4. EXCEPTIONS › 4.2 Setting Exception Values

4.2 Setting Exception Values

Exception test routines contain exception tests that
completely define the tests made to determine the exception
condition.  The exception tests also contain the definitions
that identify and classify the exception for reporting and
analysis.  A sample exception test is:

*
** 04001
** CICS APPLICATION EXCEEDS AVG ELAPSED TIME STANDARD
*;
  SECONDS=seconds;
  IF CSUAVTTM > SECONDS THEN DO;
    EXCCODE ='04001';
    SEVERITY='W';
    MGMTAREA='SERVICE';
    EXCDESC1=
    'CICS APPLICATION EXCEEDS AVG ELAPSED TIME STANDARD';
    EXCDESC2='APPL=' || CICAPU ||
             ', AVG ELAPSED TIME=' ||
             PUT(CSUAVTTM,TIME.);
    LINK HIT;
  END;

This exception test is processed for each observation that is
in the latest cycle of the CICS User Activity File (CICCSU).
If your site has activated the CICS Application Unit Activity
File (CICCAU), that file's AVTTM element (CAUAVTTM) is used
to value this exception condition.

The test is positive when the variable CSUAVTTM has a value
greater than 'seconds', which indicates that the average
response time was greater than the time specified.  When the
test is positive, the exception is categorized by providing
the appropriate values for EXCCODE, SEVERITY, and MGMTAREA.
EXCDESC1 provides a constant title for the exception.
EXCDESC2 provides variable information for the conditions
that caused the test to be positive.  The LINK HIT statement
invokes a routine that causes the exception condition to
eventually be written to the Exception Activity File (ADMEXC)
for later processing by the standard reports or MICF
inquiries.

The values for most exception conditions should be determined
uniquely for different environments within a single
organization.  For example, a system paging rate that would
be excessive during the nightly batch processing may be
normal during the daytime hours, which have heavy interactive
usage.  Also, different processors can support different
paging rates.  Numbers used as exception values should not be
defined without some analysis of installation history,
performance, and user requirements.

The exception value analysis routine uses the CA MICS Data
Base to produce a report that provides a statistical analysis
of the values of the variables used in the standard exception
tests distributed with the products.  Using the results of
this analysis, along with your installation's internal
political, security, or standards policies, industry
publications, and your own analysis of data element behavior,
you can determine the modifications that you should make to
each exception test to provide meaningful exceptions in your
environment.

You can also modify the exception test routine to add your
own tests for additional exception conditions not detected by
the standard tests delivered with the product.