March 13, 2018 | IBM i

Screen Capture: Using IBM i Screen Capture as a Training Tool

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Screen Capture: Using IBM i Screen Capture as a Training Tool

We all know the importance of compliance and that it is critical to maintain logs of who did what, when, and how, but have you considered how you can gain additional benefits from a screen capture solution, such as SEA’s iSecurity Capture?

 

Using an IBM i real-time 5250 screen capture program is like having a video camera trained on a user’s monitor. Screen by screen, shots of user activity can be captured, stored, emailed, and reviewed, showing exactly what any individual user is doing and when they were doing it.

 

If you have already invested in a screen capture product, you might be wondering how else you can get some additional bang for your buck. Having an audit trail was probably the driver for your purchase, but what if we told you IBM i screen capture is also a great training tool?

 

There are several types of business processes that take place periodically, such as month end or year- end processing, inventory or enrolling new users. These processes are critical to the business and have to be done correctly or else the business can be impacted negatively. Often, there are a few people who know how to conduct the process and this can also put your company at risk. Using a screen capture tool is an easy way to capture how to execute a critical process and it can produce an excellent training guide for future reference.

The Year-End Processing Problem & Screen Capture

There are several steps in the year end procedure to close out the books, prepare financial statements, and get accounts setup for the following year. If something is done out of sequence, it can cause problems that are difficult to correct. That’s why it’s critical to have step by step instructions which detail exactly what needs to happen. This is where IBM i screen capture can help save the day.

 

Imagine that Sally in Accounting has been with the company for 15 years and suddenly Sally becomes ill and requires medical treatment. It is one week until year end and someone else needs to make sure that the year- end procedures are done. Sally has been here for so long, that she doesn’t have any documentation on what to do. She knows what needs to be done and just does it. Sally never really trained anyone how to execute year end either. Since she was unexpectedly out of the office, she wasn’t able to plan to teach someone else how to do it.

 

Without screen capture technology, this could be a real problem. Someone will have to try to determine what the steps are, or try to contact Sally to walk them through it. This is an error prone and time consuming way to get through year end. Frankly, I’m not sure I would want to be in this companies shoes.

How Screen Capture Helps

SEA’s iSecurity Capture calls the OS/400 Copy Screen API which uses screen scraping technology to capture and save the information on the screen after the enter key or a function key is pressed. Screen shots are usually saved in text files, but additional tools can convert the saved text screens into other formats such as HTML, for easier viewing.

 

With a screen capture tool, the IT department could have helped Sally to document the process she uses to close the books, screen by screen. There isn’t anything special that Sally needs to do, she just goes about doing the year end process like she always does. The difference is that the tool captures what she is doing, as she goes along.  It’s like a playbook of her actions that can then be used by someone else who has to fill in and help out.

 

With the solution, Sally’s backup can easily see exactly what they need to do to execute the year end processing correctly. Following each screen exactly, they know the proper sequence of the steps they need to take and more importantly, they can see exactly what their screen should look like before they take the next step. This helps protect the business and reduces the pressure on the person who has to perform a task they haven’t done before or that they do infrequently.

 

This is just one of several uses for a screen capture solution such as SEA’s iSecurity Capture. The tool can also be used to help you keep an eye on consultants and users, audit system work, troubleshoot application issues, train users, and alert IT auditors when a user accesses sensitive information or runs dangerous commands.  For more information visit our website at www.seasoft.com.