COMMON POWERUp 2026: Full Schedule

Unlock the Power of IBM i at POWERUp 2026!

Join us in New Orleans, Louisiana for POWERUp 2026, the premier conference for IBM i professionals. Whether you’re an experienced expert or just starting your IBM i journey, this event offers unparalleled education, hands-on workshops, and valuable networking opportunities. Stay ahead of the curve with insights from industry leaders, explore the latest innovations, and connect with a thriving community that shares your passion for IBM i. Don’t miss this opportunity to expand your knowledge, grow your skills, and power up your career!

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8:00am CDT

RPG Excellence: Writing for Readability and Maintainability on the IBM i - The Code Style and Quality Standards Every Modern RPG Developer Needs.

Tuesday April 28, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT

Studio 9-10

Evaluation Survey

Stop coding like it's 1985. Your legacy RPG habits are a financial drain and a massive headache for the next generation of developers. Kill the Clutter! Permanently eliminate fixed-format and arcane shorthand. This session is your urgent intervention.

Learning Objectives:

• Master Fully Free-Format RPG to write code that looks and behaves like a modern language. • Name Names: Adopt Descriptive Naming standards that remove all ambiguity. If you can't read it quickly, it's garbage. • Build Defenses: Don’t rely on the *PSSR subroutine. Implement Rock-Solid Error Handling using MONITOR/ON-ERROR to manage failure, log results, and stop programs from crashing like amateurs. • Enforce the Rules: Understand and apply consistent layout, indentation, and ILE modularization to create code that is instantly scannable and maintainable—or you'll be fixing it at 2 AM. This isn't about nice-to-haves; it's about reducing catastrophic failures and cutting your maintenance costs. You will leave this session knowing how to write RPG that future-proofs your career and the system.

Speakers

Doug Artis

Manager, Managed Services, Fresche Solutions

Tuesday April 28, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Studio 9-10

RPG

9:15am CDT

Handling JSON with DATA-INTO and DATA-GEN in ILE RPG

Tuesday April 28, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT

Galerie 4

Evaluation Survey

Two of the most significant features added to ILE RPG recently are the DATA-INTO and DATA-GEN opcodes. The most common use case is to read and/or create JSON files. Since JSON has become crucial to IBM i businesses, these are must-know features!

Learning Objectives:

1. Learn the basics of the JSON format. 2. Learn about DATA-INTO and how to use it. 3. Learn about DATA-GEN and how to use it.

Speakers

Scott Klement

Managing Partner, ORC LLC

Tuesday April 28, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 4

RPG, Programming: RPG

10:45am CDT

Let's Build an RPG Service Program

Tuesday April 28, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT

Studio 1-2

Evaluation Survey

Service programs have been around for quite some time. Perhaps you’ve even bumped into one in your professional travels. You will certainly find them on the road to application modernization. This session focuses on what they are, how to implement them and making them a regularly used asset during your application development. In this session we will discuss service programs, program signatures and using binder language.

Learning Objectives:

We will go step by step to the creation of an RPG service program.

Speakers

Charles Guarino

CEO & IBM Champion, Central Park Data Systems

Charles Guarino believes in the “power” of IBM Power Systems. His career reflects his dedication and interest in bringing the platform and its solutions to others and as a result has been recognized as an IBM Champion.

He is a member of COMMON’s Speaker Excellence Hall of Fame and a proud recipient of the Al Barsa Memorial Scholarship Award. Additionally, he participates on COMMON’s Strategic Education Team. Other professional endeavors have included the roles of President and monthly Q&A host... Read More →

Tuesday April 28, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Studio 1-2

RPG, Programming: General

3:15pm CDT

Breaking Up a Monolith

Tuesday April 28, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT

Studio 1-2

Evaluation Survey

Every RPG shop has them. Most developers avoid them like the plague. Large monolithic programs are a significant source of technical debt in all RPG shops. They limit your agility which in turn is detrimental to your business. So, once you are ready to deal with the issue, where do you start? There is no one answer, but there are steps you can take to begin dismantling and repurposing the code within these behemoths.

