I appreciate the sentiments. We are not particularly happy about
getting
rid of them, but their time had come. In order to keep it to one
page,
the page was going to have to grow to a non-standard piece of paper
because the font was too small, both from an IBM printing standards
perspective and based on complaints from sysprogs. Non-standard = more
costly to produce.
I've only used the double-sided Installation Summary sheets as a quick
pointer into how far I am though the complete installation task (i.e. a
quarter way done, or half way, etc.). That's helpful when trying to
decide whether to go home and resume in the morning, or stay a little
longer to get it all wrapped up.
Preferring to better understand everything that goes on so that if
something breaks it's more clear what broke, I use the full Guide for
Automated Installation and Service. It serves a bit as education, and
includes *everything*. Obviously, it's important to check the PSP buckets
for any doc changes, too.
Since the full Guide has EVERY step, it permits me to write the current
date and time in the margin as I execute each command. Knowing that
interruptions are frequent, and often it may take days or weeks to get
back to completing the installation (less so nowadays with the speedy
installs), the date/time in the margin provide clear doc to let me resume
right where I left off.
*More importantly*, the date/time in the margin let me look back later to
match up console logs of the installation activities. Even wonder some
time later when something is not working properly, if maybe you might
have skipped a step? (Hmmm... wasn't an accidentally skipped step what
triggered this thread!?). Seeing the date/time in the margin provides
pretty (although not 100%) empirical proof that the step was executed, and
enough information to let you match up a console log showing the
execution (and perhaps an error message that you missed while fielding a
phone call while it ran).
But I understand and empathize with those who regularly perform many
separate z/VM installations, using the Summaries as the installation
preflight checklist (what a GREAT analogy Colin provided!). Being
experience pilots they already know the installation details, and just
want to prevent a crash caused by missing one of those critical preflight
checklist item. Even so, if they are doing the installation for a
customer, those date/timestamps in the margin of the Guide and the
matching console logs, might provide their customer with the evidence that
permits them with reasons to extend their support contract. Just my
humble opinion...
Mike Walter
Hewitt Associates
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