COM332 – SA3

Development of web-based systems

• Web development is argued to be different– Focus is on the user interface– Multimedia nature of the web– Developers – graphic designers

• Changed over the time– More complex web-based system– e-commerce

• Web Information System– Information system rather than information

provider

• In the early days of e-commerce development– Requirements were not well understood

and often completely un-known since web was new

– No or few users

• Avison & Fitzgerald (2003, 103-104) quote Baskerville & Pries-Heje’s (2001) 10 concepts relevant to IS development for the Internet:

• They term it as Internet Time– Time pressure– Vague requirements– Prototyping– Release orientation– Parallel development– Fixed architecture– Coding your way out– Quality is negotiable– Dependence on good people– Need for structure

• Time pressure– Any advantage is short lives and will be copied

quickly– Important to take advantage of any short-term

gain

• Vague requirements– Imprecise or not known at all – Created through imagination and innovation

• Prototyping– Prototype (not the report) is the specification of

requirements

• Release orientation– Early release and more frequent release– RAD?

• Parallel development– Database development can take place at

the same time as the graphical design– Requirement analysis and design are

difficult to separate

• Fixed architecture– Three tier architecture

• Business data• Business logic• User interface

– Allow the team members to work parallel

• Coding your way out– Developers need to code their way out of

problems• Quality is negotiable

– Whether the software is developed to achieve high quality, a quick product or a cheap one

– Quality tends to be the customer perspective and experience

• Dependence on good people– Internet projects are completed under time

pressure in small teams – all members need to pull the weight

– Key members can make or break the project• Need for structure

– Business analysts and software engineers need to work together.

• Vidgen (2002) says if the Internet time is replaced by business urgency the ten concepts have more general relevance to understand the IS development

• When time pressure and definitional uncertainty exists use more flexible strategy like RAD and prototyping

• More concrete differences– Internet time

• Development time reduced greatly– 2 years unthinkable

– 6 months acceptable

• Strategic implications– Directly related to business goals

» E-commerce project expected to generate revenue

• Emphasis on graphical user interface – Need for talented graphic designer to work with software

engineers

• Customer orientation– User is the customer rather than the employee

– E-commerce needs customer focus and market input

• There are also some similarities– Database

• Sophisticated internet application rely on database

– Integration • Internet application need to integrate with

enterprise application

Dimension Traditional IS projects Internet projects

Strategy The strategic dimension is abstract The strategic dimension is tangible and visible and relates closely to business goals

The strategic dimension is addressed indirectly, through broad notions such as strategic alignment. Often the strategic dimension is not addressed at all

Strategy is addressed directly, particularly for e-commerce projects in which a revenue stream is generated

User The typical user is an employee The typical user is a customer who makes payment for goods and services

Users can be trained and consulted directly. Systems use might be mandatory

Usage is not mandatory and the customer won’t attend training sessions

User needs can be understood through work studies

User needs can be understood through sales and marketing methods

Job satisfaction is a key aim Customer satisfaction is a key aim

Design The development focus is on the internals of the design: the database, the programs and an architecture

The development focus is on the website as a visual artefact. The development cycle might start with a mock-up of the user interface

The user interface is almost an afterthought

Graphic design skills and a feel for Web aesthetics are essential

This forms the basis of WISDM

• As internet projects become broader in scope it will require greater integration with front office, back office, legacy systems etc.

• Internet projects will become more difficult to distinguish from traditional IT projects