Transcript Slide 1

SYST 430: BIS Analysis & Development
eBusiness
Planning
Spring 2003
Abou-Bakr Zayd
[email protected]
Copyright © 2003 Abou-Bakr Zayd
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e-Business Strategic Planning: Contents
Strategic Planning
e-Business Plan
Phase [i] Preliminary Feasibility
Phase [ii] Preliminary Investigation
Phase [iii] Project Plan
e-Business Development Framework
Quality Life-Cycle
Analysis Planning
Development Planning
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Strategic Planning : Overview
Strategic Planning is the process of
identifying long-term organizational goals,
strategies & resources
By performing a
SWOT analysis
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long-term Strategic
Business Plan
emerges
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Strategic Planning : Overview
Technical
Financial
Plan
Required
Resources
Human
Most Important: Information resources
& Technology, supplied by IT
professionals including system analysts
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Purpose
Vision
Values
Strategic Planning : Overview
Mission Statement
Goals
Objectives
Information
Technology
Business
Operations
Other
Corporate
Resources
Business
Results
Stakeholders
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e-Business Plan includes:
e-Business Plan: Overview
• Primary Purpose: Define the purpose of your e-Business.
What is the purpose of the project? Goals? Objectives?
What do you intend to sell? What services will you provide?
• Strategy: Describe how your product or service fits into the
marketspace. How is it different from existing products or
services? How will it be profitable? ROI Models?
• Support: Provide evidence that supports the idea of your
business & justifications. Conduct research, define market,
target customers, management team, project revenue &
expenses
• e-Business Model: Define e-Business model (s). How will you
conduct transactions?
• Process: List necessary steps to build e-business. Does more
research need to be conducted before you move forward?
Investors will want to know where their money is being
allocated
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Purpose: Triggering e-Business projects
e-Business Plan: Overview
• Reasons for e-Business projects: e-Business projects are
initiated by a “Systems Request” that tackles a problem or an
opportunity. The main reasons for system requests are:
– Improved service
– Better Performance
– More Information
– Stronger Controls
– Reduced Costs
• Generating New e-Business Ideas
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e-Business Plan: Phase [i] Preliminary Feasibility
Research & Risk Analysis
• Research is crucial: In the past few years, many Internet
companies have experienced growth & more have struggled to
get off the ground, hence it is important to review the ebusiness growth curve & the current market
• e-Business can be expensive & risky venture whether an
extension for a brick & mortar or a new business. Competition
is intense, determining market niche & reaching target audience
often require financial backing (Support)
Incubator is a company that specializes in the
development of Internet businesses (www.idealab.com &
www.ideavelopers.com)
Venture capitals are individuals or groups that generate
the financial support of a growing enterprise usually in
exchange for ownership in the company
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e-Business Plan: Phase [i] Preliminary Feasibility
Operational, Technical & Economic Feasibility
• Operational feasibility: the projection of systems’ effective
usability after development
• Technical feasibility: the availability of necessary resources to
develop/purchase, install, & operate the system
• Economic feasibility: when the projected benefits outweigh
the estimated costs (TCO) involved in acquiring, installing &
operating it, in addition to tangible & intangible benefits
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e-Business Plan: Phase [i] Preliminary Feasibility
Factors Affecting e-Business projects
• Factors affecting systems projects: every business decision that
a company makes is affected by internal factors such as:
– User Requests
– Top Management Directives
– Existing systems
– IT Department
• And external factors such as:
– The Economy
– Technology
– Government
– S/W & H/W Vendors
– Competitors
– Customers
– Suppliers
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e-Business Plan: Phase [i] Preliminary Feasibility
Prioritization
• Organizations need to Prioritize e-Business Projects
– for further Research & Development - according to
Feasibility & ROI studies through a systems review
committee
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e-Business Plan: Phase [ii] Preliminary Investigation
Steps
• Step1 : Understand Problem/Opportunity
• Step 2: Define Project Scope & Constraints
• Step 3: Perform Fact-Finding
–
–
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–
–
Analyze organizational charts
Conduct interviews
Review documentation
Observe operation to obtain information
Conduct a survey of people who use the system
• Step 4: Estimate Project Benefits
• Step 5: Estimate Project Development Time & Cost
• Step 6: Present Results & Recommendations to
Management
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e-Business Plan: Phase [ii] Preliminary Investigation
Fact-Finding: Overview
• Fact-finding is the process of gathering information through
different fact-finding techniques including interviews, document
review, observation, surveys & questionnaires, sampling, &
research
• To obtain answers to necessary questions a fact-finding plan
should be designed:
– Develop a strategy
– Carry out fact-finding techniques
– Document the results
– Prepare system requirements document
– Present to management
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e-Business Plan: Phase [ii] Preliminary Investigation
Fact-Finding: Overview
• Fact-finding involves answers to 5 familiar questions:
– What is done? Why? What should be done?
