CET437: Electronic Business

Week 4: E-business implementation,

infrastructure and management

E-business Implementation
a relatively simple and cost-efficient process

Business Plan Preparation Capital Domain Launching & Marketing

Business Plan
a formal statement of a set of business goals

Simple Business Plan Outline

Executive Summary Company Description Product or Service Market Analysis

Strategy and Implementation

Web Plan Summary Management Team Financial Analysis

1.0 Executive Summary 1.1 Objectives 1.2 Mission 1.3 Keys to Success

2.0 Company Summary 2.1 Company Ownership 2.2 Company History (for ongoing companies) or Start-up Plan (for new companies) 2.3 Company Locations and Facilities
3.0 Products and Services 3.1 Product and Service Description 3.2 Competitive Comparison 3.3 Sales Literature 3.4 Sourcing and Fulfillment 3.5 Technology 3.6 Future Products and Services

4.0 Market Analysis Summary 4.1 Market Segmentation 4.2 Target Market Segment Strategy 4.2.1 Market Needs 4.2.2 Market Trends 4.2.3 Market Growth 4.3 Industry Analysis 4.3.1 Industry Participants 4.3.2 Distribution Patterns 4.3.3 Competition and Buying Patterns 4.3.4 Main Competitors

5.0 Strategy and Implementation Summary 5.1 Strategy Pyramids 5.2 Value Proposition 5.3 Competitive Edge 5.4 Marketing Strategy 5.4.1 Positioning Statements 5.4.2 Pricing Strategy 5.4.3 Promotion Strategy 5.4.4 Distribution Patterns 5.4.5 Marketing Programs 5.5 Sales Strategy 5.5.1 Sales Forecast 5.5.2 Sales Programs 5.6 Strategic Alliances 5.7 Milestones 6.0 Web Plan Summary 6.1 Website Marketing Strategy 6.2 Development Requirements

7.0 Management Summary 7.1 Organizational Structure 7.2 Management Team 7.3 Management Team Gaps 7.4 Personnel Plan 8.0 Financial Plan

Domain
must be secured to host the e-business's

website. Website in e-business = store in brick and mortar company.

Web presence goal

Attracting visitors to the site

Making the site sticky so that visitors stay

Convincing visitors to follow the sites links to

obtain information Creating an image consistent with the desired image of the organization Reinforcing positive images that the visitor may already have about the organization

Site Design Issues

What is a Web site? A set of linked documents with

shared attributes related topics similar design shared purpose

Elements of a Website
History, statement of objectives, mission

statement. Information about products or services. Financial information. A way to communicate with the organization

Difficulties in delivering content

Various visitors need

Differing experience levels

Technological issues

Data transmission speeds Web browsers Plug-in software

Strategy
Convey an integrated image

Provide easily accessible facts

Allow visitors to experience the site in a

variety of ways and at different levels Provide meaningful, responsive, reliable anda 2-way communication. Encourage return visits

Phases of Web Development

Site Planning

File organisation, audience, goals

Storyboards, layout mockups

Designing web pages

Adding content - text, images, movies, sound

etc Adding interactivity - animation, feedback, demos etc Testing and publishing

Layout
The Web is NOT WYSIWYG (Not WhatYou-See-Is-What-You-Get) Browser/platform differences Screen sizes affect look Colour palettes affect look Test your page with different browsers Recommend a browser/set up to your users

Site Planning

Determine goals Choose target audience Create a design look Consider browser compatibility Consider file organisation Design navigation scheme

Lay out

Colour
No of colours

Choose a colour scheme

Palettes/lookup tables differ

Mathematical tables defining colour of a pixel

Same on Firefox, IE, Windows, Mac 216 web safe colours highcolor (16 bit), truecolor (32 bit)

Web safe colours

Test for colour-blindness

Text
Size Vary size in proportion to message Font Choose legible font - decorative fonts that cannot be read are useless Too many fonts - ransom-note typography Colour Can you read grey on white ? Use consistent link colours

Mac Vs PC Font Sizes

Typically 12-point on a Mac will be 10 or 9 -

point size in Windows

Mac Times New Roman Size 6

Windows Times New Roman

Size 6.

Information Architecture
Organization systems

Schemes Structures Navigation systems Labeling systems Searching issues

Organization System
Scheme: defines the shared characteristics of

content items and influences the grouping of those items.

Exact Ambiguous Hybrid

Structure: defines the types of relationships

between content items and groups.

Hierarchy Hypertext Database

Example
Yellow Pages

Scheme: Topics How were the topics chosen? Structure: Alphabetical

Scheme: Food categories, food tasks Structure: Complex, unclear Where would you find marshmallows? What about soy sauce?

Grocery store

Organization Schemes
Exact Scheme: divide information into well-

defined, mutually exclusive sections.

Features:

Easy to define and maintain. Supports known item seaching Require user to have detailed information

Some types: alphabetical, Chronological, Geographyical

Organization Schemes (const)

Ambiguous: divide information into categories

that defy exact definition.

