Design Methodology

This project is ideally suited for a modular design upon which different technologies are handled by individual modules. Additionally the technologies used are arranged in a hierarchical manner, which lends itself to a top-down or bottom-up design. We have a very clear understanding of the functions required of the system and feel a bottom-up design will prove itself effective and efficient. An evolutionary model will best support the level by level design in which we will be adding functionality of individual modules and then testing them. Further detail about the architecture of the software is below..

Deliverables

The documentation that will be created for this project consists of four major documents. This document is the first and provides a solid base for the entire project design. The second major document is the functional specification document. That document will set the details for the implementation that will be used. After the design has been developed to a point where all functions are available, usability testing will be done. A usability report will follow that will summarize the results and offer suggestions and solutions to any problems. The final document is the as-built report that will cover the successful design of the project. The schedule for these documents is outlined in Table 10.3 of the schedule page. The standards for all delivered documents is available in the documents page.

Throughout the implementation of the project, prototypes and proof of concepts will be provided to our client for review and feedback. In Table 8.1, the major milestones for the project are listed. For each of the milestones, a prototype of the functionality and/or integration will be made available to our client.

Table 8.1: Milestones

High-Level Architecture

The architecture of the software will be fairly simple. Modules will be created at each level of technology used. The modules will act as an internal interface between each technology. The web-page modules use the database modules as an interface between the web pages and the database. This will be an effective and efficient way to provide easy interaction between the web-interface and the database.

A three-tier architecture can provide flexibility, reusability, and scalability when used for a distributed client/server design. It is a common architecture used for many Internet applications.

Figure 9.1: Architecture

By the use of a three-tier architecture it will allow information transfer between the web server and the database server to be optimized. The three-tier architecture allows for scalability. The architecture provides a framework for sub-system control and communication.