Site Analysis Worksheet
August 1999
Microsoft Corporation
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
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.
- The business problem the customer was trying to solve with the current solution.
- How the current solution changed or impacted the customer’s business.
- Any problems the customer is having with the current solution.
|
| Goals for a new system |
- The business problem the customer is hoping to solve with a new solution.
- The customer’s performance goals for a new solution.
- The customer’s return on investment goals for the 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.)
- The systems with which the new solution has to be integrated.
- The technical issues that must be addressed for each phase of the project.
|
| 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).
- Create process diagrams to contrast the old and new processes.
|
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).
- The resources the customer needs to monitor systems.
|
| Measurement, estimating |
- Performance measurement or estimation tools the customer is using.
- The resources the customer uses to measure or estimate performance.
- How frequently the customer measures performance.
|
| 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.
- Software and services, and why they were chosen.
- Any third-party technologies and services to be used, and why they were chosen.
- Any Microsoft Solution Providers to be used, and their role and contribution to the solution.
- Anything else critical to the strategy employed to design this solution.
|
| Architecture |
- The system architecture (logical, physical, network architecture, and so forth). Include a diagram.
- The application architecture (event sequence charts, user authentication, and other details). Include a diagram.
- The data architecture (data models, database schemas, and so forth). Include a diagram, if possible.
|
| 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.
- Application security (security on software and services, user authentication and authorization processes, membership and other directory schemas, and so forth). Include a diagram, if possible.
- Data security (database security, file/share security, authorization and authentication, data integrity, and so forth). Include a diagram, if possible.
- Specific Microsoft® Site Server, Microsoft® Windows NT®, and Microsoft® SQL Server™ features to be used.
|
| Data access |
- How data is to be stored.
- Processes used to transfer, update, and validate data.
- Processes for accessing data, and who (system, users) has access to data.
|
| Integration with existing systems |
- Systems with which the solution must be integrated.
- How connectivity and accessibility is to be provided to those system(s) (such as components, third-party software, services, and so forth).
|
| 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).
- Why you used a particular solution provider (if any).
|
| 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.
- Third-party components used in the application (if any).
|
| Configuration |
- Configuration details for the hardware, services, and software.
- Server configuration (Microsoft SQL Server, Site Server, IIS, Windows NT, or others).
- Security configurations for the server, software, services, and system.
|
| 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.
- How you addressed those issues.
|
| 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
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