Features:

Difficult to define Support browsing by users with no immediate goal or with vague information
Topical Task oriented Audience specific Metaphor driven

Some types:

Organization Schemes (cont)

Hybrid Scheme
Better Library Listing Bad Library Listing Adult Arts & Humanities Community Center Get a Library Card Learn About Our Library Science Social Science Teen Youth Age Group Adult Teen Youth Topics Arts & Humanities Science Social Science Other Community Center Services: Get a Library Card Learn About Our Library

Organization Structures
Hierarchical Structure: A well-designed

hierarchy forms good foundation for many web sites.

The mutually exclusive subdivisions and parent child relationships of hierarchies are simple. Users are familiar with hierarchies so that they are quickly and easily understood. Users can use a hierarchy to develop a mental model of the sites structure and their location within the site. Takes a top-down approach to design.

Hierarchical types
Narrow and deep Broad and shallow

Organization Structures (const)

Hypertext: content chunks are connected via

links in a loose web of relationships.

Features:

Great flexibility Substantial potential for complexity and confusion Rarely useful as the primary structure Often used to complement structures based on the other two models.

Example: Microsoft Help

Organization Structures (const)

Database Structure: is a collection of records,

each of which has a number of associated fields.

Features:

Allows field-specific searching Permits repackaging of information into different

formats for different audiences Records must follow rigid rules Best for listings, catalogues, directories, and other subsites with structured, homogeneous data.

Navigation System
Helps exploration/orientation

The page must indicate its location within the site Care must be given to clear directions/options

Leads users to what they seek

Informs about the available products /

services/tasks

Doing this requires anticipating the users needs (Amazon.com)

Navigation
Speed is affected by Size of images Overload of graphics, movies, sound Target user - network or modem Make links obvious Always have a link back to the home page Frames can aid navigation - but reduce display space

Built-in navigational features

Most browsers offer built-in navigational

features:

URL : direct access to any page Back/forward : bi-directional backtracking History : random access to pages visited Bookmarks : save the location of pages visited Color coding of links : helps users understand where they have been and retrace their steps through a site Mouseover effects : may indicate site structure

Types of navigation systems

Hierarchy: usually the primary system, it

follows the information hierarchy closely. Global: used for quick access to distant (often unrelated) sections of the site. May include an opening page Local: Used in conjunction with a global system when a site has more than one purpose or audience. Embedded links: Never used alone or for vital pages. Studies have shown that users are more likely to miss them.

Building a navigation system

Use the information hierarchy as the primary navigation system. The major categories in the hierarchy become the global navigation system. The local navigation will depend on the choices made in the global system. The sites size and goal will determine what other navigation systems are required. Above all, test your navigation on users! (And pay attention to the results )
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Labels
Represent chunks of information.

Can be either headings or links.

Closely tied to navigation. They must be:

meaningful representative consistent

Labeling systems
We are concerned with labeling systems not individual labels. Better (far from perfect) List
Unplanned List Faculty of IT
Office for Information Technology EBZ 424 Projects Web Page Digital Library Project Office Technology Management
Extension Services

Offices English Composition Board Office for Information Technology Office Technology Management Technology Dissemination Office Institute for Information Technology The New Media Center Projects Project 2011 EBZ424 Projects Web Page Digital Library Project
????? Extension Services Faculty of IT

The New Media Center Project 2011

Institute for Information Technology

English Composition Board Technology Dissemination Office

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Navigation Labels
Created during the design of the navigation

system. Need to review them for clarity and consistency. When possible, use what standards exist:

Main, Main page, Home, Home page

Search, Find, Browse, Site map, etc. Contact Us, Contact webmaster, Feedback Help, Frequently Asked Questions, FAQ

News, Whats New About, About Us

Indexing labels
Are crucial to the site.

Usually found in the Meta tag.

Used by search engines. Should be descriptive and representative of

the sites purpose.

Link labels
Link labels appear within the text of pages.

The context provides meaning to the link.

Be cautious that the linked item makes sense

relative to the links context.

Examples:

Amazon Project

Heading labels
Condense into 1-3 words the meaning of

entire paragraphs or pages of information. User relies on these labels to determine if a section should be read or not. Must be consistent both in granularity and visual form.

Type of Search
Known-item searching

Existence searching
Exploratory searching Comprehensive searching

Practice
Working with your project group

Open website http://fit.hanu.edu.vn/uclan

Analyze the weakness and strength of that

website Give some recommendation to improve it. Submit your work to portal before 17.30 Friday 9th Sep. Write down your group members name on top of your work.

 Each group needs only 01 submission by

group leader. 01 group will be asked randomly for 10mins presentation on next lecture.

References

Schneider, G (2007). Electronic Commerce. Thomson Learning. Chapter 8 and 9

Jelassi and Enders (2005) Strategies for E. Business

Creating Value through Electronic and Mobile Commerce Concepts and Cases, Prentice-Hall Appendix

Papazoglou, M. & Ribbers P. (2006) e-Business: organizational and technical foundations, John Wiley and Sons, Chichester. Chapter 6 Lawrence, E., Newton, S., Corbitt, B., Braithwaite, R. And Parker, C. (2002) Technology of Internet Business. John Wiley and Sons, Milton. Chapter 5 pp 7579