685
Chapter 12 Implementation and maintenance Packaged
implementation
Standard software is installed with limited
configuration required.
Hosted solution
Standard software which is managed externally on
the supplier’s server.
Tailored development
The standard solution requires major
configuration or integration of different
modules.
3
Hosted software as a service SaaS solution. With a
hosted solution
, a standard system is used, but it is not managed within the company, but using a third-party applications
service provider variously known as ‘on-demand’, ‘web services’ or a ‘managed solution’. The merits and examples of the SaaS approach have been discussed in Chapters 3 and 6.
4
Tailored development. In a
tailored development
, an off-the-shelf system or SaaS solution is tailored according to the organization’s needs. This form of project is often based on
integrating components from one or several vendors. These acquisition alternatives have been reviewed, for example, in Chaffey and Wood 2005
where it was demonstrated that the prevalent approach is the tailored off-the-shelf or hosted approach, which is often the best compromise between meeting an organization’s specific
needs and reliability while minimizing cost and development time. Decisions also have to be taken as to whether bespoke development or tailoring occurs in-house or using a consultant
who is familiar with the latest e-commerce development tools.
Regardless of the source of the system, the main criteria used to select the solution are common. They are:
1
Functionality. The features of the application. Describes how well the e-business application meets the business need.
2
Ease of use. Every system takes some time to use, but systems should be intuitive to mini- mize the time needed to learn how to use them. A well-constructed piece of software will
make it fast to conduct common tasks.
3
Performance. The speed of the application to perform different functions. This is measured by how long the user has to wait for individual functions to be completed such as data
retrieval, calculation and screen display. It will depend on the power of the computer, but can vary significantly between applications.
4
Scalability. Scalability is related to performance; it describes how well a system can adapt to higher workloads which arise as a company grows. For example, an ERP system will
require more customer details, suppliers and products to be held on it as the company grows. The workload will also be higher as the number of internal and external users of
the system increases.
5
Compatibility or interoperability. This refers to how easy it is to integrate the application with other applications. For example, does it have import and export facilities, does it
support transfer of data using XML?
6
Extensibility. Related to scalability and interoperability, this describes how easy it is to add new functions or features to a package by adding new modules from the original vendor
or other vendors.
7
Stability or reliability. All applications have errors or bugs and applications vary in the number of times they fail depending on how well they have been tested since they were
first introduced.
8
Security. Capabilities for restricting access to applications should be assessed. This is partic- ularly important for hosted solutions.
9
Support. Levels of support and the cost of support from the software vendor will vary. There is a risk that small companies may cease trading and the product may no longer be
supported.
Now complete Activity 12.2 to consider how these different factors are balanced.
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Part 3 Implementation
Static web content
A web page view that is identical every time it is
loaded.
Dynamic web content
A web page view that varies according to user
preferences or environment constraints.
HTML Hypertext Markup Language
A standard format used to define the text and
layout of web pages. HTML files usually have
the extension .HTML or .HTM.
The delivery of e-business services via a web interface may initially appear straightforward. Everyone has heard apocryphal tales such as a 12-year-old relation creating a web site to sell
used cars. Indeed, the creation of
static web content
is straightforward as we will see. In this example, simple HTML code is used for layout and formatting of information to create
a simple catalogue of perhaps ten cars, with a web page for each that is accessed from a home page or simple menu. But imagine the situation for a real car dealership where a cus-
tomer will want to select from a range of hundreds or thousands of cars with different specifications from different manufacturers. Here, it is impractical for the user to select from
a menu of hundreds of cars. At the very least, they will expect the cars to be grouped into categories by manufacturer and perhaps sorted by age. But finding the right car through
browsing these categories could take a long time and most users will demand a basic search facility by which they type in, or select, the make of car or an advanced search facility by
which they choose the make, plus the specification such as engine size and year of registra- tion. In this case the page delivered to the user will depend on their preferences and will be
dynamic web content
. Here, it is apparent that more than simple formatting and presenta- tion is required – the site is interactive, that is to say it must accept text input from the user
and respond to the request with the appropriate information. The development process will involve coding to accept the user’s preferences, passing the request to a database, performing
a query, returning the results and formatting them for the user.
In this section we briefly introduce how simple static web pages can be developed using HTML and how scripts and databases can be used in conjunction with HTML to produce
dynamic content.
Creating static web content
HTML or hypertext markup language
, which was introduced in Chapter 3, is the standard that is most commonly used for producing static web content. HTML files can be written
Development of web-based content and services
Activity 12.2
Selecting applications software for a small business
Purpose
To aid understanding of the different factors to assess when selecting applications software and the relative importance of them.
Activity
A start-up office supplies business which specializes in supply of printers is reviewing its alternatives for different types of e-business system. Form groups with each group
selecting one type of e-business service from the list below and then discussing the importance of the nine criteria for selecting software described above. A ranked list of the
criteria in order of importance should be produced. These can be put on a whiteboard, with one type of software in each column to assess the commonality in requirements.
E-business service types:
1 Customer relationship management application.
2 Supply chain management application.
3 Employee management system.
4 Web analytics software see later in chapter.