AKC05: Application Special Processing Routines

Description:

Documents any manual or automated operational tasks that the application’s Support Analysts do to support the users or the application’s production environment. Documenting these is crucial to a smooth rotation of application support staff. Application support analysts are often responsible for performing some form of special processing within or for the business application. Examples of some types of special processing routines are:

• Data Set Index Reorganization
• Business reorganization routines
• Special inventory cycle count update during physical inventory
• Data Tape creation
• Temp File deletion
• Temp or Sort File size allocation changes

Any processing required by support analysts is documented here along with specific instructions and commands to complete. There may be specific notification instructions associated with any of these routines. For example: notifying the mail room when a tape is created and can be sent to a bank branch or other processing location.

Provides understanding of additional responsibilities outside of the normal program and job maintenance support functions.
Provides information such as:

• Name of the Program, Job, Script or Process;
• Library or location information on where the component can be found;
• Description of the routine or process and why it is needed;
• Whether the routine/process is automated, manual, or both;
• Detailed instructions on how to run or perform the Special Processing Routine and which error codes or messages that may result

How is it used?

Often application support analysts are responsible for performing some form of special processing within or for the business application. Examples of some types of special processing routines might be: Data Set Index Reorg, Business reorg routines, special inventory cycle count update during physical inventory, Data Tape creation, Temp File deletion, Temp or Sort File size allocation change. Any processing required by support analysts is documented here along with specific instructions and commands to complete. There may be specific notification instructions associated with any of these routines. An example of this is notifying the mail room that a tape is created and can be sent to a bank branch or other processing location.

Why is it important?

(1) Provides understanding of additional responsibilities outside of the normal program and job maintenance support functions.
(2) Provides information such as:

• Name of the Program, Job, or Process;
• Library or location information on where the component can be found;
• Description of the routine or process and why it is needed;
• Whether it is automated, manual, or both;
• Detailed instructions on how to run or perform the Special Processing Routine and error codes or messages that may result.