– Where is it done? Why? Where should it be done?
– When is it done? Why? When should it be done?
– Who does it? Why? Who should do it?
– How is it done? Why? How should it be done?
• The sequence of questions is very important especially at early
stages
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e-Business Plan: Phase [ii] Preliminary Investigation
Fact-Finding Techniques: Interviews
• Interview is a planned meeting during which information is
obtained, both inside & outside the IT department
• Analysts must have the required skills to plan, conduct &
document interviews successfully
• Interviewing process consists of 7 steps:
– Determine people to interview
– Establish objectives for interview
– Develop interview questions (open-ended, closed-ended,
range of response questions)
– Prepare for interview
– Conduct interview
– Document interview
– Evaluate interview
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e-Business Plan: Phase [ii] Preliminary Investigation
Fact-Finding Techniques: Interviews
• Unsuccessful interviews can occur if Interviewer & interviewee
did not get along well due to:
– Misunderstanding or personality conflict
– Interviewee might be afraid that new system will eliminate or
change their job
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e-Business Plan: Phase [ii] Preliminary Investigation
Fact-Finding Techniques: other
• Document review: can help understand how the current
system is supposed to work if not out dated. Therefore, copies
of actual forms & operating documents should be obtained
• Observation: seeing the system in action gives additional
perspective & better understanding of system procedures, and
allows the verification of statements made in interviews
• Questionnaires & Surveys: used to obtain I/P from a large
number of people
• Sampling: include records, reports, operational logs, data entry
documents, complaint summaries, work requests, & various
types of forms. Types of sampling include systematic, stratified
& random samples
• Research: reviewing journals, periodicals, books & Internet to
obtain background info, technical material, & news about
industry trends & developments
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e-Business Plan: Phase [ii] Preliminary Investigation
Fact-Finding: Documentation
• Keeping accurate records of interviews, facts, ideas, &
observations is essential to successful systems development.
