Effects on Monthly Schedules After  the  monthly  schedule  is  completed  and approved, there will always be times when it has to be changed.  The  subsystem  coordinators  are  responsible for adjusting their schedule and for submitting the schedule changes to the AIS facility. Some of the things that will cause the schedule to be changed are as follows: System/program  errors.  Jobs  may  abort because of system or program processing errors. The operator will get an error message or an indication on the system console. This may require  the  operator  to  reboot  the  system, recreate  an  input  file,  or  rerun  a  job.  The operator will annotate the run sheet describing the problem. The abort code will be the key to determining what caused the problem. Software testing. You will schedule an amount of time for software testing based on your best estimate. No matter how much time you allow for software testing, it will never seem to be enough. Problems seem to arise every time you start  to  test  a  new  software  system.  These include the system going down, the system hanging up, the system entering a loop, or a syntax error occurring that the programmers missed. New/changed  requirements. There will be times when jobs are added to the schedule to meet special needs. Examples are budget cuts, extra   money   at   the   end   of   the   month, requisitions,   tracking,   and   assist   visit preparation. Job conflicts. A job with a high priority maybe submitted  late. Input files not available. Sometimes there will be a delay in receiving the input files for a job. Whatever  the  problem,  it  will  be  the  production control coordinator’s job, with your approval, to adjust the schedule to accommodate the changes required. WORKLOAD  SCHEDULE  DEVELOPMENT When we talk about workload schedules, we are referring to how to set up the daily work schedule in an AIS facility. These are the daily adjustments to the monthly production schedule and how they affect personnel requirements and staffing. This is an internal schedule that you will prepare for the AIS facility. The format varies among facilities; there is no wrong or right format.  Normally,  we  break  the  day  into  three shifts—days,   eves,   and   mids.   The   day   shift   is responsible for testing. The eve shift is responsible for production. The mid shift is responsible for finishing production and doing the nightly saves. You will have to develop the workload schedule by reviewing the monthly schedule and combining it with any newer information. The input/output requirements will have to be reviewed, and you will need to be ready to make changes to the schedule based on unforeseen events. System Input/Output Requirements Before  a  job  is  started,  certain  input  and  output requirements must be met. The I/O control clerk must review the production workload schedule to see which job is to be run. Then the clerk must look at the job run folder to make sure that all the input files are available and all the necessary output media is readily available. l o Input   requirements. If the job requires tapes or disk files as input, the I/O control clerk will check with the media librarian to see if these files are ready and available. And, if they are not ready, when they will be available for the job. In some cases, it maybe necessary to reschedule a job while waiting for the input. Output requirements. The job may require special forms or multipart paper to be printed. The I/O control clerk will check the job run folder to see if the job will require any special forms  and  then  check  to  see  that  they  are available.  The  production  control  coordinator will have looked at the requirements when the monthly  schedule  was  developed  to  allow enough time to order the forms. The job may produce output tapes or diskettes, requiring the I/O  control  clerk  to  check  with  the  media librarian to make sure enough scratch tapes and blank diskettes are available for the job. Effects on Workload Schedules On any given day or shift, almost anything can go wrong. A job may abort. A tape may not read. User requirements may change. A high-priority job maybe submitted. Personnel may be called off the job to do something else. This means there will be times when you must change the way work is to be completed 1-18