Data Center Management Systems

Change Control System - CCS                           Download CCS today!
 
CCS Capabilities
Feature Summary
Operating Environment
Customer Service
60 Day Trial
Licensing and Pricing
Publications

For additional information - Please refer to the CCS Technical Overview

CCS is the Complete Software Management and Implementation Solution
The Change Control System (CCS) is a powerful, flexible, and comprehensive software management system for automating, controlling, and expediting the application development and maintenance life cycle in the mainframe and distributed environments. CCS insures Sarbanes Oxley compliance. CCS is a complete solution designed to serve as a management, automation, migration, security, version control, and auditing tool which completely controls, schedules, monitors, validates, archives, and implements all changes to the production application software libraries.
CCS is an easy to install and use change control system that offers more flexibility, features, functionality, and value than competing products. CCS includes powerful development tools such as DCMS JED (Expert JCL Manager) and DCMS XREF (Cross reference System). CCS can easily be integrated with existing procedures and quickly adapted to any library configuration.
   

CCS Capabilities

Insures a uniform implementation process
CCS automatically controls, records, and labels every change, facilitating development and quality assurance by identifying and tracking all changes related to a given change request.

Insures complete documentation on all changes to production modules
CCS includes a complete audit trail facility that provides an on-line historical view of all changes and activities for all software components or sets of software components.  CCS provides a change review and sign off process to insure that meaningful change documentation, by module, is included with every change.

Automatically detects implementation errors
CCS provides the controls necessary to ensure that each step in the process of moving changes into production is completed correctly.

Stores current compile and link listings for online viewing
CCS automatically compresses and stores, on disk, each compile listing and link map as programs are put into production.  Compile listings can quickly be viewed or printed as needed.  This is particularly useful when working out of the office.  To conserve disk space, CCS can be customized to archive seldom accessed listings to tape and automatically recall them as needed.

Archives all previous module versions
CCS maintains a history of all prior versions of each production module.  Using the on-line History Restore facility, any prior version of any production module can be quickly and easily restored.

Insures that production source modules always match their corresponding production load module
CCS insures source and load programs match by managing the final compile into the production environment. By using our 'where used' data base during a delete request, the source and load libraries are protected against the accidental loss of needed modules.

Provides a detailed audit trail for every module
CCS provides a complete audit trail of all production changes, including information on who, when and why. The on-line CCS Historical Review permits any CCS user to access this information in a variety of ways, including a search using specified selection criteria.

Provides secure production library update process
CCS is normally configured in such a way that production libraries cannot be updated without using CCS.  While no system can insure that authorized program modifications will not cause data corruption, CCS will tell you who made the changes and exactly when they were implemented.

Insures clean implementation of complex changes
CCS automates the promotion of an entire software change request involving multiple modules as a package, so individual modules cannot be put into production until all related modules are functioning properly.

Schedule automated implementation of production changes around production schedules
A change request can be coded with a desired date/time to prevent its premature implementation.  This facility is often managed by the Production Scheduling group to insure that changes to production modules do not conflict with the production workload.  A CCS change request implementation can also triggered when the Operations scheduling system (CA-7, etc.) detects that the production system to be modified has completed execution for the day.

Provides for fast, accurate back out and recovery of failing component(s)
The CCS configuration includes the use of 'Minus' or 'Back out' libraries residing on disk.  These libraries contain the previous version of each production module and package of modules and are used during CCS's automated 'Back out' procedure to quickly reverse an erroneous or untimely change.  CCS allows the user to selectively back out a set of modules or to back out all of the modules contained within the Change Request.  CCS eliminates the problems that occur when only a portion of the changed modules are backed out.

Provides for multi-level signoff and review of all production changes
CCS's on-line Request Review facility permits requests to be authorized and released for implementation interactively. Up to 5 levels of authorization are available to provide a completely paper less change process.