The ability to manage info is the mark of a successful analyst
• Documentation forms include data flow diagrams, flowcharts,
sample forms, screen captures as well as narrative lists with
simple statements about what is occurring apparent problems,
and suggestions for improvement
• S/W Tools: to record & document info
– CASE (Computer Aided Systems Engineering) Tools
– Word Processing
– Spreadsheets
– Databases
– Presentation Graphics
– Personal Information Manager
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Project Management
e-Business Plan: Phase [iii] Project Plan
• Project Management is the process of Scoping, Planning,
Staffing, Organizing, Directing & Controlling the development of
an Acceptable System at a Minimum Cost within a Specified
Time Frame
• Project: is a [Temporary] sequence of unique, complex &
connected activities having one goal/purpose and that must
be completed by a specific time, within budget & according o
specification
• Process Management is an ongoing activity that documents,
manages the use of, and improves an organization’s chosen
methodology (the “process”) for systems development. Process
Management is concerned with the activities, deliverables &
quality standards to be applied to all projects
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Project Management Functions
e-Business Plan: Phase [iii] Project Plan
•
•
•
•
•
Scoping: Define project boundaries
Planning: Identify the required tasks to complete the project
Estimating: Identify time, HR & skills
Scheduling: Sequencing activities
Organizing: Team members roles & responsibilities as well as
reporting relationship with project manager
• Directing: managing team activities including coordination,
delegation, motivation, advising, appraising & rewarding
• Controlling: Monitoring & reporting progress against gals,
schedules & costs and make appropriate adjustments when
necessary
• Closing: Assess success & failures at the conclusion of the
project
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BIS & e-commerce Quality Life-Cycle
e-Business Framework: Quality Life-Cycle
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Quality Life Cycle Framework
e-Business Framework: Quality Life-Cycle
• The Quality Life Cycle is valid for both BIS & e-commerce
development whether using structured or Object Oriented
methodologies
• Before the first phase in the Quality Life Cycle, Strategic
planning must be conducted including preliminary investigation
and preliminary feasibility studies
• The role of the IT department: new approaches emerged such
as Joint Application Development (JAD) & Rapid Application
Development (RAD) where a team of users, managers & IT
staff are working together from the start and throughout the
cycle.
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Phase 1: Internet Business Analysis (IBA)
e-Business Framework: Quality Life-Cycle
•
Conducting a thorough review understanding the
different networks infrastructure and information
systems of the different premises, and setting the
most effective ways to integrate these different
systems in a way that provide the best Return on
Investment.
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Phase 2: Functional Design (FD)
e-Business Framework: Quality Life-Cycle
•
Gathering the required information relating to the
Intranet and a detailed definition of Intranet
requirements for delivery to Creative Design and
Development teams. These requirements ranges
from the necessary functions and processes that
need to be integrated to the required tuning of value
chains.
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Phase 3: Build
e-Business Framework: Quality Life-Cycle
•
The Development team produces all the coding and
database integration for the Intranet according to the
FD, and the Network team sets down the required
Infrastructure.
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Phase 4: Test
e-Business Framework: Quality Life-Cycle
•
During the Test, technical team tests all the key
components . The solution then is subjected to useracceptance testing to ensure that all key functionality
is working according to expectations. This testing is
driven from the functional requirements defined in
the FD. When acceptance is complete and signed
off, the solution is ready to go live.
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Phase 5: Launch
e-Business Framework: Quality Life-Cycle
•
During the Launch period, the solution is published
on servers. The solution is closely monitored to
ensure there are no unexpected issues. Database
tables are populated with the latest version of
populated data. All internal and operations
processes associated with the solution are
implemented and validated. Staff training also occurs
during early stages of Launch.
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Phase 6: Managing results
e-Business Framework: Quality Life-Cycle
•
During Managing Results, implementation team and
customer team meet at regular intervals to review
the solution, to understand which components are
successful and which areas may be appropriate for
review. The two teams also identify potential
subsequent enhancements to the solution. The
Manage Results phase leads to subsequent IBA
work and the Lifecycle begins again.
