Welcome to the club. From your post, it sounds like you are an IT analyst responsible for Lawson (not an HR dept customer analyst or an IT System Administrator). That being the case, our roles are similar.
We try not to customize base application code, but if you need to do so that would be Cobol up to the new Infor10 release, which is on Landmark. We have not needed to do anything with the base Cobol source code, so if I were you I wouldn't spend time on learning Cobol, since hopefully you won't need it.
I would suggest two things:
First, take the two Lawson ProcessFlow classes (I sure hope you have purchased ProcessFlow as it is invaluable). All of your interfaces, work flows, notifications, Email attached excel spreadsheet data deliveries, etc., etc., can be done very nicely with PF. PF flows can query Lawson, analyze the info, and then do "AGS transaction calls" to update fields on virtually any form. There isn't much you can't do with PF. I'd suggest that PF and Microsoft Excel Add-Ins be your primary tools.
Second, for Employee and Manager Self-Service customizations (you'll likely want to do at least some customizations here) you will need at least some knowledge of Javascript, HTML and XML.

If you do want to customize Lawson application forms, you'll need to have purchased Design Studio. I'm not sure how this will translate to Infor 10. We do not have DS, and have been fine without it.

Infor10 is still COBOL.

Hello Barb,

Thanks for the feedbak; it is greatly appreciated. I have also consulted with other Lawson users and they pretty much agree with you. I will look into the process flow classes as we have it and you are correct, it is a great tool to get things done

Regards,

I would suggest looking at what products you are going to implement and look to them for training to grow your resume. For example, LBI you can learn more SQL, LSO you can use basically Java Script to do customizations, LPA you might use some scripting and SQL.

It is a large task to build your skills, I would break it down into projects and take away something from each one.

Back when I started working with Lawson, I thought I needed to know HR, Finance, MM in order to be a good consultant. I built a breadth of knowledge across modules with each project. That lead to me being able to ask the right questions at the right times to help solve issues. I went to LBI training and built my skills in Crystal and Smart Notes. That brings some functional knowledge and technical skills together. Then you go to LSO and Mashups, you learn the tools while improving business process.

Each thing you learn is like a tool in a toolbox. The more tools you have the easier it is to meet your customers needs. You can build a house with a saw, hammer and screw driver. But if you can incorporate a power saw, drill, and level you will get the job done more effectively. Look to add tools to your resume by being deliberate about learning them

Couple of years back , I too was in the same position as you are, And I totally agree with the suggestions which are listed above by seniors members of this Forum. Best of Luck !