Chapter 11 Analysis and Design

Learning objectives Summarize approaches for analysing requirements for e-business systems Identify key elements of approaches to improve the interface design and security design of e-commerce systems

Issues for managers What are the critical success factors for analysis and design of e-business systems? What is the balance between requirements for usable and secure systems and the costs of designing them in this manner? What are the best approaches for incorporating new IS solutions with legacy systems into the architectural design of the e-business?

Workflow management Workflow is ‘the automation of a business process, in whole or part during which documents, information or tasks are passed from one participant to another for action, according to a set of procedural rules.’ Examples: Booking a holiday Handling a customer complaint Receiving a customer order

Process modelling Often use a hierarchical method of establishing the processes and their constituent sub-processes the dependencies between processes the inputs (resources) needed by the processes and the outputs Complete activity 11.2 using Figure 11.2 and Table 11.2 for how to improve processes

An example task decomposition for an estate agency Figure 11.1  An example task decomposition for an estate agency Source: Chaffey (1998)

Symbols used for flow process charts Figure 11.2  Symbols used for flow process charts

Flow process chart showing the main operations performed by users when working using workflow software Figure 11.3  Flow process chart showing the main operations performed by users when working using workflow software

Data modelling Uses well established techniques used for relational database design Stages: Identify entities Identify attributes of entities Identify relationships

Generic B2C ER diagram Figure 11.5  Generic B2C ER diagram

Client / server architecture – separation of functions Data storage. Predominantly on server. Client storage is ideally limited to cookies for identification of users and session tracking. Cookie identifiers for each system user are then related to the data for the user which is stored on a database server. Query processing. Predominantly on the server, although some validation can be performed on the client. Display. This is largely a client function. Application logic. Traditionally, in early PC applications this has been a client function, but for e-business systems the design aim is to maximize the application logic processing including the business rules on the server.

Three-tier client server in an e-business environment Figure 11.6  Three-tier client server in an e-business environment

E-business architecture for the B2C company Figure 11.7  E-business architecture for The B2C Company

User centred design ‘Unless a web site meets the needs of the intended users it will not meet the needs of the organization providing the web site. Web site development should be user-centred, evaluating the evolving design against user requirements.’ (Bevan, 1999a)

Analysis considerations (Bevan) Who are the important users? What is their purpose for accessing the site? How frequently will they visit the site? What experience and expertise do they have? What nationality are they? Can they read English? What type of information are they looking for? How will they want to use the information: read it on the screen, print it or download it? What type of browsers will they use? How fast will their communication links be? How large a screen/window will they use, with how many colours?

4 stages of Rosenfeld and Morville (1998) Identify different audiences. Rank importance of each to business. List the three most important information needs of audience. Ask representatives of each audience type to develop their own wishlists.

Use-case analysis The use-case method of process analysis and modelling was developed in the early 1990s as part of the development of object-oriented techniques. It is part of a methodology known as Unified Modelling Language (UML) that attempts to unify the approaches that preceded it such as the Booch, OMT and Objectory notations. Use-case modelling A user-centred approach to modelling system requirements. Unified Modelling Language (UML) A language used to specify, visualize and document the artefacts of an object-oriented system.

Schneider and Winters (1998) stages in Use Case Identify actors. Actors are typically application users such as customers and employers also other systems. Identify use-cases. The sequence of transactions between an actor and a system that support the activities of the actor. Relate actors to use-cases. See Figure 11.8. Develop use-case scenarios. See Figure 11.9 for a detailed scenario.

Relationship between actors and use-cases for the B2C Company, sell-side e-commerce site Figure 11.8  Relationship between actors and use-cases for The B2C Company, sell-side e-commerce site

Primary use case scenario for an entire e-commerce purchase cycle Figure 11.9  Primary use-case scenario for an entire e-commerce purchase cycle

Primary scenario for the Register use-cases for the B2C Company Figure 11.10  Primary scenario for the Register use-cases for The B2C Company

Site design issues Covered by the eight principles that follow Style and personality + design Support the brand Site organisation Fits audience’s information needs Site navigation Clear, simple, consistent Page design Content Engaging and relevant Covered by the eight principles that follow

Site design principle 1 Standards ‘Users spend most of their time on other sites. This means that users prefer your site to work the same way as all the other sites they already know… Think Yahoo and Amazon. Think "shopping cart" and the silly little icon. Think blue text links’. Jakob Nielsen - www.useit.com

Principle 2 Support marketing objectives Support customer lifecycle Acquisition – of new or existing customers Retention – gain repeat visitors Extension - cross- and up-selling Support communications objectives 3 key tactics Communicate the online value proposition Establish credibility Convert customer to action

Principle 3 Customer orientation Content + services support a range of audiences and… Different segments 4 familiarities – With Internet – With company – With products – With web site

Principle 4 Lowest Common Denominator Access speed Screen resolution and colour depth Web browser type Browser configuration Text size Plug-ins www.usability.serco.com

Principle 5 Aesthetics fit the brand Aesthetics = Graphics + Colour + Style + Layout + Typography Site personality How would you describe the site if it were a person? E.g. Formal, Fun, Engaging, Entertaining, Professional Site style Information vs graphics intensive Cluttered vs clean Are personality and style consistent with brand and customer orientation?

Principle 6 Get the structure right Back (a) (b) (d) DTI Cisco

Principle 7 Make navigation easy According to Nielsen, need to establish: Where am I? Where have I been? Where do I want to go? Context. Consistency. Simplicity. Use accepted standards for navigation:

Navigation continued ‘Go with the flow’ Enter by: To: Visitor in control An enjoyable experience ‘Think like a client’ Enter by: user need product / service audience type search To: alternate home pages

Principle 8 Support user psychology Hofacker’s 5 stages of information processing Exposure – can it be seen? Attention – does it grab? Comprehension and perception - is message understood? Yielding and acceptance : Is it credible and believable? Retention – is the message and experience remembered?

Parties involved in secure transactions Purchasers. These are the consumers buying the goods. Merchants. These are the retailers. Certification Authority (CA). This is a body that issues digital certificates that confirm the identity of purchasers and merchants. Banks. These are traditional banks. Electronic token issuer. A virtual bank that issues digital currency.

Main security risks (a) Transaction or credit card details stolen in transit. (b) Customer’s credit card details stolen from merchant’s server. (c) Merchant or customer is not who they claim to be.

Security requirements for e-commerce Authentication – are parties to the transaction who they claim to be? Privacy and confidentiality – is transaction data protected? The consumer may want to make an anonymous purchase. Are all non-essential traces of a transaction removed from the public network and all intermediary records eliminated? Integrity – checks that the message sent is complete i.e. that it isn’t corrupted. Non-repudiability – ensures sender cannot deny sending message. Availability – how can threats to the continuity and performance of the system be eliminated?

Public-key or asymmetric encryption Figure 11.18  Public-key or asymmetric encryption

Security Protocols Secure Socket Layer (SSL): Protocol that utilizes standard certificates for authentication and data encryption to ensure privacy or confidentiality Secure Electronic Transaction (SET): A protocol designed to provide secure online credit card transactions for both consumers and merchants; developed jointly by Netscape, Visa, MasterCard, and others

SET Figure 11.19  An example of the Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) standard