Professional Experience
Walgreen Co, Mt Prospect, IL 1994-present
Consultant
Began in 1994 Leading TPF Systems group in support of TPF production
and test systems. Starting in 1997 took over TPF communications and TPF coverage. Began
overseeing TPF applications in 1998.
Current responsibilities
Complete responsibility for TPF Systems, Coverage, Comms, and
Applications at Walgreens. In addition to my responsibilities in charge of the TPF
operating system and communications software, client requires me to supervise coverage and
applications team members. Regular troubleshooting and crisis handling, programming,
testing and implementing code for TPF and MVS.
Highlights
Application consolidation. Of interest here are the
challenges involved in providing uninterrupted, reliable support of what was the largest
computer system supporting Walgreens, once running over a dozen individual applications.
As Walgreens has migrated applications off to dozens of other platforms, attrition and
staff migration to the new systems have shrunk TPF staff over the last 3-4 years
drastically, I have had to consolidate the knowledge and skills of the programmers
responsible for each application under my group to continue support and development until
the new applications were available.
Test tools development. Supported designed and developed
multi-platform test tools for the TPF system and offline systems.
Data Migration. Responsible for the TPF side of a database
migration to a UNIX-based client/server system. I analyze the TPF database and code
high-performance utilities to pull data off of Walgreen’s TPF system and prepare it
for loading into a UNIX/ORACLE database according to a time-critical cutover schedule.
Database Reorg. Lead a 3-man team responsible for testing out
and migrating production TPF system from 2-device type 159-mod 3380/3390-2 IBM DASD onto
96-mod single device type EMC cached DASD Array emulating 3390-3’s. This involved
planning and executing a real-time 3-day migration with no interruption to production
operation.
Pool Expansion. Walgreens database growth reached the 67 million
ordinal number FARF3 addressing limit for large duplicated pool type and was rapidly
running out of pool space. They required immediate solution. By generating another pool
type and manipulating pool dispensing, I was able to effectively double the FARF3
addressing limitation to 130 million and expand Walgreens’ database to accommodate
current growth.
TPF 4.1 Migration Plan. Investigation and planning of migrating
Walgreens onto TPF 4.1 and provided management with a detailed documentation of the
effort.
CPU migration. Successfully migrated TPF from 3090/XA
architecture onto ES9000/ESA architecture.
Marriot Hotels, Washington, DC October 1997
Consultant
Flew in for special consulting contract to advise Marriott’s Year
2000 migration group on their TPF systems’ Year 2000 readiness.
Worldspan, Atlanta, GA Consultant 1993-1994
Technical Support for new data center in Atlanta. Worldspan relocated
the PARS datacenter from Kansas City to Atlanta. In preparation, we performed weekly
restores of the database from the live system using TPF Capture/Restore and channel
extender technology for the logging restore. The Atlanta system platform was kept
operational and stable for ongoing customer testing.
Datacenter Migration. Successful cutover of a 6-CPC
loosely-coupled 800-module complex running their production system from Kansas City to
Atlanta.
Supported production environment in Atlanta while Worldspan
staff was moved and trained in the new datacenter. .
Associates Finance, South Bend, Indiana Consultant, TPF applications
1993
Designed, coded, and tested IBM Basic Assembler Language programs and macros for
Associates’ applications groups.
Household Finance Corporation, Northbrook, Illinois Consultant, TPF
applications 1992-1993
Hired to help re-engineer system to Structured Design Methodologies. HFC is preparing
for an eventual migration off of TPF platform. They were beginning to restructure their
systems to replace TPF macros with in-house Control Program interfaces.
Developed software package to support new database layout which allowed the TPF
applications to acquire more than $10,000,000 of loan portfolios at one time.
Solved problem with HFC's homegrown database re-organization utility. This allowed us
to go forward with a software load to redefine the database structure and layout.
Amadeus GmbH, Munich, Germany Consultant, TPF systems (control program
internals) 1990-1992
Subcontracted through IBM Deutschland on IBM field assignment building a computerized
global travel distribution system.
Responsible for configuration, integration and support of a customized operating
system; the Amadeus System is the largest on-line civilian data center in Europe; it will
serve over 65,000 individual user sites and give them access to over 64 airlines and
travel services vendors.
Our team was a focal point with development centers in five different countries spread
over two continents; the organization drew upon the talents and skills of technical
specialists from all over the world; this diverse multi-cultural environment provided
strong challenges to my interpersonal skills.
Loosely- coupled installation. Configured data center for multiple IBM 3090's accessing
one data base to accommodate higher volume loads, IBM's High Performance Option for TPF
Customized magnetic tape support for performance enhancement features: tape blocking
and IDRC compaction
Installed and tested 3990 Record Cache Subsystem support into TPF operating system:
allows DASD I/O buffering
Developed REXX Test Automation tool which enhanced testing procedures as for speed and
accuracy; it was also used to update the Amadeus database as it grew
Designed and coded a Performance Driver in C language and Assembler to simulate system
load during testing and provide stress tests of various hardware components, e.g. 3990
cached control units
Walgreen Co., Mt. Prospect, IL TPF Coverage Analyst 1988-1990
Held accountable for smooth operation of an on-line, real time production system; areas
of responsibility included hardware components, operating system software, Walgreen
applications, database and network
Crisis handling: Cover downtime. Analyze and resolve emergencies on the TPF system
Troubleshooting: Identify and research problems with TPF systems, applications and data
base
Quality assurance: Review all TPF systems and application loads. Approve, supervise
prod test plans, operator training.
Aid and supervise tech support personnel in creating Loader General Files and On-line
Loader tapes including source library management and security; included developing and
maintaining interactive programs (REXX execs) to enable smooth updates & control the
integrity of the production program base
Developed and maintained data center operating procedures
Designed/coded utility package which updates the data base to improve organization
& ensure integrity
Designed system updates to gather statistical information on TPF operating system for
performance tuning
Enhanced the recoup database utility to run faster and reduce operational overhead
Proposed to management needed software development. Both in house development and
vendor products for Walgreen's.
Recommended hardware improvements which increased system availability and performance
Chicago Board Options Exchange, Chicago, IL Programmer/Analyst, TPF
applications 1987-1988
Sears, Roebuck & Co., Chicago, IL Programmer/Analyst, applications
1985-1987
Designed/coded Assembler Language programs for TPF, CICS, and MVS.
Education
Bachelor of Science degree University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI Computer
Science; Mathematics
References
I have excellent references -- furnished upon request.
