolio management. Which, in turn, is only one aspect of managing the entire site inventory. And, it requires diligence, with no "natuaral audit" in place. If you don't do it, and check on a regular basis, you can find yourself in the dilema the OP appeared, to me, to be in. Also, the whole exercise is one of documentation, which always seems to be of the lowest priority in most shops. Of course, this is only MY opinion, learned the hard way, over the last 30 years, working in (I could show you scars), observing, reading, and hearing about, many sites. - Too busy driving to stop for gas! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
