Performance Specifications:

The intention (and hope) of any system configuration is to make
it as inclusive as possible of de facto industry standards,
flexible enough to accommodate changes to hardware, software, and
applications modifications. 

The significant attributes of a successful integrated
preservation information system include the accessibility,
relevancy, annotation, linking, and adaptability of information. 
In the most basic system, these requirements could be realized in
a structure of networks created by the cross linking of related
(ideas) nodes and hierarchies of information (idea) nodes.  The
system should incorporate user controlled navigating and browsing
capabilities, as well as alternatives for information retrieval
such as indexing, word lists, and the graphic mapping of network
paths.  

The fundamental problem in setting up a comprehensive system lies
in the design of the linking structure for the information base
as a whole.  This includes the development of a coherent data
structure that can be modified by the user group (under security
constraints) to accept new information nodes, annotations, and
associative links.  Hypermedia systems are progressing rapidly,
and although it is unclear when a competent and coherent
development platform will take shape, they offer considerable
promise for accommodating these requirements in a fully
integrated information environment.  Even without strong graphics
capabilities, the PC-Hypertext System utilized in this research
demonstrated the capacity to effectively serve a broad range of
information needs associated with the preservation process, and
is testimony to the promise of an emerging hypermedia paradigm. 

<efile31>   Prototypes Synthesis