Evaluating alternative methods of providing database access over low speed communications

One of the most important activities in the systems engineering process is the determination of the best implementation method from a set of alternatives. This project describes a process that can be followed to evaluate a set of implementation alternatives. This process consists of performing the following activities: Definition of the need, requirements and functional analysis, evaluation of the alternatives, requirements validation, and risk identification. To clarify the activities in the evaluation process, the project follows a case study in which the XYZ Corporation determines the best implementation approach for providing access to a remote database over low speed communications lines.

Three alternatives were evaluated by the XYZ Corporation. After performing the evaluation, an HTML only implementation approach was selected. This implementation had the highest performance and dependability compared to the other alternatives. Regional users will use a Netscape browser to view HTML pages stored at the corporate headquarters. A web seNer located at the corporate headquarters will interface with the database seNer by performing the required additions, updates, and queries to the corporate database. The web seNer will also format the returns into HTML pages for viewing at the regional sites.