Table Of ContentNPS ARCHIVE
1997. 0«\
LOEWEN,
E.
NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL
Monterey, California
THESIS
INTRANET FOR THE SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT
DEPARTMENT
by
Edward D. Loewen
and
Robert H. Lunn
September, 1997
Thesis Advisor: Suresh Sridhar
Second Reader: Hemant Bhargava
Thesis
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September 1997 Master's Thesis
4. TITLEANDSUBTITLE 5. FUNDING NUMBERS
Intranet forthe Systems Management Department
6. AUTHOR(S)
Loewen, EdwardD. and Lunn, RobertH.
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Naval Postgraduate School
Monterey, CA 93943-5000
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The views expressed in thisthesis arethose ofthe authorand do notreflectthe officialpolicy orposition ofthe Departmentof
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13. ABSTRACT (maximum 200 words)
The objective ofthis thesis is to describe in detail the reasoning and development ofan Intranetbased
decision support system. This thesis is intended to show how World Wide Web technologies can be used to
develop aprototype Intranet that can provide access to information for faculty, students and staffmembers
via a World Wide Web browser. It provides more open communication in the Department ofSystems
Management, quicker and more consistent information flows (service) to the faculty and staff, and reduced
time spent on the handling ofrepetitive and often simple information exchanges. The decision support
function is supported by a database which is an information clearinghouse, providing all personnel with 24-
hour access. Personnel are empowered by information availability and are likely to be more proactive. A
prototype has been developed to demonstrate the concept and to demonstrate the validity ofrapid prototyping
as a means ofvalidating the effectiveness ofthe modified Intranet development methodology. The prototype
is located at [http://131.120.41.236].
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Intranet for the Systems Management Department PAGES jgg
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Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited
INTRANET FOR THE SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT
Edward D. Loewen
Captain, United'States Army
B.B.A., OklahomaUniversity, 1987
and
Robert H. Lunn
Major, United States Army
B.S. Texas Tech University, 1983
Submitted in partial fulfillment ofthe
requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF SCIENCE IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT
from the
NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL
September 1997
OXLIBRARY
ru,m cv «WAX IRRARY jA TGRADUATE3CM001
I
MONTEREY C 3-5101 ABSTRACT
The objective ofthis thesis is to describe in detail the reasoning and development
ofan Intranet based decision support system. This thesis is intended to show how World
Wide Web technologies can be used to develop a prototype Intranet that can provide
access to information for faculty, students and staff members via a World Wide Web
browser. It provides more open communication in the Department of Systems
Management, quicker and more consistent information flows (service) to the faculty and
staff, and reduced time spent on the handling ofrepetitive and often simple information
exchanges. The decision support function is supported by a database which is an
information clearinghouse, providing all personnel with 24-hour access. Personnel are
empowered by information availability and are likely to be more proactive. A prototype
has been developed to demonstrate the concept and to demonstrate the validity of rapid
prototyping as a means of validating the effectiveness of the modified Intranet
development methodology. The prototype is located at [http://131.120.41.236].
VI
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
I. 1
BACKGROUND
A.
1
B. THE INTERNET
1
INTRANETS
C. 2
1. Benefits ofIntranets 3
2. Limitations 5
D. DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS „.6
WWW
DECISION SUPPORT USING THE
E. 7
PURPOSE OF RESEARCH
F. 11
METHOD
G. 11
H. SCOPE OF RESEARCH 12
DESCRIPTION OF THE PROTOTYPE
I. 12
J. EXPECTED BENEFITS OF RESEARCH 14
K. THESIS ORGANIZATION 15
INTRANET DEVELOPMENT METHODOLOGY
II. 17
A. CHOICE OF THE SYSTEM 17
1. Goal ofthe Intranet System 17
2. Development Process 17
III. SYSTEM DEFINITION PHASE 25
METHOD
A. 25
1. Web Site Study 25
vn
2. Background 25
3. The Current System and Deficiencies 26
4. Anticipated Needs 30
5. Estimated Cost ofDevelopment 30
6. Customer Requirements 31
7. Systems Analysis and Design 34
8. Process Analysis ofKey Processes : 41
9. Selection ofPrototype Processes 48
10. Process Impact ofImplementation 52
11. Entity to Process Relationship 53
12. Sytems Architecture and Design 58
INTRANET DESIGN
IV. 61
INTRANET TOOLS AND PROTOCOLS
A. 61
1. Basic Components 61
2. Client 61
3. Server 62
B. TOOL SELECTION 64
Hardware 64
1.
2. Software 65
C. USEFUL RESOURCES 69
V. IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES 71
COST
A. 71
B. TRAINING 72
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