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Highlights
e-Business Framework: Analysis Planning
• The overall objective of the Analysis phase is to understand the
proposed project, ensure that it will support business
requirements & build a solid foundation for the Design Phase
• It includes 4 activities: Requirements Modeling, Data & Process
Modeling, Object Modeling, and the Transition to Systems
Design
• During Analysis Models & Documentation tools are used to
visualize & describe the proposed system
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Highlights
e-Business Framework: Analysis Planning
• The end product of the Analysis phase is a System
Requirements Document, which is an overall design blueprint
for the new system. In addition, each activity within the Analysis
phase has an end product & milestone (s)
• Successful analysts must have both Critical Thinking Skills to
recognize problem/opportunity, analyze the elements &
communicate the results effectively, as well as Interpersonal
Skills to be able to work with people at all organizational levels
& balance the conflicting needs of users
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Systems Development Methods
e-Business Framework: Analysis Planning
• The traditional model for development was an IT department
that used structured analysis & consulted users when their I/P
or approval was needed
• IT staff still play an essential role & structured analysis remains
a commonly used method but many companies now use teams
to develop BIS & e-commerce projects
• For example:
– JAD (Joint Application Development)
– RAD (Rapid Application Development)
– MSF (Microsoft Solutions Framework)
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Systems Development Methods: JAD
e-Business Framework: Analysis Planning
• JAD is a group oriented technique for fact finding &
requirements modeling where the company creates a task force
of users, managers, & IT professionals that works together to
gather info, discuss business needs & define the new system
requirements
• JAD team meets frequently insulated from day to day operation
under a project leader who has strong interpersonal &
organizational skills & a member who document & record
results & decisions
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Systems Development Methods: JAD
e-Business Framework: Analysis Planning
• Pros: JAD allows key users to participate effectively in the
requirement modeling process
• Cons: JAD is more expensive compared with traditional
methods & can be cumbersome if the group is too large relative
to the size of the project
• When properly used JAD can result in more accurate statement
of systems requirements, a better understanding of common
goals & a stronger commitment to the success of the new
system
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Modeling Tools & Techniques: UML
e-Business Framework: Analysis Planning
• Models involves graphical methods & non-technical language
that help users, managers & developers to understand current
or new system designs
• During requirements modeling, Unified Modeling Language
(UML) can be used to describe user interaction with the system
& functional decomposition diagrams to show the organization
of business function & processes
• UML provides various graphical tools & techniques such as use
case diagrams & sequence diagrams
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Modeling Tools & Techniques: Other
e-Business Framework: Analysis Planning
• Use Case Diagrams: visually represents the interaction
between users & the IS where users are represented as actors
with a specific role interacting with the system
• Sequence Diagrams: show the timing of transactions between
objects as they occur
• Functional Decomposition Diagrams (FDD): is a top-down
representation of business functions & processes
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Requirements Modeling: Overview
e-Business Framework: Analysis Planning
• Requirement Modeling involves investigation & fact-finding to
describe current system & define requirements for new system
• System Requirement is a characteristic or feature that must be
included in IS to satisfy business requirements & be acceptable
to users.
• System Requirements serve as benchmarks to measure the
overall acceptability of the finished system
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Systems Requirements Categories
e-Business Framework: Analysis Planning
• System Requirements fall into 5 general categories (Checklist):
– O/P: Web site must report online volume statistics every 4
hrs & hourly during peak periods
– I/P: Department head must enter overtime hrs on a separate
screen
– Processes: Student records system must allow record
access by either student name or number
– Performance: System must support 25 users online
simultaneously
– Controls: System must maintain separate levels of security
for users & system administrators
• In addition, systems developers should consider:
– Scalability (future growth): the ability to adjust system
capacity as business requirements change in the future
– Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
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e-Business Framework: Development Planning
Highlights
• There are numerous ways to approach designing, developing &
maintaining an e-business
– Turnkey solution: a prepackaged e-business
– E-business templates: outline the basic structure but allow
the design to be determined by the owner
– Outsource project to an organization offering e-business
package
– In-House: to build it using internal resources
• Before beginning to build an e-business you must have a solid
idea of the products & services you want to offer via the web.
Surf the web to discover similar sites or sites that provide
exceptional services
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e-Business Framework: Development Planning
e-Business Solutions: end-to-end solutions
• End-to-end e-business solution provider offers services to build
web sites from conception to implementation.
