CareWorks Consultants, Inc.

RPG to Java Conversion

Established in 1950 CareWorks bought Compensation

Consultants Inc in 2006 and changed the name.

Workers’ compensation risk consulting and claims management for nearly 30,000 Ohio employers

Started using GeneXus in 1992 (DOS Version!) 200 employees, including case managers,

field staff, and an analysis group

CCI History

CCI’s systems manage all data related to their clients and the workers that get injured on the job

System was built entirely on RPG with iSeries Over 4,000 objects

CCI was looking to convert to a web-based technology Easier to train on a web-based system that newer

workforce members are familiar with Quicker access to data Improved integration with other business software

Decided to use Java running on Websphere

Conversion Project

Conversion vs. Rebuild Felt that a conversion was a shorter timeline Users would be more familiar after the launch with how

everything would work Could use the old system as a reference for testing and

comparison Stateless management of data

RPG/iSeries - Kept the state of data from screen to screen seamlessly

Web – Is “stateless” and we had to find a way to carry variables forward as if the state of a page in the past was preserved

Solution – GeneXus designed a session variables management algorithm for us

Key Challenges

Various commands that RPG used that Java generator did not ‘ASK’ command – converted to pop ups (‘Which date?’) ‘Cursor’ command – User Control built to check field cursor is in

Formatting of “green screen” to a web equivalent GeneXus supported us with an early version of Patterns Converted the 80-character format of RPG to approximate positioning

of fields so users were not too surprised after the conversion Converted Function Keys to buttons, Option numbers to Combo Boxes

Performance RPG is fast and native to the iSeries – Can’t be beat on performance! Java

Initial challenges, but improved through stress testing (NEOLOAD) Memory management improvements Java version! Big win by using the IBM version of the Java toolkit. Process improvement. Doesn’t matter if the system is slower if

steps are faster or fewer

Key Challenges

Menu - RPG

Search Screen - RPG

Menu/Search Screen - Java

Detail Screen - RPG

Detail Screen - Java

Quick access to key information Diaries – All notes related to a business or claim are

always available Session variables allow easy movement from one

screen to another to allow a process to flow smoothly The business was forced to define their key processes

Documented BCPs (Business Critical Processes) Multiple screens condensed into one They are now able to train more easily Business now looks more towards overall process

improvements rather than band aid fixes for everything

Key Benefits

Integration with imaging software (OnBase) Process restructuring continues

Clean up stateless variable management as we can Users are having fun redesigning how their

processes work. Speeding up their days Using GeneXus controls for more efficient

functionality. Re-developing modules from other environments into

this GeneXus application (Lotus Notes apps) Review and implementation of User Controls Looking towards potential mobile apps for field staff

and clients

Next Steps