# AS/400 Green Screen Modernization Assessment > Source: https://netray.co/tools/as400-green-screen-modernization-assessment > Publisher: Netray (netray.co), AI and integration engineering for ERP and manufacturing systems. > Section: Free Tools ## Short answer Find out whether your IBM i green screen applications should be left alone, wrapped with a web or API layer, or replaced, based on 10 practical questions. ## Category erp-migration ## Erp IBM i / JD Edwards World ## Audience - CIO - IT manager - IBM i developer - Business analyst ## Tool **Kind:** assessment **Questions:** #### How many users depend on the green screen every day? **Options:** ##### A small, trained group **Score:** 10 ##### Dozens of users across departments **Score:** 7 ##### Hundreds, including occasional users **Score:** 4 ##### Many users plus external partners using the screens **Score:** 2 #### How do users feel about the current interface? **Options:** ##### Fast and productive, no major complaints **Score:** 10 ##### Acceptable but hard to train new staff **Score:** 6 ##### Frequent complaints and spreadsheet workarounds **Score:** 3 ##### Staff leave or cannot be hired because of the interface **Score:** 1 #### How well do you understand the application source? **Options:** ##### Source is current, in version control, and understood **Score:** 10 ##### Source is current but poorly understood **Score:** 6 ##### Some source missing or out of date **Score:** 2 ##### Source unavailable for important programs **Score:** 0 #### How is the code structured? **Options:** ##### Modular with separate business logic and display **Score:** 10 ##### Mixed, but main logic can be called from outside **Score:** 6 ##### Large monolithic programs with embedded screen logic **Score:** 3 ##### Heavily modified, cloned and undocumented **Score:** 1 #### Do other systems need access to the application data or functions? **Options:** ##### Not needed **Score:** 10 ##### A few file exports are enough **Score:** 7 ##### Yes, via APIs or web services we do not have **Score:** 3 ##### Yes, real-time, and today done through brittle direct file access **Score:** 1 #### Do you have RPG or COBOL skills available for the next five years? **Options:** ##### Yes, with younger staff learning **Score:** 10 ##### Yes, but only a few people **Score:** 6 ##### One key person or a contractor **Score:** 3 ##### No, we depend on a vendor **Score:** 1 #### How closely does the application match how the business now works? **Options:** ##### Matches well **Score:** 10 ##### Some gaps handled outside the system **Score:** 6 ##### Many manual steps and shadow systems **Score:** 3 ##### Business has outgrown it **Score:** 1 #### How much pressure is there to support mobile, web or customer self-service? **Options:** ##### None **Score:** 10 ##### Some requests, not urgent **Score:** 7 ##### Needed in the next year **Score:** 3 ##### Blocking sales or operations now **Score:** 1 #### What is the state of the IBM i platform and its support? **Options:** ##### Supported release, hardware under maintenance **Score:** 10 ##### Supported but ageing hardware **Score:** 6 ##### Near end of support **Score:** 3 ##### Out of support **Score:** 0 #### Is there budget and business sponsorship for change? **Options:** ##### Funded and sponsored **Score:** 10 ##### Sponsor, no budget yet **Score:** 6 ##### Interest only **Score:** 3 ##### None **Score:** 1 **Bands:** #### Replace or rebuild is on the table **Min:** 0 **Max:** 39.99 **Verdict:** Pain, code risk and skills gaps suggest that wrapping alone will not be enough. Evaluate replacement, but start with discovery so you do not underestimate the old logic. **Recommendations:** - Inventory programs, files and interfaces that are really in use. - Stabilize the platform and secure the knowledge of key developers first. - Compare replacement ERP options with a staged rebuild of key functions. - Expose data through APIs now, it helps either path. #### Wrap and modernize in stages **Min:** 40 **Max:** 69.99 **Verdict:** The core logic is worth keeping, but the interface and integration need work. Staged modernization is usually the pragmatic route. **Recommendations:** - Add an API or web service layer over stable business logic. - Replace the worst screens for the heaviest users with web interfaces. - Separate display from business logic as you touch programs. - Put source in version control and add basic automated tests. #### Keep, tune and integrate **Min:** 70 **Max:** 100 **Verdict:** The green screen application is serving the business. Focus on integration, documentation and skills rather than replacement. **Recommendations:** - Document the application and keep a skills plan for RPG. - Provide reporting and data access without touching production logic. - Revisit the question when business drivers change. - Keep the platform supported and patched. ## Content **Intro:** Green screen does not automatically mean broken. Many IBM i applications are fast, stable and carry business rules that took decades to refine. The question is whether the interface, the code and the skills around it are still adequate. This assessment gives a structured answer. **Sections:** #### How to use the assessment **Body:** Answer for the application as it is, not for a hoped-for state. Involve a power user, the developer who knows the source and the person responsible for integrations, because each sees a different part of the picture. The score gives a band and a set of recommendations. The three outcomes are keep and integrate, wrap and modernize in stages, or plan a replacement. None of these is better in general, the right answer depends on your situation. #### The options behind the bands **Body:** Modernization on IBM i usually falls into four approaches. Screen scraping puts a web face on the 5250 screens with little change, which is quick but limited. Service wrapping exposes existing RPG logic as APIs so new front ends can use it. Refactoring separates display from logic as programs are touched. Replacement moves to another application, with its own conversion cost and process change. Most firms combine more than one, and start with the pieces that cause the most pain. **Bullets:** - Screen wrapping: fast, limited gain - API wrapping: reuse logic, new front ends - Refactor: reduce risk over time - Replace: highest change, highest effort #### Common mistakes **Body:** A common mistake is paying to rewrite screens before understanding which business logic sits behind them. Another is assuming that a new interface will fix process problems, when the real issue is how the business works. Skills are the third trap: modernization projects fail when the one person who understands the source is not part of the plan. Finally, avoid planning for a big bang. Phased delivery lets you prove value and correct course while the existing application keeps running. **Cta:** If you want to discuss the results or how to expose IBM i data and logic through APIs, Netray can help. The assessment itself is complete and free. **Faq:** #### What does green screen modernization mean? **Answer:** It means improving how people and systems use a 5250 terminal-based IBM i application. That ranges from adding a web front end over existing programs, to exposing logic as APIs, to replacing the application entirely. #### Is RPG a dead language? **Answer:** No. Modern RPG is actively supported by IBM and is used in free-format syntax. The risk is more about available skills than the language, so plan for training and knowledge transfer. #### Should I replace my AS/400 application or modernize it? **Answer:** If the logic still fits your business and the pain is mainly interface and integration, modernize in stages. If the business has outgrown the application or skills are gone, evaluate replacement. The assessment helps frame that choice. #### Does this apply to JD Edwards World? **Answer:** Yes. World is a green screen application on IBM i, and the same questions apply. Pay particular attention to customizations, DREAM Writer versions and outside interfaces. ## Search terms green screen modernization, as400 modernization assessment, ibm i application modernization, 5250 to web modernization, as400 replace or modernize, rpg modernization, ibm i green screen replacement, legacy as400 application review --- Talk to an engineer: https://netray.co/contact?intent=erp_ai | Machine catalog: https://netray.co/agent/catalog.json