The ZOSGURL Blog
A girl's guide to learning about and driving value in enterprise
systems.
The opinions expressed herein are the author's, and should not
be construed as reflecting official positions of the employer
nor of the IBM Corporation.
What is a KPI?
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are the most critical
metrics that reflect the overall health and performance of
your mainframe. [As defined by zmainframes.com]
- Utilization – KPI
- I/O Wait Time KPI
- Locks – KPI
EQ in an IQ World
Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is the ability to understand,
manage, and effectively express one's own emotions, as well
as engage and navigate successfully with those of others.
[As defined by Psychology Today]
- Check your ego, but not your intuition, at the
door. – No one sysprog has all of the answers,
and we know this. The mainframe is a field that will
teach you something new every day of your career. You
can choose to learn kicking and screaming - or you can
say "Thank You" and take a lap around the office for a
breather. Every mainframer's goal is ensuring production
stability, and you will experience some who get a little
too passionate in expressing why they think their
solution is the most safe and efficient. Remember that
you are all working towards the same goal, achieveing
all the nines of availability, but if something doesn't
sit right with you, do speak up!
- Make FriendsYour network is your net
worth. Helping others in the office outside of your
specific role's capabilities is a great way to make
friends, expand your connections, and grow your
presence. This is how you get to thrive, not just
survive, in a corporate setting.
- Give back - mentor others –
Mentor both people who were in your shoes and those who
weren't. Reflect on their experiences, and your own, to
assist them in steering their ship.
- When in doubt, be kind. –
You never know what someone is going through.
What skills do you need in your first 30, 60, and 90 days?
- Get Access and Learn the Plexes
- Dive into your team's documentation
- Understand what automation capabilities are
available to you
- Learn your team's change management guidleines
and on-call expectations