Overview

Technical Specifications - what sort of equipment is planned to support this site? This falls into two general categories:

1. The user's computer and connection
2. The server and its probable bandwidth needs

What sort of computer and connection are the main audiences expected to use? Include such information as...

• screen resolutions
• color depth
• monitor size
• scrolling (how much is OK?)
• connection speed
• operating systems
• video/audio types and versions
• browser compatibility targets
• plug-ins
• scripting

Server configuration information is helpful in choosing the type of ISP and level of service required for the site, so it will serve as input to the Web Hosting Report. Two factors are of general importance:

• What is the expected traffic level on the site? This is a rough estimate of the number of "hits" per day, and is necessary to determine whether the bandwidth available to any particular ISP is enough.
• How much technical support will the owners of the site need? Are they in need of total support? ...talented amateurs? ...certified or experienced technicians or server administrators? This information will help determine whether a particular ISP or hosting plan can give them the support they need.

If the site requires the server to do anything besides sending Web pages to clients, this section becomes more detailed. For example, if a seach engine or database is going to be part of the site, server configuration is important. It would include such information as...

• What OS will be needed on the server? (Some features don't require a particular OS; others do.)
• What type of Web server will that machine use? (Again, some features are picky about the type of server hardware they're willing to run under; others don't care.)
• Will it use CGI, PHP, ASP, or other server-side scripting language?
• If it has a database, will it need Cold Fusion, Oracle, MySQL, or some other database?

If a database is part of the plan, Technical Specifications may also include Data Models and Technical Architecture.

1. Individual team members get their part of this assignment to the Team Leader by email attachment, or some other method mutually agreed upon in discussion.
2. Team Leader makes sure all documents in the milestone of which this is a part are gathered together in a compatible form.
3. Team Leader and/or content specialist check for correct spelling and English usage.
4. Team leader verifies that material submitted meets the requirements.
5. Team leader or content specialist FTP the material to the team's Web site, informing the instructor and other team members by emailing to them the URI.