IMS 6485: E-Commerce Web Sites

1Dr. Lawrence West, MIS Dept., University of Central FloridaLWEST@BUS.UCF.EDU

Topics

• Decisions• Business Objectives• Site Components• Design & Implementation Decisions• Architecture Approaches & Scalability• Development Tools• Hardware Considerations• Design Pitfalls• Odds 'n' Ends

IMS 6485: E-Commerce Web Sites

2Dr. Lawrence West, MIS Dept., University of Central FloridaLWEST@BUS.UCF.EDU

Decisions, Decisions

• How many decisions among options does the chapter list for implementing an eCommerce web site?

• Are there any sequences that should be followed among the decisions?

IMS 6485: E-Commerce Web Sites

3Dr. Lawrence West, MIS Dept., University of Central FloridaLWEST@BUS.UCF.EDU

Business Objectives

• What do you think of this statement (p. 204)?"To a large extent, the business objectives of an e-commerce site are not that different from those of an ordinary retail store"

• Can you think of business objectives beyond those listed in Table 4.1 (p. 204)?

• Can you cite web sites where each objective is demonstrated?

• Exercise: A Business Objective Hunt

IMS 6485: E-Commerce Web Sites

4Dr. Lawrence West, MIS Dept., University of Central FloridaLWEST@BUS.UCF.EDU

Site Components

• What system functionality will be needed to satisfy each business objective?

• How will this functionality be implemented?– Interfaces– Databases– Other content– Processing– Interorganizational communication

• Does any required functionality leverage capabilities of existing systems (and can they be used)?

IMS 6485: E-Commerce Web Sites

5Dr. Lawrence West, MIS Dept., University of Central FloridaLWEST@BUS.UCF.EDU

Design and Implementation—D-I-Y vs. Outsourcing

• What factors argue toward designing and implementing the system internally?

• What factors argue toward outsourcing design & implementation?

• Can design and implementation be split?

IMS 6485: E-Commerce Web Sites

6Dr. Lawrence West, MIS Dept., University of Central FloridaLWEST@BUS.UCF.EDU

D-I-Y Approaches

• Fig. 4.5 lists three approaches to internal development– Build from scratch (possibly with prewritten tools)– Use packaged site-building tools– Use pre-built templates

• What factors argue for or against each approach?• Look at the discussion of system maintenance costs on

pp. 212-213. What impact does this issue have on:– D-I-Y vs. Outsourcing– Construction approach– Staffing implications

IMS 6485: E-Commerce Web Sites

7Dr. Lawrence West, MIS Dept., University of Central FloridaLWEST@BUS.UCF.EDU

Architecture Approaches

• Figure 4.9 shows a simple 2-tier architecture (browser and web server) as well as a more complex n-tier architecture including– Web server layer– Middle tier layer (application servers, DB servers, etc.)– Backend layer (corporate applications)

• What are the key tradeoffs between the two approaches?

• What factors will influence you one way or the other?

IMS 6485: E-Commerce Web Sites

8Dr. Lawrence West, MIS Dept., University of Central FloridaLWEST@BUS.UCF.EDU

Architecture Approaches (cont.)

• Consider the list of servers in Table 4.4• What are two reasons for considering specialized

servers for parts of a web site's functionality?• Which of the specialized servers in the list are more

likely to be used?• Which serve specialty roles that are less likely to be

used?• Must also consider the impact of architecture

approaches on– Scalability– Hardware choices

IMS 6485: E-Commerce Web Sites

9Dr. Lawrence West, MIS Dept., University of Central FloridaLWEST@BUS.UCF.EDU

E-Commerce Development Tools

• Table 4.5 lists several development tools that offer prewritten functionality for common eCommerce tasks

• What are the tradeoffs you make in using one of these products vs. not using one?

• What hidden risks could be associated with using one of these products?

• If you are starting a project from scratch, and are going to consider using one of these tools, how much time do you think you will need to spend researching the tools?

• How long is your commitment to the tool?

IMS 6485: E-Commerce Web Sites

10Dr. Lawrence West, MIS Dept., University of Central FloridaLWEST@BUS.UCF.EDU

Hardware Considerations

• The Golden Rule: Don't run out of capacity!!• Which capacity might be constrained?• Corollary to the Golden Rule: Design for scalability

from the very beginning– You don't need to implement a fully distributed n-tiered

architecture at start up (unless you have expectations for high demand right away)

– But you should design your site to easily scale– Design for horizontal scalability but use vertical scaling

if needed

IMS 6485: E-Commerce Web Sites

11Dr. Lawrence West, MIS Dept., University of Central FloridaLWEST@BUS.UCF.EDU

Hardware Considerations (cont.)

• What are the implications of stateless Internet connectivity for system design and scalability?

• Note the declining nonlinear performance improvement from adding additional processors in a single computer (Figure 4.13)– Why do you think this is?

• What are the tradeoffs associated with the architecture illustrated in Figure 4.16?

IMS 6485: E-Commerce Web Sites

12Dr. Lawrence West, MIS Dept., University of Central FloridaLWEST@BUS.UCF.EDU

Some Design Pitfalls

• Look at the really excellent coverage of features that annoy customers in Section 4.4 & Figure 4.17– Which are your favorite annoyances?

• You are designing the site to accomplish your business objectives

• What is the customer's motivation for visiting the site?– Think of the customer's view of the task when

designing menus, interfaces, and site navigation• Design for accessibility early• Include privacy policies

– Be sure they are incorporated into the design

IMS 6485: E-Commerce Web Sites

13Dr. Lawrence West, MIS Dept., University of Central FloridaLWEST@BUS.UCF.EDU

Odds 'n' Ends

• Look at the allocation of budget for web sites in Figure 4.8—are there any surprises there?

• How does web-based programming differ from programming with dedicated LAN/WAN connectivity?

• What are some of the best web sites you have personally used?– Why were they good?– What problems did they have?

• What is a poor site?