Computer packages used during this contract included:
- Solve [Sterling Software, Inc. v4.0 (c) 1981-2000] - to access the mainframe
- Mercury Quality Centre (Test Director) - to record and report results of testing and to notify relevant Medicare
personal (eg programmer, business analyst, etc) if any faults are detected.
- Medicare Australia had developed an in-house MS-Access program to take a Mercury entry, which includes parameters,
to simplify the process of creating the testcases within a testplan. Each testcase was then created as a row in an
Excel spreadsheet and then imported back into Mercury. As such, Mercury was largely only used to run the scripts,
record the results and, if required, send an email to the appropriate person (in Medicare this was the Business Analyst)
containing details of either a query, error, fault, etc. This program also produced the printed Testplan document as
well as an MS-Access Snap (*.snp) file of the document.
- SAP (ITS System Information) - To report hours worked against specific projects
- Endevor [Computer Associates International, Inc (c) 2002] - to provide "source control" functions, edit, etc,
programs
- 'Personal Communication' v5.6 (c) 1989-2002 - for PC to mainframe communication
- 14 May 1998 - 10 Nov 2006
- Self-employed IT Contract Consultant
- Paul Myers Consulting Pty Ltd [ACN 085 002 553/ABN 48 085 002 553] - aka PMC P/L
Company Established 03 November 1998
- PMC P/L has been inactive since 01 Jul 2000 and I was unemployed until 10 Nov 2006 (see above)
- 09 Nov 1998 - 30 Jun 2000
- Department of Defence - Pay Systems Maintenance [DISS(B)]
During my time working on this contract my tasks involved:
- Balancing the fortnightly 'Pay Compute' to validate tape cartridges prior to forwarding to ComSuper, etc
- Updating Unisys RDMS/SQL Tables for ADFPAY with data provided by the Defence Pay Centre (DEFPAC)
- Actioning various types of client requests which might, in some cases, involve program code fixes, new program development, etc
- Creating new 'Source & Register' entries on the DMS (and RDMS) databases as ADFPAY is a journal based system
- 31 Jan 1984 - 13 May 1998
- DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE - Sydney & Canberra
- Mar 1998 - Corporate Information Program
- Information Management Services Branch
- Information System Services Directorate (E)
- 02 Mar 1998 - 13 May 1998
- Batch Support Team - CENCAT
My tasks in this team were to:
- Monitor Daily Production - specifically:
- Monitor Progress of Production; and,
- Rectify any problems arising during production;
- Receive requests and problems raised by CENCAT's client, CSA (located in Melbourne), and determine who best to pass the request/problem on to or whether to do the task ourselves.
- Train an Information Technology Officer, Grade 1 to be able to 'duplicate' my role if and when required and to also enable a sharing of the CENCAT batch support workload.
- Jun 1997 - Corporate Information Program
- Information Management Services Branch
- Standard Defence Supply System Section
- 17 Nov 1997 - 27 Feb 1998
- CENCAT Rehost Team - DMS1100 rehosted into DB2 environment
I was transferred to the CENCAT Production team to ensure that the Branch had adequate production support for the system. CENCAT is independent of the SDSS system using its own data structures, while also interfacing with SDSS in order to enable up-to-date NATO data to be entered into the SDSS catalogue tables.
- My role was an operational one that insured the effective operation of the system on a daily basis. My specific tasks were:
- Commence specific JCL for each specified production phase
- Ensure that each phase ran successfully and resolve any associated issues or problems
- Maintain a running log of the process of daily production documenting identified problems and the corrective action taken
- Run Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Bi-annual, Annual and Ad Hoc reports
It is intended that CENCAT production will run automatically using a scheduling tool known as 'CONTROLM'. This 'tool' will be operated by the Defence Computer Bureau who will liaise with the CENCAT representative should any problems be encountered.
- 18 Aug 1997 - 14 Nov 1997
- Residual UNISYS (RAAF) and Problem Resolution Team
[IBM COBOL, UNISYS (SPERRY) 1100/2200 COBOL]
During this period my prime role was to rectify any UNISYS problems that were raised by the RAAF's 'Residual RLOAS' cell. In most cases this was a co-ordinating role, allocating the problem to the relevant technical expert. However, in some cases my expertise was required to assist in the resolution of the problem.
- 24 Apr 1997 - 14 Nov 1997
- Residual UNISYS (RAAF)
Up until this period, the Logistics (Ln) and Manpower (Mn) computer systems were located on the same physical machines [development (n=2) on one machine at Russell and production (n=1) on another machine at Deakin] but each had its own logical and transparent partition within the hardware. During the above period my role was to migrate all relevant program and data files from the Logistics partition to the Manpower partition so that the engineers could remove the Logistics partitions thus making each mainframe single partition machines.
