Analysis of consolidating defense acquisition information on the Internet.

92 Pages·1.7 MB·en_US

by  Trulock, Troy E.

NPS ARCHIVE
1997.Ok
TRULOCK,
T.
NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL
Monterey, California
THESIS
ANALYSIS OF CONSOLIDATING DEFENSE
ACQUISITION INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET
by
TroyE. Trulock
June 1997
Thesis Co-Advisors: WalterE. Owen
Mark W. Stone
Thesis
T8215
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
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June 1997 Master's Thesis
4. TTTLEAND SUBTITLE: ANALYSIS OF CONSOLIDATINGDEFENSE 5. FUNDINGNUMBERS
ACQUISITION INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET
6. AUTHOR(S) Trulock, Troy E.
7. PERFORMINGORGANIZATIONNAME(S)ANDADDRESS(ES) PERFORMING
Naval Postgraduate School ORGANIZATION
Monterey CA 93943-5000 REPORTNUMBER
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AGENCYREPORTNUMBER
11. SUPPLEMENTARYNOTES The views expressed in this thesis arethose ofthe authorand do notreflectthe official
policy orposition ofthe Department ofDefense ortheU.S. Government.
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Approvedforpublic release; distributionis unlimited.
13. ABSTRACT (maximum 200words)
The Internet began over 30 years ago as a method ofproviding vital military communications following a
nuclear attack. Today, due to the introduction ofthe World Wide Web and recent commercial interests, the Internet
has grown into a multimedia source of information, and has become overloaded with information. Acquisition
professionals in both the government and civilian defense acquisition sectors are attempting to use the Internet as an
efficient and effective communications tool. However, due to the overloaded nature of the Internet, they are having
difficultyfinding relevant information in atimelymanner.
This thesis provides an overview of the current Internet tools available to acquisition professionals. It also
demonstrates why these tools are not effective in providing timely acquisition information. This thesis proposes the
development of a defense acquisition information center that would consolidate all acquisition information into one
user-friendly location on the Internet. By organizing and consolidating information, the Internet can be transformed
into ahighly efficient and effective communications tool forthe acquisitioncommunity.
14. SUBJECTTERMS Internet, Acquisition Information, Information Center, Yahoo!, 15. NUMBEROF
PAGES
FedCenter 8g
16. PRICECODE
17. SECURITYCLASSIFICA- 18. SECURITYCLASSIFI- 19. SECURTTYCLASSIFICA- 20. LIMITATIONOF
TIONOFREPORT CATIONOFTHISPAGE TIONOFABSTRACT ABSTRACT
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Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
ANALYSIS OF CONSOLIDATING DEFENSE
ACQUISITION INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET
Troy E. Jrulock
Captain, United States Army
B.S., University ofKansas, 1986
Submitted in partial fulfillment
ofthe requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF SCIENCE IN MANAGEMENT
from the
NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL
June 1997
&^W>^
APS
101
ABSTRACT
The Internet began over 30 years ago as a method ofproviding vital military
communications following a nuclear attack. Today, due to the introduction of the
World Wide Web and recent commercial interests, the Internet has grown into a
multimedia source of information, and has become overloaded with information.
Acquisition professionals in both the government and civilian defense acquisition
sectors are attempting to use the Internet as an efficient and effective
communications tool. However, due to the overloaded nature ofthe Internet, they
are having difficulty finding relevant information in a timely manner.
This thesis provides an overview of the current Internet tools available to
acquisition professionals. It also demonstrates why these tools are not effective in
providing timely acquisition information. This thesis proposes the development of
a defense acquisition information center that would consolidate all acquisition
information into one user-friendly location on the Internet. By organizing and
consolidating information, the Internet can be transformed into a highly efficient
and effective communications tool for the acquisition commumty.
VI
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
I. 1
BACKGROUND
A.
1
B. OBJECTIVES 2
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
C. 2
D. SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS 3
METHODOLOGY
E. 4
:
F. ORGANIZATION OF THESIS 4
BACKGROUND
7
II.
INTRODUCTION
A. 7
WHAT THE INTERNET
B. IS 7
HISTORY OF THE INTERNET
C. 8
THE WORLD WIDE WEB (WWW)
D. 10
USEFULNESS OF THE WEB
E. 11
CAPABILITY OF THE INTERNET
F. 12
G
FUTURE OF THE INTERNET
13
CHAPTER SUMMARY
H. 14
III. INFORMATION CENTERS AND SEARCH ENGINES 17
INTRODUCTION
A. 17
B. INTERNET MEANS INFORMATION OVERLOAD 17
C. SEARCH ENGINES 19
D. ALTA VISTA SEARCH ENGINE 20
E. HOTBOT SEARCH ENGINE 21
F. INFORMATION CENTERS 22
G. YAHOO! INFORMATION CENTER 23
H. FEDCENTER INFORMATION CENTER 25
vii
CHAPTER SUMMARY
29
I.
ACQUISITION INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET
IV. 31
INTRODUCTION
A. 31
B. FINDING DEFENSE ACQUISITION INFORMATION ON THE
INTERNET
31
C. INTERNET TOOLS AVAILABLE TO FIND ACQUISITION
INFORMATION
33
GUESSING THE CORRECT NAME OF A HOME PAGE
D. 33
E. USE A SEARCH ENGINE TO FIND INTERNET INFORMATION 36
F. SEARCH THROUGH ACQUISITION HOME PAGES 39
USING THE GOVERNMENT INFORMATION LOCATOR
G.
SYSTEM 44
H. USING AN EXISTING INFORMATION CENTER 47
CHAPTER SUMMARY
48
I.
V. ESTABLISHING AN ACQUISITION INFORMATION CENTER 51
INTRODUCTION
A. 51
B. THE NEED FOR AN ACQUISITION INFORMATION CENTER 52
C. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE OPTIONS 54
D. OPTION#1 - DEVELOP A FEDCENTER STYLE INFORMATION
CENTER 55
OPTION#2 DEVELOP A YAHOO! STYLE INFORMATION
E. -
CENTER 57
OPTION#3 CONTRACT WITH AN EXISTING INFORMATION
F. -
CENTER 59
G. OPTION#4 - USE THE CURRENT ACQWEB INFORMATION
CENTER 60
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