Lecture 7 E-Commerce Life Cycle & Development

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Lecture 7 E-Commerce Life Cycle Development
Lecture

• Electronic Commerce

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This Lecture

• Systems approach to development
• Systems development life cycle
• Methodologies for development
• Techniques and tools
• Web application considerations
• Evaluation

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Systematic Approach

• Systems should not be built ad-hoc but should
  be developed following a systematic approach

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Systems Theory

• The trans-disciplinary study of abstract
  organisation of phenomena, independent of their
  substance, type, or spatial or temporal scale of
  existence. It investigates both the principles
  common to all complex entities, and the models
  which can be used to describe them.
• Francis Heylighten Cliff Joslyn in Cambridge
  Dictionary of Philosophy

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FEASIBILITY STUDY establish feasibility
business case
Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
client (sponsor) system analyst
SYSTEM ANALYSIS determine system
requirements understand old system and
problems logical view of the system
system analyst managers users
SYSTEM DESIGN physical design the system
system analyst developers
IMPLEMENTATION install and test train
users documentation user manuals
system analyst developers users
POST INSTALLATION REVIEW fix errors
maintain program add enhancements
developers users
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Worlds in System Development
Subject World
Make sense of usage world?
Represent Information?
Requirements model
Analysis Model
System World
Usage World
Design Model
Systems Specification
Scenarios
Design System?
Justify System?
Development World
Computer System
Source Hawryszkiewycz (2001) p.83
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Models in Development
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Major Strategies forSystems Development

• Modern Structured Analysis
• Information Engineering
• Object-oriented Analysis
• Rapid Application Development
• Evolutionary Design Prototyping
• Joint Application Development
• Business Process Redesign/Re-engineering
• Modular and Component Development
• Reverse and Reengineering
• Combination

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Modern Structured Analysis

• Systems and business analysts draw a series of
  process models called data flow diagrams that
  depict the essential processes of a system along
  with inputs, outputs, and files.
• The models are structured pictures which define
  business requirements and information system
  designs.
• The model (the logical design for the system)
  becomes the design blueprint for constructing the
  final system

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A Process Model
Data Flow Diagram
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Information Engineering (IE)

• Information engineering is a data-centered, but
  process-sensitive technique that is applied to
  the organization as a whole (or a significant
  part therefore such as a division), rather than
  on an ad-hoc, project-by-project basis (as in
  structured analysis).
• In addition to data models, information engineers
  also draw process models similar to those drawn
  in structured analysis
• The basic concept of information engineering is
  that information systems should be engineered
  like other products.

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A Data Model
is enrolled under
placed by
Member
Agreement
Member
applies to
places
Order

established by
generates
sells
established
is sold on
generated by
sponsors
is featured in
Club
Product
Promotion
is sponsored by
features
Entity Relationship Diagram
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Prototyping

• Prototyping is a technique used to develop
  partial, but functional versions of a system or
  applications.
• When extended to system design and construction,
  a prototype can evolve into the final,
  implemented system.
• Evolutionary Prototyping

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Joint Application Development (JAD)

• Uses highly organized and intensive workshops to
  bring together system stakeholders to jointly
  define and design systems.
• A systems analyst usually plays the role of
  facilitator for a workshop.
• A JAD workshop will typically run from 3-5 full
  working days.
• This workshop may replace months of traditional
  interviews and follow-up meetings.

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Rapid Application Development (RAD)

• Aims at delivering systems solutions fast
• Combines five techniques
• Evolutionary Prototyping
• CASE tools with code generation
• Specialists with Advanced Tools (SWAT)
• Interactive JAD
• Timeboxing

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Business Process Re-engineering

• the fundamental rethinking and radical design of
  business processes to achieve dramatic
  improvements in critical contemporary measures of
  performance, such as cost, quality service, and
  speed

Source Hammer, M. (1993) The Promise of
Reengineering, Fortune, 3 May, p.95
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Business Process Redesign (BPR)

• Business process redesign (also called business
  process reengineering) is the application of
  systems analysis (and design) methods to .. the
  goal of dramatically changing and improving the
  fundamental business processes of an
  organization, independent of information
  technology.

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Object-Oriented Analysis (OOA)

• Data and the processes that act upon that data
  are combined or encapsulated into things called
  objects.
• The only way to create, delete, change, or use
  the data in an object (called properties) is
  through one of its encapsulated processes (called
  methods).
• used to
• (1) study existing objects to see if they can be
  reused or adapted for new uses
• (2) define new or modified objects that will be
  combined with existing objects into a useful
  business computing application.

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Reverse Engineering
NewSystem
Legacy System
Forward Engineering
Reverse Engineering
Required Model
Reference Model/Blueprint
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System Development Phases
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Techniques in Development

• SWOT analysis
• Business Plans
• Requirement modelling
• Rich Pictures
• Scenarios
• Use Cases
• Entity Relationship Diagrams
• Hierarchy Charts
• Normalisation
• Object Model Diagrams
• Data Flow Diagrams
• Workflow Diagrams

• Pseudocode, Structured English
• Transitions Diagrams
• Interaction or Sequence Diagrams
• Decision Tables Trees
• Flowcharts
• Prototypes
• Network and Infrastructure diagrams
• Database schema
• Form, screen report layouts

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Tools

• Diagramming software
• eg Visio, ABC Flowchart, Smartdraw
• Code and Application generators
• eg MyFirstStore, EziStore, ColdFusion
• Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) Tools
• System Architect, Visible Analyst

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Choosing the right approach

• This is influenced by the nature of the problem
  or opportunity
• May be based on
• Degree of system structure
• Familiarity with technology
• The project size

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Cross Life Cycle Activities

• Activities that overlap many or all phases of the
  methodology are known as cross life cycle
• Activities include
• fact finding
• documentation and presentation
• estimation and measurement
• feasibility analysis
• project process management

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Project Management Gantt Chart
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Systems Support

• System support is the ongoing maintenance of a
  system after it has been placed into operation.
• Systems support consists of activities
  including
• Fixing software bugs.
• Recovering the system.
• Assisting users.
• Adapting the system to new requirements.

