IMS5401 Web-based Systems Development Topic 4: Web-based systems development: Putting it all in context and repeating myself

2 Agenda The web and web-based systems in context Where has the web got to and where is it going? What should you know? The Exam

The web and web-based systems in context The web is still a relatively new technology To understand attitudes to the web and its use, you must understand the context within which it has developed YOUR attitude to the web will be affected by the context in which you have used it Following are some important contextual issues

4 Context: information and its uses Managing information through history: Sumerian, Egyptian and Inca accounting systems The telegraph and telephone The Railway Clearing House To what extent do patterns repeat or change? A hierarchy of purposes: Top level (most general) - recording, storing, retrieving, manipulating, displaying, communicating Middle levels - Finance, personnel, inventory management, sales, GIS, DSS, ERP, , etc Bottom level (most specific) - Monash’s finance, personnel, etc systems, Allocate+, Syllabus+, etc

5 Context: information technology Tools with the same sort of hierarchy of capabilities: Top level (most general) - recording, storing, retrieving, manipulating, displaying, communicating Middle levels - families of software packages and hardware devices developed as tools for different tasks - database, spreadsheet, printers, etc Bottom level (most specific) - software and hardware packages customised and installed at a particular site Note the theoretical limits to the flexibility of the technology … …Contrast with the practical limits!

6 Context: information perspectives Technology-based - making technology work Information-based - managing records; access and availability Information-based - managing information collections; classification and searching User-based - understanding what the user wants Systems-based - integrating related elements Business-based - linking business information needs and functions

7 Context: about system development Fitting the development process to the development task What is the nature of what is being developed? What sort of activities are needed? What sort of techniques have to be used? What sort of project management is required? Traditions in development process Engineering/Architectural/Design/etc Finding the right blend Standards and creativity: recipes vs ad hoc methods

8 Context for understanding the web Applications Information purpose Specific info needs Technologies Hardware tools Software tools Development processes Tasks/activities Techniques

9 Context for information professionals Matching technological capability to application (information need) and development process Some dangers to be avoided: Failure to understand: the technology/the application/the development process Choosing the wrong mix of technology and application: good technology/wrong application; good application/wrong technology (over-ambitious or under-ambitious) Choosing the wrong development process – for the need or for the technology Many many examples in history of IS and IT! Our role: sit in the middle and help get it right

Where has the web got to and where is it going? Still a technology in its relative infancy An evolving technology, not a purpose- built technology Only experience will prove what works Individual applications are in various stages of their development/evolution

11 Perspectives of the web The “Brave New World” view (the web changes everything) “The Emperor has No Clothes” view (the web changes nothing) The Specialist technology application view (the web changes some things for some applications) The Foundational Infrastructure view (the web provides a new basis for everything)

12 An information-based view: the web and the IT sausage Basic IT functionality Data input Data storage Data processing Data output and display Data communication However the web changes things technologically, it does not change the fundamental information issues

13 The web as fine cuisine The web offers information sharing of a kind we have never known before The web offers potential access to systems on a scale we have never seen before The web enables new business models which have transformed some industries and may soon transform others The web’s capacities have been only partly used; improving technologies and improved understanding of how to use it will expand its uses still further

14 System development for the web If Information Technology is the sausage, systems development is the cooking Cooking techniques - standard and specialised: roast lamb, curries, fried rice, samosas, pastry cooking, pavlovas, sauces, spices, etc etc Knowing how to cook anything? … everything?? Being a good chef

What should you know? Everyone in the information business must know about web technologies and development There are too many aspects to the web for you to have the time to keep track of them all Your must maintain a basis competence and understanding of the key web elements Your job/career interests will determine which bits you need to know better Knowing what you need to know versus knowing everything

16 What should you know … … about the inter-relationship of web technologies? THE WEB Connecting computers Digital representation of documents Formatting documents for: (a) display (b) searching Linking documents

17 What should you know … … about web/internet infrastructure? The simple picture of what they were designed to do; de-centralised network connectivity and its implications Basic features and terminology of the infrastructure: Domain names and IP addresses Web pages, servers and URLs TCP/IP protocol for sending and receiving Implications for web developers

18 What should you know … … about hypertext? What it is – the basic principle of document linking through the http protocol Why it is useful – what purposes hypertext linking can meet What problems it creates – difficulties of hypertext structures Implications for web developers

19 What should you know … … about using multimedia? The importance and use of multimedia How are different media types represented in digital form, and what are the implications for file sizes and file formats? How can you reduce file sizes and minimise the number of file formats? What costs do you pay? How important is multimedia to the user and what is the trade-off for page transmission? Implications for web developers

20 What should you know … … about data transmission? The central importance of data transmission to the internet/web Standard terminology: bandwidth, broadband, proxy servers, cache, bps The transmission media and their key characteristics (very broad) Transmission speeds (very broad) Other factors in data transmission Implications for web developers

21 What should you know … … about mark-up languages? The document formatting problem and the basic principles of a mark-up language Mark-up for presentation, for style, for content, etc The general outline of the development of web mark-up: from HTML to XHTML and XML Browsers and plug-ins for document display Implications for web developers

22 What should you know … … about metadata and web searching? Formatting documents for cataloguing and searching: metadata and its importance How do search engines work? How much can we rely on search engines for making web content findable? What does this mean for finding things on the web?

23 What should you know … … about the semantic web? Building meaning into document content: metadata and the semantic web Why do we need it - data-based vs page-based information The basic technologies of the semantic web (very broad level only) Problems in making it work Implications for future web usage

24 What should you know … … about web interactivity? How the structure of the web affects interactivity Client-side vs server side interactivity Terminology: client-server, scripting languages, Javascript, CGI, cookies Faking interactivity with cookies Implications for web developers

25 What should you know … … about web services? What is the basic aim behind web services? What are the key technologies behind it? Issues, problems and opportunities for organisations Implications for future web usage?

26 The context for development process Web Application (Purpose) Development Process Web Technology

27 What should you know … … about the web development process? Unique features/capabilities of web systems which affect web development Differences and similarities with traditional IS development processes Their implications for web development process

28 What should you know … … about web content and layout? Issues in content and layout design: the nature of the design problem for web developers Web page usability: user characteristics and their implications for web content Types of web content: technology and usage issues affecting choice of content Page layout and graphic design – key page elements and issues for their design

29 What should you know … … about web site architecture and navigation? Organisation and classification systems -Why do they matter? Organisation structures - their strengths and weaknesses Labelling Navigation methods and issues in navigation design Approaches to identifying user needs (outline only)

30 What should you know … … about web interaction? Elements of interaction design What might users want from a web site? What sorts of audiences might a web site have to be designed for? How do the audience characteristics and needs affect site design? Compromise in interaction design

31 What should you know … … about designing for maintainability? Maintenance issues: site growth and evolution Site evaluation and performance Content maintenance and content management systems How should post-implementation issues affect design?

32 What should you know … … about the role of info professionals in web design? Key influences on development process Comparing web development with traditional IS development New skills and capabilities needed in web development

What should you know … … about the Exam? Previous exams - the rationale behind them and their usefulness as exam preparation This year’s paper - structure and style Specific web technologies and techniques Applying web technologies and development techniques to an information problem The web as an evolving technology