AS400 Automation Software Demo Checklist

Ask for one real workflow, not a tour of menus

A credible demo starts with one workflow that resembles your environment ... file arrival, data validation, an ERP update, an approval step, and a downstream notification. If the vendor only shows isolated jobs, the demonstration is too shallow to prove operational fit.

Force the exception path into the demo

The most important moment in the demo is not the successful run. It is the first broken dependency, missing file, late approval, or failed step.

That is when buyers should watch how the tool retries, pauses, escalates, documents the event, and lets the team recover without losing control.

• What happens when a required file or API response never arrives
• How the platform alerts the right team and records the event
• How the workflow resumes after correction without duplicate processing

Review the evidence trail

Automation software becomes part of operational accountability. Buyers should review change history, workflow logs, role permissions, and reporting output before moving past the demo stage.

If the platform cannot explain what ran, what failed, and who changed the logic, it is not ready for higher-risk business processes.