Mainframe Manual

Client: North West Thames Regional Health Authority

Audience: Technophobe accountants with no exposure to IT

Brief: Keep'em reading ...(and they did - they were queuing up outside the systems room to have a go!) ... and tell them the right buttons to push

BUDGETARY CONTROL MANUAL - Page 2

Introduction

You're probably reading this because you've been volunteered to take over from whoever's supposed to be in the computer room, but isn't. That's us. Don't expect an apology.

Even now, we're probably happily sunning ourselves on a beach somewhere with a hundred dusky maidens figuring out ways to be nice to us … it's a tough life.

This manual should make yours a little easier.

The first section contains useful snippets of information, like what Budgetary Control really is, and does, where to get things from, and who delivers what and where to find it. And, of course, those ever-useful phone numbers.

The second section consists of timetables for everybody in the Finance Department - including the computer room - listing who should do what and to whom … and most important, when.

You'll notice that every date refers to the Ledgers: the actual day of the month they're run is available from the Computer Centre if nobody can find it round here.

The third section tells you how to switch everything on and get the Computer Centre to connect the terminals to the mainframe up there, and how to get to the very first menu. This controls everything you'll ever want to do on the system. Well, almost.

The fourth section gives detailed instructions for everything you'll find in the computer room timetable, in order, starting from when you get to the very first menu.

Most of what you'll be doing is inputting data and processing it. Rather than tell you how to go about it for every source code, we've put it in the fifth section entitled DATA PROCESSING.

This takes you from staring at a nearly-blank computer screen to banging in the numbers, saving the file, processing it and correcting the errors.

The final section is the one to follow when you want to log off.

There's also an appendix for use in emergencies when line breaks.

Take your time, and if it's any reassurance, we haven't ever broken the mainframe.

Yet.

And now, back to the pinacoladas …

…

BUDGETARY CONTROL MANUAL - Page 8

Talking to the mainframe

Most of the time, you'll be using the menu system, which is easy enough.

When you're not using the menu system, you'll be using the PF keys, by holding down the ALT key and selecting the PF key you want.

Here's a rundown on the little darlings:

ALT&PF1 The HELP key

ALT&PF2 Add a line underneath the cursor

ALT&PF3 Save the file onscreen to disk

ALT&PF4 Add 20 lines to the file onscreen

ALT&PF5 Probably very exciting, but we've never used it

ALT&PF6 Delete the line the cursor is on

ALT&PF7 Go back a screen

ALT&PF8 Go forward a screen

ALT&PF9 Takes you to your chosen line number

ALT&PF10 Shifts one screen to the left

ALT&PF11 Shifts one screen to the right

ALT&PF12 Use this one when you're printing things up at the computer centre

When the mainframe talks back to you:

There are two places to watch on the screen:

The bottom left corner under the unbroken base line, where you can see:

X SYSTEM - Don't touch anything, the machine is thinking
HOLDING - Press CLEAR to get back in the swing of things
MORE - Again, press CLEAR

If you see -z_22 or -z_33, it means the line's gone down - see the EMERGENCIES section. And quick.

The dotted line across the screen:
…… (INPUT: PRESS ENTER) ……
…… (OUTPUT: PRESS ENTER) ……

No prizes for guessing that to do here.

… And if you see a little man waving at you at the bottom left of the screen, press RESET and he'll go away.

…

BUDGETARY CONTROL MANUAL - Page 63

Date: Ledgers + 9 CENTRE PRINT EXPEND AUDIT TRAIL

You're also producing the fiche as well, so check out the following blurb before pressing any buttons:

Menu/option: CONTROL : 3 : STANDARD REPORTS (Press ENTER)

Menu/option: REPORTS : 5 : EXPEND AUDIT LOG (Press ENTER)

Screen says: Expenditure Audit Trail
You do: ALT&PF3
Screen says: WHAT ACTION NOW?
You do: PF, DEST=CENTRE (Press ENTER)
Screen says: PRESS PF3 OR PF12
You do: ALT+PF12

The 'PF3 or PF12?' messages flash up several times. Always go for PF12.

When you type in PF,DEST=CENTRE, you're asking the mainframe to produce microfiche, as well as a printout.

The mainframe, in its turn, will ask you how many fiche you expect. Tell it 3.

Then it asks how many copies you want. Tell it 3.

It then wants to know how many letters you want in the fiche title. You need 30, and the title should read EXPEND AUDIT TRAIL MX YYYY (where X is the current budget month, and YYYY being the current financial year.

Once it knows what you want, it'll think about it for a while, create print files up at the centre, and then carry on with the 'PF3 OR PF12?' routine again.

…

BUDGETARY CONTROL MANUAL - Page 69

Managers' Reports

Managers' reports revolve around PAY, NON-PAY … and the total of the two. Life would be so much simpler if all we had to do was give them a printout from RAMIS and let them do their own calculations.

But no, they've authorised payment for all those new-fangled computer things, and they want to see results. Not create them, you understand - that's our job.

Or was. Our current preoccupation is trying to attract the waiter's attention for another one of those rum cocktails we tried earlier and have developed a serious liking for.

So … let's assume you have to do the District Manager's report:

Your first action will be to kick off anyone who's using the computer room PC. They have no right to be there anyway, so don't feel unnecessarily guilty about a well-placed boot in the grillocks.

If there's nobody there, go kick someone else. It won't do them any good, but you'll feel much better for it.

At the start of any session on the computer room PC, a menu comes up inviting you to select either option 1 or 2.

Choose 1, and when you have the RAMIS logo onscreen, press CRTL and HOME together.

Then press ESC when prompted. This invokes a little program that lets you toggle between the mainframe at the computer centre and the PC you're sitting at down here.

You do that by pressing both SHIFT keys at once. Try it a few times before you get started - it's not hard to get the hang of, and it saves you a lot of trouble in the near future …

… Because this is the most complicated job in the monthly timetable.

Good luck.

Gad, we wish we could be going with you.

Waiter? Waiter! WAITER!!!

END