Pulling the Plug on Your Mainframe

Automated Refactoring

Colorado’s Automated Child Support Enforcement System

1

2

Workshop Speakers

• Susie Gager, Colorado Child Support Services• Craig Carson, Colorado Office of Information Technology• Arne Gerhard, innoWake• Doug Howard, Moderator

3

Agenda

• Background

• Road to Solution

• Implementation

• Lessons Learned

4

Background – Child Support in Colorado

~150,000 cases

500,000+ parents and children

Over 5 M people in Colorado

Over $478 M collected in 2015 for families

5

Background - ACSES

1.5 MLines of Code 2,000

Screens

7,000Modules

59ADABAS

files

10,000Work files

System Users in counties700 64 70,000

Registered Website Users

400Batch Jobs

70Scheduled Networks

Embodies nearly 30 years of business rules and refinements and gets high marks from users.

34Interface Partners

6

Background – ACSES Interfaces

7

Background – Legacy System Challenges

Need for modernization:Mainframe environment difficult to incorporate new technologyInteroperability limitations: non-relational database, dependence on middleware (Entirex Broker)ADABAS/Natural developers and mainframe developers in general hard to find and hireSystem needs to be modernized to meet expectations of businessTechnical obsolescenceCost of the mainframe environment expected to rise significantly

8

Road To Solution

Option 1: Replace• “Rip and Replace”-complete new system from ground

up: high risk, high cost, long duration

Option 2: Build parallel application• Integrate two environments and incrementally

modernize: technically challenging, either sync two databases or implement a SOA message architecture across two platforms

Option3: Migrate first• Migrate system “as is” away from mainframe to new

environment first, then modernize incrementally in new environment.

9

Migrate First: Advantages

Automated Conversion• Eliminates human error - If we fix a problem it’s fixed

throughout the system

One-to-One Conversion • New system operates just like the old - No user

training required, screens and navigation virtually the same

• Users will know immediately if something is not working correctly

• “If its broke in the old system it will be broken in the new.”

Retain the business knowledge of the technical staff• Low risk approach

10

Migrate First: Concerns

MaintainabilityIf 100% generated code, what will the resulting java look like? Will it be maintainable?

CorrectnessIf some portion is “hand coded” how will we find all the bugs in semi-automated solutions?

Vendor Lock-InWill we leave SAG only to become dependent upon another vendor’s runtime?

PerformanceWill it perform as well as mainframe to user’s satisfaction?

Developer skillsWill our existing developers be able to maintain the new code?

Development process changesCulture change: new IDE cultureinnoWake brought to the table from the start: natclipse, lcm, meeclipse

11

User Requirements / Constraints

End User Concerns• We met in several forums with end user managers

early on to get their input on our modernization approach

• Based on past experience they wanted a strong voice in determining whether the new system was truly ready for implementation

Outcomes• They (strongly) requested that there be no “big bang”

overnight implementation• They (strongly) requested that we implement the new

system with a traditional “pilot” parallel approach, such that they could use the new system side by side with the old to ensure it would work correctly.

12

How Do We Implement And Meet User Demand?

Option 1: Synchronization• Parallel operation meant synchronizing databases, a

technically challenging project in and of itself

Option 2: Database sharing (databridge)• Compromise: Implement the online system in parallel

using the innoWake databridge with the existing ADABAS. Then convert from ADABAS to Oracle as a second step.

• This approach allowed the online system to be used in a production setting alongside the old system while giving us total fall back to the old system in the event of a problem.

13

Migration Project Scope

Mainframe Linux

Natural

Adabas

JCL

Java

Oracle

(Interpreted) JCL

Natural Editor Java IDE

14

Project Schedule

2011 2012 2013

Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

ProductionTestDevelopment

IDE

ICB

Development

Integration

Pre-UAT

UAT

Pilot

Statewide

Support

Refactoring

Data C

onversion

System Acceptance

15

Pilot Phase

Pilot phase from December 2012 to April 2013

Goal:• Reduce project risk• Ensure end user acceptance

Challenges:• Parallel usage of the existing 3270 and the migrated Java

application• Keeping data in sync between the two systems

Approaches:• Standard Deployment• Data Synchronization• Data Bridge (Database sharing)

16

Pilot Phase - Databridge

• Pilot county 1 has successfully tested the new runtime• Pilot counties 1 + 2 uses the new ACSES application• Continue for additional pilot counties and remainder of state

Unix

z/OSNatural Adabas

County 1 (Online)

Clients

Java / Web Oracle

Runtime Database

County 3-64 (online)

Batch

County 2 (Online)

17

Statewide Rollout - Databridge

• Migrate data from ADABAS to Oracle• All online and batch processing will run on the migrated

application

Unix

County 1-64 (Online)

Clients

Java / Web Oracle

Runtime Database

BatchExtract, Transform & Load DB

Decommission Mainframe ACSES (Natural and Adabas)

z/OSNatural ADABAS

18

Results

Schedule and budget• Ahead of schedule until the last month of the project• Project delivered under budget

Performance• Performance as good as or better than the mainframe

User impact / acceptance• Parallel pilot well received by county users• Smooth conversion• Virtually no user or client impact

19

Keys To Success

Teamwork and commitment• Teamwork and commitment of the State and state staff to the

project was an essential key to success• Both sides being willing to put in the extra effort when necessary

to keep the project moving according to plan• Excellent collaboration when the inevitable problems surfaced• Awesome unified team working across the pond, focused on

successImplementation approach

• Test, test and more testing• Parallel pilot made possible with databridge (transitioned users,

resolved connectivity/security/browser issues ahead of data conversion)

20

Modernization – The Big Picture

21

Demo

• Mainframe The old system

• Web Based The same thing but in the web

• Modernized The better system

22

Demo

23

Demo

24

Demo

25

Demo

26

Demo

27

Demo

28

Demo

29

Demo

30

Lessons Learned

• Teamwork/Partnership• Testing • Infrastructure support• Pilot and the Databridge• Program area support• Daily stand-ups (visible cards)• Implementation preparedness

31

Lessons Learned

• Questions?

32

Lessons Learned

• Contact Information• Craig Carson – craig.carson@state.co.us• Susie Gager – susie.gager@state.co.us• Arne Gerhard - arne.gerhard@innowake.com

33

Post Session Housekeeping

• RATE this session in the conference app• To download the conference app search for APHSA Events

• VISIT the vendors in the Exhibit Hall during Breakfast and the Networking Breaks to learn more about the solutions presented throughout the day.

• DONATE to Childhelp – the ISM Technology for a Cause campaign to raise $10,000 to help stop child abuse in Arizona and across the country.

34

See you again soon

THANKS FORCOMING