Design team member: Winnie Lam
Supervisor: Dr. Norman Ball
Background
There has been a lot of media coverage on E-Commerce in recent years. However, the concept of E-Commerce is still unclear to many people due to its newness. For business executives, it is even more mysterious since there are no proven business models for generating profits. Conducting research in the E-Commerce area reveals a few dominant trends:
-
E-Commerce revenues will grow explosively.
-
E-Commerce is crucial for business survival.
-
E-Commerce decisions are complex.
-
Consulting firms are experiencing rapid declines in key practice areas.
The implications for these trends are as follows:
-
Organizations feel the need for expert advice.
-
E-Commerce is the new business opportunity for consulting firms.
-
Consulting firms need structured, proven, E-Commerce methodologies.
-
These trends and implications are the driving forces for the project.
Project description
For consulting firms to effectively develop E-Commerce strategies for its clients, it must have a structured methodology custom made for this type of project. As with any methodology, however, this E-Commerce strategy methodology will require constant refinement to incorporate new experiences and to keep pace with change.
Thus, this project aims to develop the first version of an E-Commerce strategy methodology, implement the methodology for a client, and make any necessary revisions to the methodology subsequent to the client project.
Design methodology
The five phases of the project are as follows:
Scoping
and
planning
This
phase
focuses
on
the
planning
of
the
project’s
overall
direction,
including
the
definition
of
the
project’s
scope,
objectives,
and
timelines.
The
deliverable
from
this
phase
is
this
Design
Plan.
Conceptual
design
and
research
In
this
phase,
the
conceptual
design
of
the
methodology
is
developed
and
research
on
existing
methodologies
is
conducted.
Research
is
performed
from
independent
research
firms,
such
as
the
Gartner
Group,
Forrester
Research,
and
CIO.com.
These
research
firms
sometimes
publish
the
methodologies
that
consulting
firms
use.
Consulting
firms’
websites
are
another
source
for
researching
E-commerce
strategy
methodologies.
Development
of
methodology
The
actual
methodology
is
developed
in
this
phase.
Detailed
descriptions
of
each
task
in
the
methodology
are
documented,
including
the
objectives,
inputs,
approach,
relevant
models,
applicable
tools
and
techniques,
outputs,
and
any
references.
The
methodology
is
to
be
documented
in
an
appropriate
format,
be
it
a
Word
document
or
HTML
pages.
Implementation
of
methodology
The
methodology
will
be
implemented
with
a
client.
This
phase
includes
the
marketing
of
E-commerce
strategy
development
services
and
the
closing
of
the
sale,
followed
by
the
actual
implementation.
Revision
of
methodology
Final
touches
and
revisions
to
the
methodology
are
made
in
this
phase.
The
majority
of
these
revisions
come
from
experiences
on
the
client
project.
Sample
reports
and
any
additional
references
are
added
to
the
methodology.