IT 467: Ecommerce Site Design Project
Overview
Your company is in the travel business. Knowing that you are taking a course on digital commerce and e-business, you have been approached by your organization’s management to develop a plan for a new website. You are asked to complete a proposal that incorporates the following aspects of the project:
Planning and System Analysis
System Design
System Construction
Testing
Implementation
Marketing Plan
Prototype Design
Objectives
To successfully complete this project, you will be expected to apply what you have learned in this course. This project is intended to meet the following course objectives:
Evaluate quality assurance, site stickiness and promotional strategies.
Use site planning, process and principles in creating a well-designed website.
Use webpage elements and website authoring tools.
Main Elements
The final project will be 6 to 8 pages in length (not including reference list or the copy of the franchise agreement) with APA-formatted citations. The paper must have the following outline:
Planning and System Analysis
Evaluate the scope of the project given the current website capabilities or the lack of a website. Evaluate the requirements needed to complete the project.
System Design
Evaluate the company’s business models. Consider all aspects of the business and the requirements they might have for an online presence based on the organization characteristics. Identify the type of site that is needed. Consider whether your organization will use the site to inform users or sell products. Outline specific pages required for the site, functionality (database, online payment services, customer login, etc.), structure of the site such as menus, media included on the site, connections to social media, etc.
This is the main body of the project. Use the above information to develop a preliminary site.
System Construction Plan
Develop a timeline for development. Identify whether the site will be internally developed or outsourced to a vendor. If the site is to be outsourced, provide a description of the specialties needed by the company that is chosen for the work.
Determine if the site will be developed in stages or all at once. Identify the order of page construction and describe why pages will be developed in the order given.
System Testing Plan
Describe the testing of the new site. Create a plan that outlines what will be tested and how it will be tested.
System Implementation
Create a plan for implementing the site once it has been tested. Consider whether the site will be developed all at the same time or in stages. Develop a timeline for this to happen. Identify the pages that will be released first.
Marketing Plan
Provide a general strategy for making prospective customers aware of your new or updated site.
Prototype Site Design
Use any program you would like to develop a preliminary site that provides a general overview of the how the site will look and perform. You may choose a web development program such as Dreamweaver or Drupal, a simple hosting/design tool such as Freewebs.com or NetworkSolutions.com, or even a simple blog site through blogger.com or wordpress.com. It is up to you how you will present this prototype. Points are not assigned based on the development tool you choose.
Presentation
Summarize the System Design choices in a four- to five-slide presentation. This is due in Module Eight and will be posted to the Final Project discussion board. Use screen shots of your site prototype to illustrate the design aspects discussed.
Deliverable Milestones
Milestone 1: Outline of Final Project is submitted in Module Three.
Milestone 2: Rough draft of the Final Project is submitted in Module Five.
Milestone 3: Final Project is submitted including site prototype in Module Seven. You will also post the site or a link to the site to the Discussion Board along with a simple presentation outlining the main points of the System Design section of your project.
