Design Decisions

The Fitch & Mather CML/LitCrit application is created by combining the critique-enhanced Corporate Media Library (CML) application with the LitCrit Outlook® form. It is designed to follow Microsoft Windows Distributed interNet Application Architecture (Windows® DNA) principles and the three-tier application model.

To support all the requirements defined in the planning phase — including integrating the LitCrit application with the existing CML application — design decisions fall into the categories discussed in the following sections:

• Designing the CML/LitCrit User-Services Tier discusses general user-interface design considerations, changing the CML Web application to make it support critiques, and transforming the original stand-alone LitCrit form into an application that works together with the CML application.
• Test-Driving CML/LitCrit Functionality is the functional specification for the combined CML/LitCrit application. This section describes how the application was designed to run.
• Designing the CML/LitCrit Business-Services Tier describes the design of elements that perform business logic for the CML/LitCrit application and how they interact with elements on the user-services and data-services tiers. This section also describes the design of the new COM components built for this application.
• Designing the CML/LitCrit Data-Services Tier discusses the data needed for CML/LitCrit functionality and its storage locations: Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft SQL Server. This section also shows how the FmLib database needed to be changed (such as for adding new stored procedures) and how the two disparate data stores were designed to remain synchronized.
• Technologies in the CML/LitCrit Application describes the way CML/LitCrit designers chose the technologies best suited for the new critique-submission functionality and for integrating this functionality with the CML application.
• The LitCrit Application in Stand-Alone Operation describes the design of the initial Microsoft® Outlook® form used by the F & M book club, before the Fitch & Mather IT department merged it with the CML application.