CCS includes the DCMS XREF (Cross Reference System)
DCMS XREF is a powerful online cross reference facility that tracks software component relationships, allowing the user to quickly and accurately perform impact analysis reviews showing the effect of updating a software component on its dependencies. XREF provides up-to-the-minute 'where used' information on programs, datasets, procedures, copybooks, etc. During the change implementation process, CCS analyzes JCL and program source code to maintain its XREF data base.  Using an on-line inquiry, for example, you can determine such things as which jobs execute a particular program, or which programs access a particular dataset, or which programs use a particular copybook or ++Include module, or which jobs, proc's and programs will be impacted if you change a particular dataset.  The list of relationships maintained by XREF is long and is continuously growing.  XREF allows analysts to quickly perform error free change impact analysis in seconds rather than hours or days
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Secure checkout facility
CCS's Check-out facility, which is used to obtain a test copy of a production module, prevents two people from unknowingly applying changes to the same module at the same time.  CCS can support concurrent development on a single test library or on multiple test libraries.

Insures module naming standards are followed
CCS can permit you to enforce your naming standards.  Each production entity type (programs, jobs, etc.) can be defined with a unique naming standard and rule set when enforcement is required.

CCS includes DCMS JED – the Expert JCL Manager
JED is a comprehensive expert JCL validation, editing, formatting, and testing tool that can be executed interactively during an edit session or in batch mode as part of an automated production change implementation process.   JED can be used to validate JCL naming standards, reformat JCL to installation standards, check JCL modules for syntax errors, insure that all modules, programs, and datasets required for proper execution are present prior to implementation.   JED contains over 200 easily selectable functions.

CCS Feature Summary
  • CCS controls access to all application components, ensuring product reliability by allowing only changes made by authorized users to be implemented into the production environment.
  • CCS automatically controls, records, and labels every change, facilitating development and quality assurance by identifying and tracking all changes related to a given change request.
  • CCS provides for the promotion of an entire software change request involving multiple modules as a single unit, so individual modules cannot be put into production until all related modules are functioning properly.
  • CCS includes a complete audit trail facility that provides an on-line historical view of all changes and activities for all software components or sets of software components.
  • CCS provides the controls necessary to ensure that each step in the process of moving changes into production is completed correctly.
  • CCS provides a complete automated archive for all software components, allowing prior versions to be quickly re-created.
  • CCS includes DCMS JED (Expert JCL Manager)
  • JED is a comprehensive expert JCL validation, editing, formatting, and testing tool.
  • JED can be executed interactively during an edit session or in batch mode as part of an automated production change implementation process.
  • JED can be used to validate JCL naming standards, format JCL to installation standards, check JCL modules for syntax errors, insure that all modules, programs, and datasets required for proper execution are present prior to implementation.
  • JED contains over 300 easily selectable functions.
  • CCS includes DCMS XREF (Cross Reference System).
  • XREF is a powerful online cross reference facility that tracks software component relationships, allowing the user to quickly and accurately perform impact analysis reviews showing the effect of updating a software component on its dependencies.
  • CCS automatically interfaces with DCMS PM/RS (Problem Management and Reporting System), providing help desk personnel and programmers with quick access to detailed historical change information for all software components.
  • CCS interfaces with Panvalet, Librarian, and CA-7.

Operating Environment for CCS
CCS is available for any processor that supports the z/OS operating system environment. CCS utilizes ISPF/Dialog Manager (DM) and ISPF/Program Development Facility (PDF). VSAM is used as the basis for the DCMS proprietary DBMS. CCS supports all versions and releases of z/OS.

Service and Support
The DCMS Service and Support Hotline (952)473-3572 is accessible 24 hours / 7 days a week. On-site training and consulting are available for a nominal fee.

60-day Trial
The CCS system can be downloaded directly from the DCMS website for a no cost, no obligation 60-day trial.

Licensing/Pricing
Products are licensed (Perpetual and Renewable) on a per processor basis. Tiered pricing is based on Processor Software Groups. Annual maintenance for perpetual licenses is calculated at a rate of 15% of the current license fee.

CCS Publications
  • DCMS CCS Administrator Guide
  • DCMS CCS Messages Guide
  • DCMS CCS User Guide
  • DCMS CCS Utilities Guide