Introduction

The ChangeMan ZMF rules-based environment for software configuration management provides processes based on best practices for managing application components.

Software change management can be expressed differently in different companies. ChangeMan ZMF architecture allows customers to modify details of the development lifecycle process. While user interfaces for ChangeMan ZMF have expanded beyond the host environment, many key functions are based on batch processing that can be customized to fit your requirements.

This design provides flexibility for you to quickly modify ChangeMan ZMF to fit your needs. However, there are some general recommendations that you should follow to protect the integrity of your ChangeMan ZMF components. See the sections on this page.

Preserving Vendor Versions of ChangeMan ZMF Components

Preserve the versions of components that are delivered in the ZMF installer. Do not edit components in the mainframe libraries unloaded from the installer. Allocate custom libraries to concatenate over vendor (delivered) libraries in the SERNET started procedure and other JCL that use ChangeMan ZMF libraries.

If you preserve the delivered version of components, you can to return to the original version if modifications you make do not work as expected.

Using ChangeMan ZMF To Manage ChangeMan ZMF Components

We recommend that you use ChangeMan ZMF to manage ChangeMan ZMF components. This means that you create an application in production ChangeMan ZMF and create library types for ISPF skeletons, ISPF panels, ISPF messages, source code, load modules, and JCL. The baseline or production libraries for this application are concatenated under the ISPSLIB, ISPPLIB, ISPMLIB, and STEPLIB of the SERNET started procedure.

To modify a ChangeMan ZMF component such as a skeleton, you create a change package, check out and edit the skeleton, then promote the package to populate a test skeleton library concatenated in the ISPSLIB ddname of a test ChangeMan ZMF instance. After testing the skeleton in a test ChangeMan ZMF environment, you audit and freeze the package, then obtain approvals that include management responsible for your change management software. When the package is installed, your production ChangeMan ZMF automatically starts using the new version of the skeleton.

For debugging purposes, users should copy their customized skeletons to a CUSTOM.SKELS library, and concatenate the CUSTOM.SKELS library ahead of the skeleton library distributed with the ChangeMan ZMF product.

ISPF Skeletons provides details on customizing ChangeMan ZMF panels and variables. User Exits describes exit functions, where they are invoked, and common uses. Extensive help is built into the ISPF environment, pressing the PF1 key once gets you some information, pressing the PF1 key a second time for ChangeMan ZMF Messages will get you more information. See the ChangeMan ZMF Messages Guide for further message details.

Nomenclature

Mainframe components of SERNET run as started tasks under z/OS. Each SERNET started task is assigned a unique one-character subsystem ID.

ChangeMan ZMF runs as an application under SERNET technology. It uses the subsystem ID assigned to the SERNET started task, but SERNET requires the subsystem ID even when there is no ChangeMan ZMF application.

One occurrence of SERNET is referred to as a SERNET instance. One occurrence of ChangeMan ZMF is referred to as a ChangeMan ZMF instance.

The ChangeMan ZMF programs that run under SERNET are called ChangeMan ZMF server programs. ChangeMan ZMF programs that run in the user address space, such as the ChangeMan ZMF ISPF interface, are referred to as ChangeMan ZMF client programs.