Site Server - Site Analysis Worksheet
August 1999
Introduction
This worksheet provides an outline of the information you need to gather and record when analyzing a site, designing a solution to the customer's business problem, implementing the solution, and recording the lessons learned during the process.
Analyzing a Site
A site analysis should examine the following:
The business problem
The project
Functional requirements
System requirements
Performance
The Business Problem
Describe the business problem the customer is attempting to solve with the new solution, including the following information:
Component |
Describe… |
---|---|
Existing solution |
· The customer's method of conducting business before deploying the current solution. |
Goals for a new system |
· The business problem the customer is hoping to solve with a new solution. |
The Project
What is the customer trying to accomplish? This section lists the information needed to understand the scope of the customer's project.
Component |
Describe… |
---|---|
Vision |
· The customer's vision for the project. |
Scope |
· The goals and scope of each phase of the project. (The business problem might indicate follow-on projects after this particular deployment.) |
Timeline |
· A proposed schedule for each phase. |
Resources |
· Project resources needed to implement the new solution on the proposed schedule (for example, two people working full-time for three months). |
Organizational processes |
· New or changed organizational processes required by the new solution (for example, additional staff required to develop or run the system; training; additional or changed processes in areas related to the new solution, such as inventory or purchasing). |
Functional Requirements
Describe the functions the site needs to perform.
System Requirements
Describe the system requirements for the new solution. This should include the following:
An event sequence chart of the current implementation.
A typical profile of visitors to the site.
A set of success criteria in terms of page latency minimums and necessary throughput to survive at peaks or stress levels.
Hardware limitations or customer preferences for network and servers.
Performance
Describe how you plan to measure the system and monitor performance.
Component |
Describe… |
---|---|
Monitoring |
· The ways in which the customer plans to monitor systems (including usage/load, concurrency, redundancy, and so forth). |
Measurement, estimating |
· Performance measurement or estimation tools the customer is using. |
Use of data |
· How the customer is using data to fine-tune application, system, processes, and so forth. |
Proposed Solution
When you have gathered sufficient information to design a solution, outline each component of your design.
Component |
Describe… |
---|---|
Strategy |
· Hardware specifications. |
Architecture |
· The system architecture (logical, physical, network architecture, and so forth). Include a diagram. |
Optimal system settings |
· Optimal hardware, software, services, or system settings for the new solution, if known. |
Security |
· Network security (ways in which users connect, such as SSL, IPC_SEC; how and who can access resources; and so forth). Include a diagram, if possible. |
Data access |
· How data is to be stored. |
Integration with existing systems |
· Systems with which the solution must be integrated. |
Recommendations for future enhancements |
· Recommendations for related functionality that is not included in this implementation (if any). |
Implementation
Following implementation, record the following information about the process:
Component |
Describe… |
---|---|
Solution providers |
· Any Microsoft Solution Providers who assisted with the implementation (who they were, what their contribution was, and what services they performed). |
Tools and technologies |
· Tools and technologies used to implement the solution, why they were chosen. |
Code components |
· Any critical code components utilized by the system (ASP, COM components, Stored Procedures, OPP, CIP, and other custom APIs), and how they work in your application. |
Configuration |
· Configuration details for the hardware, services, and software. |
Operational processes |
· New operational processes and systems (for example, new systems or processes put in place to manage the proposed system). |
User interface components |
· User interface components created to help operate the system (if any). |
Lessons Learned
Record the following information about the lessons learned during the site analysis and implementation:
Component |
Describe… |
---|---|
Technical challenges |
· Any technical challenges in the design or implementation of the solution. |
Performance |
· Learning experiences in regards to measuring, monitoring, or estimating performance. |
Tips and tricks |
· Any tips and tricks learned during this implementation. |
Recommendations |
· Any recommendations based on this implementation. |
Appendices
Add appendices that might be relevant to the implementation, such as the following:
Code samples
Sample queries
List of resources
Other items of interest