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IBM i Batch Job Schedule Documentation Worksheet

Many IBM i shops run on a handful of job schedule entries and a few operators who remember the order. This worksheet captures the run book on paper so a new operator, an auditor or a migration team can see the whole batch window.

Download:

Job name	Purpose	Schedule	Start hour (24h)	Runtime (minutes)	End hour (24h)	Runs after	Restart safe?	Owner
					24.5
					21.5833
					3.5
					6.1667
					4.3333

Total runtime (minutes)

305 min

Longest job (minutes)

150 min

Total batch hours if run in sequence

5.0833

Jobs documented

Job names, schedules and timings are examples. Record what your job scheduler or schedule entries actually do. The end hour is start plus runtime and can exceed 24, which means the job finishes the next day.

Optional batch window analysis

Send us your job history extract and we can show where your batch window loses time.

Optional. The tool and every export work without this. No spam.

How to use it

List every scheduled job, whether it comes from schedule entries or a job scheduler product. Capture what business process it supports, when it starts, how long it usually takes and what must finish first. The restart column is the most valuable: it says whether an operator can simply submit the job again after a failure or has to clean up first. Add the owner who answers questions at three in the morning.

Include jobs started by users and by other jobs
Record typical and worst-case runtimes
Name the dependency, not only the time
Add the contact for failures

The method behind the totals

End hour is calculated as start hour plus runtime divided by sixty. The total runtime tells you how much sequential work exists, and the longest job shows what limits your window. If the sum of nightly jobs is larger than the available window, you either need to run jobs in parallel or reduce volumes. Dependencies tell you which of them can safely overlap.

Reading the results

Look for chains where each job waits for the previous one: one slow job moves everything after it. Look for jobs marked not restart safe, which need a documented recovery step and a person with authority to run it. Compare documented jobs against what really runs; any gap means undocumented work you will miss in a migration.

Common mistakes

Teams document the scheduled time but not the real finish time, so overlaps stay hidden. Another mistake is forgetting jobs that run only at month end, quarter end or year end. Add them with their own schedule text. Finally, keep this document under change control; a run book that is out of date is worse than none.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do I find the list of scheduled jobs?

Start with the standard job schedule entries and any third-party scheduler, then check job descriptions and operator documentation. Also ask users which jobs they submit by hand, since those never appear in a schedule.

What does restart safe mean?

It means that running the job again after a failure produces a correct result without manual cleanup. Jobs that update balances or post transactions often are not, and need a documented recovery procedure.

How should I treat month-end jobs?

Document them in the same sheet with a schedule such as last business day. They often have the longest runtimes and the highest business impact, so they matter more than daily jobs.

Can this help a cloud or E1 migration?

Yes. The batch inventory shows which processes need an equivalent scheduled task, integration or report on the target platform, and which can be retired.

If your batch window is shrinking, Netray can analyze job history to find the real critical path and the jobs that slip most often.

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