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Implementation EC Plan

• Starts with organising a project team
• Undertake a few pilot projects (help discover
  problems early) gt Prototyping
• Implementing EC
• Redesigning existing business processes
• Back-end processes must be automated as much as
  possible
• Company must set up workflow applications by
  integrating EC into existing accounting and
  financial back-ends

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Uncovering Specific ECOpportunities and
Application

• Understand
• How digital markets operate
• How Internet customers behave
• How competition is created and what
  infrastructure
• is needed
• What are the dynamics of EC
• Map opportunities that match current competencies
  and markets
• Many opportunities to create new products and
  services

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Finding IT Applications

• Brainstorming by a group of employees
• Soliciting the help of experts, such as
  consultants
• Review what the competitors are doing
• Ask the vendors to provide you with suggestions
• Read the literature to find out whats going on
• Use analogies from similar industries or business
  processes
• Use a conventional IS requirement analysis
  approach

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Organization and Staffing

• Define the roles and responsibilities of

• Gatekeepers
• Web team

• Senior management
• Web champion
• Webmaster

EC Project Team
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E-Business Development Team

• Analysts
• Project Manager
• Network specialists
• Database administrator
• Programmers
• Technical and professional communicators
• Security Experts

• System Integrators
• Graphic artists
• Multimedia designers
• User Interface Designers
• Legal experts Managers
• Users

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Evaluating Outsourcing

• Factors to consider

• Ease of configuration and setup
• Database and scripting support
• Payment mechanism
• Sample storefronts
• Workflow management
• Documented database support
• Integration into existing accounting and
• financial back ends

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Web Hosting

• Hosting Internally Vs. Hosting Using ISP

• System Cost
• bandwidth
• capabilities and specifications
• firewall system
• wireless delivery
• buy, rent, or lease
• maintenance, upgrade, and service of the equipment

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Web Hosting (cont.)

• Purchase a suite of software that claims to
  integrate storefront functions into a single box
• iCat Corp.s Electronic Commerce Suite and
  Commerce Publisher
• Open Markets Transact and LiveCommerce
• Microsoft Corp.s Site Server Commerce Edition
• IBM Corp.s Net. Commerce Pro
• Saqqara Systems StepSearch Professional
• ATT

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Web Hosting (cont.)

• Making a Web catalog into a multimedia
  extravaganza

• Not easy and expensive
• Lower end systems begin at 25,000 USD
• May not link to existing systems
• High end systems 250,000 to 2 million

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Web Content Design

• Content takes many shapes
• Will change dramatically
• More robust, comprehensive, and usable medium
• Challenges in developing a successful online
  storefront
• Choosing the right software solution for your
  site
• 3 options
• build your own software
• purchase a commercial software product
• rent from a Web host

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Web content design considerations

• The services wanted
• How much your company can contribute to the site,
  from manpower to electronic content
• The time to design your site
• The time to create and program your site
• Extra fees for software development
• Fees for off-the-shelf applications tools
• The size of the site
• The amount of traffic the site generates Vs. flat
  rate

• Training requirements
• Installation and server maintenance
• Programming
• On corporate site hosting Vs. off-site
• Secure Server for financial transactions
• Your bandwidth needs
• Your server capacity needs
• Location of your server at the Web company or ISP
  company location

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Web Application Features

• Electronic shopping mall
• Unique URL
• Electronic commerce/financial transactions
• Shopping cart software
• Online catalogs
• Direct order procedures
• Dynamic databases
• Static databases
• Multimedia
• Telephony
• Audio

• Video
• FTP
• Forms
• Chat rooms
• VRML
• Statistics
• Customer tracking
• E-mail response and forwarding
• Java applications
• Animation
• Security

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Evaluate the EC Project

• Perform a post-implementation review
• Collect information
• Measure results
• Determine success
• Are the goals and requirements being met
• Is return on investment being achieved
• Overall project cost
• Suggest improvements or correction

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Strategy Reassessment

• Webs grow in unexpected ways
• e.g. Genentec and Lockheed Martin
• Reasons for a not having a worthwhile project
• The goals were unrealistic
• The web server was inadequate to handle traffic
• The actual cost savings were not as much as
  expected
• Important
• Develop a checklist
• Project Team compiles statistics that can be
  tracked
• CIOs and other executives are trying to extract
  the business value from their investment in
  information technologies

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Management Issues

• Considering the strategic value of EC
• Conducting strategic planning
• Considering the risks
• Integration
• Existing data bases legacy applications
• Development approach implementation
• Pilot project

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Summary

• Systems approach to development
• Systems development life cycle
• Methodologies for development
• Techniques and tools
• Web application considerations
• Evaluation

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Private Study

• Question ?