Speaking of '6' (don't understand the reference), Motel 6 may have something to offer here. I've done a lot of installs over the years, mostly push-pull. Never dreamed of doing one where there was no sysprog within arm's reach. Persuade the client to cough up a few hundred extra bucks.
. . J.O.Skip Robinson Southern California Edison Company Electric Dragon Team Paddler SHARE MVS Program Co-Manager 323-715-0595 Mobile 626-302-7535 Office robin...@sce.com -----Original Message----- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On Behalf Of John McKown Sent: Wednesday, September 28, 2016 3:30 AM To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU Subject: (External):Re: remote system support (i.e. the data center is 2 states away from you). On Wed, Sep 28, 2016 at 12:28 AM, Brian Westerman < brian_wester...@syzygyinc.com> wrote: > Hi John, > > Our company (Syzygy Incorporated) fully supports more than 70 sites > remotely, all over the world. On top of that we provide partial > support for another 60 to 70 sites. Some are large (300+MSU) and some > are quite small (8 to 10 MSU), but they all need our expertise and not > being "on-site" has never been an issue. We also have a suite of > system automation products that we maintain at several hundred sites. > > Even 10 to 12 years ago, it was very unusual to be "at" a site or if > you were physically there, to be anywhere near the actual computer > room. Once a site realizes that the systems programmer doesn't need > to be in that room, it's only a small jump for them to understand that > you get just as much support from the next floor, or the next > building, or the next city, etc. I can still remember some knock-down > drag out fights between the systems programmers and the operations > group on whether or not the systems programmers should ever be allowed > into the computer room. We (systems > programmers) always won that argument, but now I wonder why I fought > it for so long. :) > > The important thing, and the the clients expect it, is that we are > always productive. We aren't there to baby-sit the site, we are > constantly moving forward on whatever it is that we need to get done > for them. You have to always have a plan and be able to show > progress. You can't just bill the hours, you have to show what you > did. You can't sit around and talk about the kids/wife/parents with > anyone. When you are off-site, you're not there to just generate > hours, you there to get things done as well, actually better than it > can be accomplished by someone at the site. Sometimes the clients > will be amazed at the "speed" that we get things done, but some of > that is just that we can focus on the project without a lot of > interruptions. Some of it is because we have enough people here that > if you run into a problem you can't get a handle on, someone else you have > access to will likely already have the solution. > I just learned that I will be the "complete push" at this location. That is, the one and only sysprog responsible for z/OS and all program products, including DB2, IMS, & CICS. I gather that I will control CICS, but only responsible for installation & maintenance of the IMS & DB2 software, no DBA type responsibilities. Good thing since I can barely spell them. But it is a bit nerve racking for me. I do like having someone watching my 6. Or just to be around in case something horrible happens. > > I don't use video chat, we have it, but I don't think it's necessary > and just plain don't use it. I generate a LOT of email and I document > everything that I do. If you can't type well, then get one of the PC > based typing/dictation programs. Luckily, I can type fairly well. At least compared to most sysprogs & programmers. I am a touch typist and have been for years (like back in high school). > You need to have a way to keep track of EXACTLY what you are working > on, especially when you are supporting several sites at the same time. > You must be able to communicate and you have to make sure that you > stay in front of the ball at all times, you can't be > reaction-oriented, you must be proactive. You have to use (if they > have it) or set up (if they don't) a problem control system, or you will > become so bogged down in "little" > things that the big issues will slip away and you will become ineffective. > Ah, the above is very germane to this. I get the impression that they don't have anything like this set up and that _I_ will be at least one of the main architects of how to do it. I don't know if they would be open to a vendor ($$) solution or if they would expect me to roll one on my own (which I did at another company - it worked, but <yech>). > > Each site has to have at least 1 progress meeting a week that tends to > be about 1 hour long. There can be more, but 1 is the minimum. It's > the place to lay out what you have completed, and what you are going > to complete, plus it give you (and the site) a chance to stay on the > same page. It's very easy, especially with multiple sites, to lose > positive control, and you have to stay on top of EVERYTHING at all > times. Every site I work on has a substantial to-do list divided into > short and long range items, and that's just the things I plan to work > on, there will also be a number of "problems" that need to be resolved. > > If you want to talk about this, feel free to call me and I'll be happy > to go over things with you. > I appreciate the offer. > > Brian > > -- Heisenberg may have been here. Unicode: http://xkcd.com/1726/ Maranatha! <>< John McKown ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
