Product_goals

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Product Goals

Provide all the necessary components:

	Visual monitor of the process, alarm areas, and pending tasks
	Show the real-time state of every output and input
	Operate fully automatic, semi-automatic, or manually override.
	Unattended operation, with visual and audible alarms.
	Full reporting of process results, alarms, and operator actions
	Log files for host processing
	Host inputs for remote scheduling
	Batch or continuous processes.
	Digital (AC or DC) or Analog inputs and controls.
	Custom turnkey application

Eliminate Operator restrictions.

	Ensure that an operator can edit or view any screen at any time without impacting the process.
	Lock out illegal inputs or requests, so the process is stable, and an unsure operator cannot hurt the process through inadvertant entries.

Provide a soft Manual Panel

	Display every input, and provide a control key for every output.
	Allows the operator to override unexpected conditions.
	Windows graphics available, if DOS reliability not required.

Graphically display all inputs, outputs, timers, and process states.

	Provide color coded, graphic based data that immediately identifies to the operator the dynamic status of the system.
	Use reserved colors to identify specific status of inputs or outputs.
	Use intuitive screen organization, so an operator can use the system without referring to a manual.

Menu access to process screens:

	Try to make all data available within 3 menus from the top, to speed access and simplify looking at the data.
	Organize screens by function to avoid "general purpose" screens which contain random data.
	Avoid asking an operator to "fill in the blanks", by providing menu lists of applicable choices.

Process data in host readable formats

	All process results, and configuration files, are available in ASCII, comma delimited data formats, suitable for downloading or uploading over a windows network connection..
	Allow the product to run under Windows 98SE, to support networks. If run in "full screen" DOS, Windows will provide adequate support for the real-time support.

Make every displayed report also printable

Automatically spool reports, so an operator can print several at one time, and the spooler will feed these to the printer as quickly as they print.

Reliability

	Use MS-DOS for maximum reliability in a feedyard environment.
	All it to run under Windows, but able to run from DOS if Windows crashes.
	Able to run from a floppy if the hard drive fails (not possible with Windows)

Diagonstics

	Provide "memory dump" diagnostics which are available at all times during normal operations.
	On operator demand, this captures an operational condition, which can be e-mailed to Flowcon for immediate evaluation of a problem.
	It provides the same wealth of information as an on-site presence.