- My role in the above project was to:
- Check that the files identified as still being necessary to the running of the remaining RAAF system had been relocated onto the M1 & M2 partitions by the Defence Computing Bureau's UNISYS cells
- Modify the compilation and execution ECL cans to take account of any changes in 'keywords' and processing environment in general as advised by DCB
- Recompile programs if necessary - 'vanilla' COBOL programs did not need to be recompiled but any program containing DMS1100 statements did require recompilation because the move had required a change in these programs category status (from CAT1 to CAT5). DPS1100 programs were also recompiled but more in order to be safe than for any potential conflict between the 'old' and 'new' environments
- Consolidate elements into fewer program files to reduce the number of files remaining on each machine. In this project file elements were consolidated on the basis of type - ie. all program symbolic elements were placed in one file, all compile cans were placed in another file, etc.
- 14 Apr 1997 - 24 Apr 1997
- CENCAT Data File 'Clean-up'
During this period, my role was to produce a suite of IBM COBOL/DB2 programs that could be used to remove extraneous and out-of-date data from the CENCAT database. Originally these programs were going to be written in UNISYS COBOL/DMS1100 and executed on the UNISYS machines prior to migrating the data to the IBM. However, it was later decided to write and run the programs on the IBM machines against the CENCAT DB2 tables instead.
- my roles in the project was as follows:
- From guidelines attached to minutes received from our client, CSA (the Defence Codification and Standards Authority), programs were developed using IBM COBOL/DB2. A Functional Design Document (see below) was produced for this sub-project based on the CSA guidelines and prior to the commencement of coding
- The resulting programs were tested against data in flat files and DB2 tables located on the development mainframe
- 16 May 1996 - 11 Apr 1997
- User Requirement Request (URR) Team
This period of time was occupied working on URRs. That is, producing Functional Design Documents (FDD) describing how a given URR would be developed and then developing the required program to fulfil the requirement. The FDD serves several purposes:
- To show the client that the programmer understood the requirement stated in the URR - it needed to be 'signed off' as approved by the client before any coding could be commenced
- Identify, using pseudocode, the proposed algorithms to be implemented in the program or programs and also any testing requirements that may be required on the part of the programmer and/or the client
- To act as a guide to the programmer while producing the code to fulfil the requirement and identify the testing regimes required at programmer and user testing times
The only program developed during this period was written using Telon and as I have had no formal training in the use of this package it was used as an on-the-job training exercise. He does not, therefore, profess to being a Telon programmer.
- 21 Mar 1996 - 15 May 1996
- Testing Team
I have spent a period of time in the SDSS Testing Team. The functions of the team within the SDSS environment was to co-ordinate the movement of software (programs, datafixes, etc) from development, through testing and into production. Two third party software packages (CA's Endevor and Sterling Software's Advanced Systems Management) were used by the team to carry out this function. The Sterling Software product was referred to internally as 'Solve'.
- my roles in this Team were as follows:
- Receive the Solve documentation and take note of any specific requirements
- Migrate the program code, etc, into the relevant 'test' datasets and advise the client area that the software was available for user testing
- For datafixes (SQL or program), the code was migrated into test, if required, and run against the test database in 'rollback' mode. When satisfied that this was working, the settings would be changed to 'commit' and the client advised that the datafix was available for testing. The client was also given a copy of the Testing Teams test results in the form of a dataset name
- If all testing was OK, the code was then migrated into a production hold library on the development machine and the batch support team advised that there were 'packages' to be migrated to the production machine
- The Solve documentation for each task was constantly updated during the above phases, the update being entered by the person doing the work on the given phase
- Jun 1995 - Mar 1996
- SSRP Adhoc Requests
During this period I worked on tasks that required the adapting of RAAF Unisys reports to run on the IBM mainframe in the MIMS environment. This task effectively required the merging of several RAAF reports of the same generic type, but with different layouts and reporting slightly different data, into a single report for use in the IBM/MIMS environment. This task required the use of MIMS COBOL which is so-called because it takes standard IBM COBOL and uses embedded MIMS procedures in order to access the MIMS/DB2 database records.
- Jun 1986 - Jun 1995
- Logistics Computer Centre
- Directorate of Application Systems, Logistics
- Oct 1987 - Jun 1995
- RAAF Online Update (OLU) Screens
- UNISYS 1100/2200, COBOL, DPS 1100, SSG/SGS, DMS 1100
During this period I was developing, and maintaining, RAAF Online Update (OLU) programs and screens. The OLU screens were produced using a 'front-end' COBOL code generator developed in-house and written in SSG and using SGS data streams. The resulting system was not, however, a true online update system as the database was not directly updated with the incoming data. Standard transaction strings were generated by the OLU programs and then saved as records on the 'security' database which was stripped on a daily basis to create the sequential files that the application programs expected as input. This was also necessary as 2 different DMS1100 schemas were involved in the process on each of the mainframes (L1/Production and L2/Development) - the 'Security' database and the 'Development'/'Production' database depending on the machine.
- Jun 1986 - Oct 1987
- CENCAT Team
On my move from Sydney to Canberra (see below) I undertook an extensive 6 month face-to-face and on-the-job training program working as a member of the CENCAT Team. My training involved familiarisation with UNISYS COBOL and UNISYS DMS1100 programming as well as the use of ECL - the UNISYS 'equivalent' to IBM's JCL.