Learning Objectives:

1. Discuss steps to refactoring monolithic RPG programs 2. Learn common pitfalls to avoid 3. Learn how to organize extracted procedures for ease of use

Speakers

Brian May

Principal Technology Evangelist, Profound Logic

Professional IT Leader, Speaker and WriterSpecialties:Team Building, Development and RetentionTechnical SalesSolutions ArchitectureSoftware DevelopmentEnterprise Systems Manufacturing ProcessesApparel IndustryAccounting Principles

Tuesday April 28, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Studio 1-2

RPG, Programming: RPG

Track Student

3:15pm CDT

Transforming your Team with Procedure Driven RPG

Tuesday April 28, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT

Galerie 2

Evaluation Survey

RPG has always been about getting the job done, but shifting to a procedure-driven approach can completely change how you and your team build applications. In this session, we’ll start with the fundamentals of procedures and quickly move into real-world examples that highlight the benefits: improved readability, easier maintenance, and greater reusability. You’ll see how these advantages translate directly into a more efficient, more effective development team. To wrap things up, we’ll explore how today’s AI code assistants thrive in a procedure-driven environment, giving you a powerful edge in modern RPG development.

Learning Objectives:

Learn how Procedure Driven RPG will reduce technical debt, increase developer moral and allow you and your team to develop faster.

Speakers

Gregory Simmons

Software Engineer, PC Richard & Son

Gregory Simmons is a Software Engineer at P.C. Richard & Son. He is a COMMON certified Application Developer – ILE RPG on IBM I on Power. He is also a registered instructor with IBM’s Academic Initiative and an RPG and IBM i instructor at Scott Regional Technology Center, where... Read More →

Tuesday April 28, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Galerie 2

RPG, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Programming: General, Programming: RPG

4:30pm CDT

How to Write Code That Doesn't Suck

Tuesday April 28, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT

Balcony K

Evaluation Survey

Great code doesn't just "work" - it survives change, catches mistakes early, and makes your future self say "thank you" instead of "who wrote this mess?". This session will dig into the habits that separate quick hacks from quality software. You'll learn why testing matters, how Test-Driven Development (TDD) can guide better design, and how to put it into practice with RPGUnit for the IBM i. Expect practical demos, a few war stories, and clear takeaways for building code that's clean, reliable, and - most importantly - doesn't suck.

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand Test Driven Development 2. Look at RPGUnit 3. Investigate tools built into VS Code for IBM i that can help

Speakers

Patrick Behr

Senior Consultant & Instructor, Seiden Group & imPower Technologies

Tuesday April 28, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Balcony K

RPG

4:30pm CDT

The 2040 Date Issue: Preparing IBM i Applications for the Next Pivot Year

Tuesday April 28, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT

Galerie 2

Evaluation Survey

The year 2040 may seem far off, but for IBM i professionals, it’s closer than you think. Many applications that use six-digit dates still rely on the “1940” pivot year rule — and that assumption will soon start causing real problems. In this session, Simon Hutchinson will explain why this issue matters, what systems and code are most at risk, and how to begin identifying potential trouble spots in your applications. He’ll also demonstrate IBM-provided tools and techniques that can help you prepare now, before the 2040 date challenge becomes an urgent crisis.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this session, attendees will be able to: - Understand that the IBM i “1940” date rule will remain in effect and what that means for existing applications. - See why testing with a “1970” rule does not impact RPG date operations. - Implement practical methods to identify potential six-digit date fields that may cause issues as 2040 approaches. - Review examples of RPG remediation techniques to future-proof applications. - Gain insight into IBM’s tools and recommendations for managing date transitions safely and efficiently.

Speakers

Simon Hutchinson

Founder & author, RPGPGM.COM

Simon Hutchinson has worked with IBM midrange servers and the RPG programming language since 1988—starting in the U.K. and continuing in the U.S. for over 35 years. He is best known for his long-running blog, RPGPGM.COM, where for more than 12 years he has shared practical insi... Read More →

Tuesday April 28, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Galerie 2

RPG, Programming: RPG

5:05pm CDT

Why Procedures Are Better Than Subroutines

Tuesday April 28, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT

Galerie 3

Evaluation Survey

Discover the super powers that procedures have(and subroutines don't) and how they can help you create more reliable and more easily maintained programs. We'll talk about the benefits of input parameters: local variables, and return values, error handling with on-exit, and increased functionality with recursion.

Learning Objectives:

1. The benefits of using procedures 2. How to create a procedure 3. How to get the most benefit out of procedures

Speakers

Patrick Behr

Senior Consultant & Instructor, Seiden Group & imPower Technologies

Tuesday April 28, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Galerie 3

RPG

Track Student

8:00am CDT

9:15am CDT

10:45am CDT

3:15pm CDT

3:15pm CDT

4:30pm CDT

4:30pm CDT

5:05pm CDT

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