Databorough's X-Analysis Business Case

Functional Breakdown by Module

X-Analysis - Cross Referencing provides:

• Variable level cross-referencing drilling down through multiple layers or variables and programs/files/screens (RPGII/400/LE/FREE,COBOL36/400, CL, SQL, JAVA)
• Interactive source code browser
• Interactive structure chart diagrams
• Interactive data flow diagrams
• Object where used
• Plug-in to eclipse or WDSc

X-Analysis - Application Overview provides:

• Subdivide system into application areas.
• MS Word project/static documentation wizard
• Visio exports for graphical diagrams
• RPG program flow charts
• Subroutine layering diagrams
• Export to offline/stand-alone version of X-Analysis
• Link to SEU or CODE/400 editors
• Source leveling (summarization of source members)
• Indented source code views
• RPG source viewed as Pseudo code (Structured English with field texts)
• Screen design and report layouts at a glance
• Program understanding at an application level, rather than a complete system level.
• All other modules have use of application level control as opposed to entire system level functionality

X-Rev Provides

• Automated generation of data model through reverse engineering of legacy application
• Entity relationship diagrams
• Data encyclopedia
• Browsing and analysis of data dictionary

X-Extract Provides

• Identifies and documents business rule logic from legacy RPG
• Analysis and cross referencing of business rule logic in legacy RPG
• Export of DDL, XMI from data model.

X-Browse Provides:

• Builds Interactive, ready-to-use, drill-down application over legacy system
• Instant & Automated Structured, drill-down browsing of test/live data during testing and problem analysis
• Automated and structured integration between pc/iSeries for applications such as spreadsheets/email/word processors.
• Analysis of data record history via journals

X-Subset/X-Verify/X-Archive/X-Resize/X-Cube Provides:

• X-Subset – Creates complete test data subsets from live data based upon existing application data model.
• X-Verify – Verifies and reports on referential integrity of entire live data based upon existing application data model.
• X-Archive – Powerful archiving tool for even the most complex system data, with reinstatement & auditing facilities.
• X-Resize – Field & file re-engineering tool with automated source & data conversion and bulk compiling functions.
• X-Cube – Automatically provides n-dimensional enquiry facilities over any iSeries database.

X-Migrate Provides:

• Generates JSP/JSF/ASP from 5250 screens.
• Generates I/O Beans for legacy app database and use with JSF/JSP/ASP's
• Generic I/O controller frame work for MVC application architecture
• Generates stateless Business Logic Programs(BLP) in RPG/LE from legacy RPG/LE code
• Converts BLP's to JAVA
• Migrate DB2/400 to MS SQL/Access/Oracle

X-Web Provides:

• Web Based Generic screen handler framework
• Structured browsing of test/live data during testing and problem analysis via web browsers Automated and structured integration between web/as400 for applications such as spreadsheets/email/word processors.
• Advanced Dialogue management
• Remote data capture via browser interface without any programming required.
• Structured inquiry applications over multiple databases without any programming required.
• Web Based Portal content manager incorporating security, menus.

Assumed Benefits

Some of the benefits these tools provide together are:

• Improved productivity in application and program maintenance.
• Faster familiarization of new staff/clients, or staff/clients maintaining areas of the application that they did not write.
• Instant & Comprehensive documentation
• Faster and more accurate change impact analysis.
• Improved efficiency and accuracy of data analysis during testing/problem solving.
• Instant structured and secure access to customer data.
• Reuse of existing Business Logic without existing architectural constraints
• Reuse of existing technological skill base
• Extended use of existing applications/investment

Costing of Benefits

Day-to-day tasks

Independent studies provide the following approximate breakdown of staff time day-to-day usage in a typical legacy IT operation:

• Application & Program maintenance - approx 40%
• Familiarization (& ancillary training) - 8%
• Documentation (if performed) - approx 8%. If department is managed with inadequate documentation (as frequently occurs in AS400 departments) then it is presumed that a non-insurable risk amounting to at least this value is being inadvertently assumed.
• Change impact analysis - 5%
• Approximately 10% of time used during testing and analysis is taken up by producing data analysis mechanisms such as queries and reports.

X-Analysis and its various modules aim to assist and as a result improve the efficiency of day-to-day tasks. This is achieved through automated and powerful reverse engineering techniques. The table below gives a potential cost benefit as result of using X-Analysis to perform ongoing development and maintenance tasks.

Special Projects

• Legacy code componentization for reuse with web applications or for code conversion during platform migration.
• Field & file reengineering.

The analysis and documentation tasks associated with these types of projects are naturally assisted by X-Analysis as per the details in Table 1. However, generating the new/changed source code for these types of projects is usually a manual, labor-intensive task, largely exposed to human error, and as such very costly in terms of time and man-hours. It is here where using X-Analysis provides a unique technical advantage in the form of automatic code change/generation. In the both case of field/file re-engineering, as much as 90% of the recoding can be totally automated using X-Analysis tools. Table 2 offers typical examples of the calculated cost benefits this offers.

Please don't hesitate to contact me if any of the above needs some clarification or if you have further queries.