- Jan 1984 - Jun 1986
- Defence Ledgers Sections, Sydney
- Ledger Clerk
I commenced my public service career as a clerk in the Ledgers Section of the Defence Department's Regional Finance Office in Sydney. He accepted a position in Canberra in June 1986 as a trainee Computer Systems Officer undertaking internal face-to-face classroom training as well as on-the-job training for a period of six months after which he became a CSO, Grade 1. He was promoted to the level of ITO, Grade 2 in 1988.
A summary of all employment positions held since 1973 is also
attached for your additional information.
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INTEREST/HOBBIES
- Watching Astronomy/Cosmology/Cryptology/Chemistry/Physics documentaries on TV - eg "The Elegant Universe" 3-part series,
ABC-TV's "Catalyst", etc
- Science Fiction Movies and TV Programmes (eg Dr Who, Star Trek)
- TV and Movies in General - specifically, the "Harry Potter" movie series, the "Carry On" movie and TV series,
several British comedy programs ("Dave Allan". "The Goodies", "The Benny Hill Show", "The Two Ronnies", "Monty Python", etc
- Using the Internet and developing & implementing my own simple (vanilla) webpages
- Writing my own Visual BASIC programs when required (very basic "BASIC" programs)
- Studying and participating in Australian Politics at a party political branch level
- Interest in animals - I have a long-coat spayed female Chihuahua which I have enjoyed exhibiting in local dog shows
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SECURITY CLEARANCES
I have had the following Security clearances for the periods indicated:
- Department of Defence, Jan 1984 to May 1998 (Permanent employee)
- Department of Defence, Nov 1998 to Jun 2000 (Contractor)
I have also had ACT & NSW Police checks, as follows, to enable me to work within public schools operated by
the respective Departments of Education:
- ACT Department of Education, Feb 2003 to May 2005
- NSW Department of Education, Aug 2002 to May 2005
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MEDICAL DECLARATION
(NB: See Abbreviations where necessary to explain any abbreviations used in this section.)
CRS Australia provide their "clients" with a document which lays out various stages in the job application process in which
a "client" can advise a potential employer of any information relating to disabilities, etc. As someone who likes to be honest
"up front", I have chosen to indicate my "medical condition" in my CV as the first option provided is to advise the reader at the
time of lodgement of job application. I was with VRS Australia for around a year and am now with the disability employment service
(DES) working with Auswide-Caloola Enterprises, Queanbeyan.
My disability concerns my vision. I have been legally blind in my right eye since November 2008 when my ophthalmologist did an
ultrasound on that eye after detecting an unexplanable drop in ocular pressure since the previous checkup. The ultrasound identified
an inoperable detached retina in the right eye. I also have an apparently rare form of cataract on the right eye which it has been
decided not to treat as it would do nothing for my vision in that eye due to the condition of the retina. Whilst my corrected
distance vision, in my left eye is fine, my near vision is becoming more and more problematic, requiring additional magnification to
aid general reading as well as computer use, neither of which can be sustained for long periods of time without the need for a break.
There is also a cataract currently forming on this eye. I have, for some time now, had
diplopia (double vision) in my good (left) eye but was
only advised of the reason for this on Mon, 01 Aug 2011 which was, as at the date of this update, my most recent visit to my
ophthalmologist. I am actually seeing two "ghost" images rather than the two in the classical definition. (Also see the Wikipedia
page for diplopia.).
My condition is probably more correctly defined as follows:
triplopia [trip·lo·pi·a)
noun Ophthalmology
Condition in which a subject sees three images of a single object. This condition may be the result of
crystalline lens sclerosis, multiple pupils, etc.
[Millodot: Dictionary of Optometry and Visual Science, 7th edition. © 2009 Butterworth-Heinemann]
"http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/triplopia"
or probably even polyopia
I am currently on Newstart Allowance (NSA) and a few years ago now Centrelink issued me with a PCC and, as such I assume,
classified me as a disability pensioner deemed capable of working up to 20 hours per week. As I have been deemed capable of
doing some work, I am still on NSA.
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REFEREES
All referee authorities are now well out of date and have, therefore, expired.
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GLOSSARY OF SOME SELECTED ABBRVIATIONS
- MACS - Member, Australian Computer Society
- MACM - Member, Association for Computing Machinary (USA)
- AUSLAN - Australian Sign Language for the Deaf
- DCB - Defence Computing Bureau
- CENCAT - Central Tri-Service Supply System Catalogue (CENtral CATalogue)
- CSA - Defence Codification and Standards Authority
- SQA - Software Quality Association (a SIG of the ACS)
- SIG - Special Interest Group
- CSO - Computer Systems Officer
- ITO - Information Technology Officer
- A Unisys 'ECL can' is synonymous with an IBM 'JCL runstream'
- CRS Australia - Commonwealth Rehabilitation Service
- VRS Australia - Vocational Rehabilitation Service
- DEN - Disability Employment Network
- DES - Disability Employment Service
- PCC - Pensioner Concessioner Card
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