TAVA's PlantY2KOne CD Description:
There have been some questions regarding the level of quality of TAVA's PlantY2Kone CD. In specific, I am responding to the following question (s):
>>>how well does the CD work in helping companies assessing the Y2K problems? Does it list out the components that are not Y2K compliant, does it present a step by step approach to do the assessment, how well is it organized, does is it use some kind of top down approach, bottom up approach, relational database approach, does it have some kind of modeling methodology to represent the data flow in a factory, what kind of report does it produce, etc. ?<<<
Since I wasn't at the SHM I am basing my response on the research I did at TAVA's PlantY2Kone web site, as well as careful inspection of the three part demo series. The following is my conclusion.
The CD presents the user with a Graphical User Interface (GUI) to guide him/her through the many detailed steps required to ensure that every last component contained within the plant is year 2000 compliant. This rather mammoth task is broken down into four stages - Assessment, Analysis, Conversion Planning, and Implementation. The user is guided step by step with both the instruction and the tools required to fully describe the entire plant and uncover all non-compliant components.
Stage 1 - Assessment:
Phase 1, Definitions & Planning: Sites project outlined, human resources assigned
Phase 2, System Inventory: Inventory all items involved in plant floor. Hardware Inventories, OS Identified, Applications Listed, & Custom code uncovered by Y2K Certified Tech
Phase 3, Stage End Summary: Inventory reports for input into the Analysis Stage
The MethodY2KOne section of the CD provides guidelines for structuring the project as well as "form wizards" to aide in the process. During the course of the system inventory phase the user is assisted by the InventoryY2KOne section of the CD. This GUI walks the user through a top down relational approach to describing the plant in every detail. From Project->System->Component->Item, every last item is detailed & identified, complete with system diagrams and assigned human resources. This process is also aided by the close coupling of the CD with the dynamic database at TAVA. Many Systems->Components->Items are OEM and can be selected from this database, which grows with the completion of each new site.
Stage 2 - Analysis:
Phase 1, Preliminary Analysis: Query Compliance Database. Determine Compliant/Non-compliant/Suspect.
Phase 2, Suspect Analysis: Examine suspect items in depth to determine compliance / non-compliance. Once all suspect items are properly characterized (compliance / non-compliance) the severity of failure is documented and fed forward to the next stage
The Analysis Stage is where the ManageY2KOne section of the CD comes into play. Within the structure of ManageY2KOne the user is greatly aided in the complex task of analysis. A four tiered analysis is applied. First the Compliance Database is queried and vendor statements are examined; second, using tools from the ToolsY2KOne toolkit such as SearchY2KOne, locate date usage (LDU) is employed; third, inspect source code (ISC); and finally, testing (TEST). All levels of analysis are recorded and maintained in the ManageY2KOne section and much of the detailed record/house keeping tasks are dealt with automatically. The output is a complete Y2K Summary report for the entire plant, down to the very last detail.
Stage 3 - Conversion Planning:
This stage is the one where the remediation/replacement strategy is developed. The site works in close conjunction with TAVA engineers to develop time/cost effective solutions to the critical errors uncovered by the previous stage. TAVA human resources begin to play an even more active role.
Stage 4 - Implementation:
Phase 1, Project Preparation
Phase 2, Project Execution
Phase 3, Project Testing
Phase 4, Project Training & Commissioning
This stage is where TAVA provides the most intensive human hands-on resources. The groundwork has been laid and the problems are presented in a format that allows TAVA engineers to get down to the actual fix.
Conclusion: In systems integration one thing is certain, nothing is certain. Due to the infinite variations of user requirements, evolving technologies and post installation modifications, no two installations are alike. Therefore, to tackle to subtle nuances of something so elusive as embedded date code failure, it takes a company intimately familiar with the design of such a facility. The PlantY2KOne methodology draws many parallels from the one that TAVA uses in its base business. They first outline the scope of the project, then break the task into small, manageable sections which are further refined and then implemented. During a system integration they provide a toolset very similar to PlantY2KOne, such as BevOne, so the creation of PlantY2KOne was a natural extension of familiar work. The CD is concise, well laid out and very user friendly. It's close coupling with TAVA's dynamic database makes it flexible and adaptable. As an engineer with a keen interest in the user experience I give this product an A.
JohnnyH |
