Analysis and Prototyping of the United States Marine Corps Total Force Administration System (TFAS), Echelon II - A Web Enabled Database for the Small Unit Leader
Abstract
This thesis analyzes the requirements and development of a prototype web site for The United States Marine Corps' Total Force Administration System (TFAS), Echelon II - A Web Enabled Database for The Small Unit Leader. The analysis consisted of researching the characteristics of the current manpower system, MCTFS, and the conceptual tenets of the TFAS program. The thesis presents relevant background information on MCTFS, TFAS, and then gives a detailed presentation of system and user functional requirements for TFAS, Echelon II. A detailed system architecture for the TFAS, Echelon II web site prototype and its integration with MCTFS are presented. Specifications are enumerated for a mufti-tiered web-enabled application integrated with a system of distributed synchronized databases. Additionally, sample programming code for implemented web site functionality is explained, in conjunction with screen shots of the working prototype. The examples include user identification and data query binding at run-time. Samples of read-only reports and data entry tasks whose data is confined to Marines within the TFAS user's unit are explained. Programming is shown for data entry tasks along with a presentation of how this data is transformed into XML "Unit Diary" files, which are generated dynamically. A migration path is described for the integration of the current web technologies with legacy manpower systems. Finally, conclusions and recommendations derived from the thesis work are presented to aid TFAS planners and developers in moving TFAS from a concept to an operational system.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA407204
Entities
People
- Steven A. Simmons
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School