• They provide capabilities such as accepting payments online,
implementing NT & monitoring services in addition to back-end
systems such as e-fulfillment, data management
(www.bcentral.com), & monitoring (www.webvision.com)
• www.WEBtropolis.com includes storefront construction,
searching features, Dbase, B2B turnkey solution, marketing
strategies & online payment
• www.ROIDirect.com offers building branding, maintenance &
management services in addition to navigation tools, customer
service, reward structures & referrals
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e-Business Framework: Development Planning
e-Business Solutions: others
• www.OpenAir.com: web based project management, expense
tracking & time management service provider
• www.Intacct.com: provides online accounting & auditing
services. Reports are offered in a graphical form & can be
organized by department
• www.Bscol.com: provides a method to measure the success
of a business by its performance in customer satisfaction,
integration capabilities & potential for growth
• www.Ebsure.com: offers S/W suite of eBWatch, eBTracker &
eBRobot to measure the amount of time transactions take,
gather info about visitors, & register pages visited
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e-Business Framework: Development Planning
Integration Planning: Supply Chain Management
• e-fulfillment: warehouse storage, inventory management &
return procedures
• Businesses are no longer required to keep large inventories,
instead through online management of fulfillment, these
companies can rely on a manufacturer or a distributor to supply
them with products as needed this will allow them to accept
made-to-order requests (JIT)
• The ability for members of the supply chain to view fulfillment
status increase efficiency (e.g. web merchants can serve
customers better by knowing the status of order: availability & if
product is in warehouse or delivered & who signed for it)
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e-Business Framework: Development Planning
Enhancing User Experience
• Searching features to make it easy to find items on your site
can be added for free (www.freefind.com)
• Intelligent agents can help you meet the needs of your
customers by comparing their previous behavior & adjusting
site offerings accordingly (e.g. Amazon)
• Zooming (ImagePump www.xippix.com) allows users to take a
closer look at merchandise
• Community building tools enhance users’ experience by
allowing to ask questions, locate events (www.MyEvents.com)
• FAQ can be a plus when used effectively
• Contacts (e-mail, address & phone number) is another
important element for users
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e-Business Framework: Development Planning
Protecting your e-Business
• Your web site should include a privacy policy detailing the
intended uses of consumers’ private information; telling users
how their personal info is used can influence their decision to
visit the site (Staples)
• Many web sites help businesses build their privacy policy &
give it their seal which demonstrate your concern about users’
privacy
• E-businesses should also host Disclaimers to provide users
with the limits of their products/services. A small spelling or
editing error such as an inaccurate statistic or product price
could result in product misrepresentation, angry consumers &
lost business (e.g. egghead)
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e-Business Framework: Development Planning
Choosing a Domain Name
• A domain name is the name that you use in the URL for your
web site, which is comprised of the host name (www) the
domain name & the Top Level Domain (TLD)
• Choose a concise name that people will be able to recognize &
type easily
• As your web site will be accessed worldwide it is important to
consider how the name will be interpreted
• Choose the relevant TLD to your business
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e-Business Framework: Development Planning
Web Site Hosting
• Web hosting companies (data centers) provide products,
services & support for businesses & individuals to help them
create & maintain web sites mainly on shared space basis
• Dedicated Server: assigned a specific purpose to ensure that
the function of that server is not interrupted by other
responsibilities offering the advantage of constant download
times
• Co-location Services: provide a secure physical location for a
business’s server H/W, incl. dedicated Internet connections, &
protection from power outages, fire & other disasters
• Some e-business owners may choose to host their own sites.
This require purchase of H/W, S/W, Internet connection, &
administrators.
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e-Business Framework: Development Planning
Web Design
• A well designed, easy to navigate web site is a crucial element
in a successful e-business
• While elaborate design & graphics might attract customers
initially, content should be the foundation
• Consistency among sections is also important
• Contact info & privacy policy easily located
• Customers should be able to locate products/services & prices
easily
• Low switching costs make e-commerce a fiercely competitive
field
• Other factors that might discourage consumers include poor
customer service & weak return policies
• Web sites should be designed with customers’ preferences in
mind
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References
• H. Deitel, P. Deitel & K. Steinbuhler, e-Business and eCommerce for Managers, 2001
• G. Shelly, T. Cashman & H. Rosenblatt, Systems Analysis and
Design (4th), 2000
• J. Whitten, L. Bentley & K. Dittman, Systems Analysis and
Design Methods (5th), 2000
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