1. 000740857 MAY HNIT OO KHIN Adding Value to Dreamland Fashion Company and Promoting the Sales of Mens and Ladies Wear by Utilizing Web-Centralized System SUPERVISOR: MR FRANCIS MURPHY WORD COUNT: 11633 (Chapter 1 - 8) JUNE 2013 1

2. Abstract Ecommerce becomes a trend in the competitive business world as it can bring many business value and benefit to every company. So, Dreamland Fashion Company also wanted to develop ecommerce website for creating new sales channel. This project will cover the functions from product data entry, purchase from suppliers, sell products online, delivery, online payment and review section. Before developing this project, the concept of ecommerce will be studied to broaden the knowledge of the target field. Likewise, methodology, tools and techniques to be used will have to be evaluated and compared so that the best project can be produced. As a result, DSDM framework and UML are chosen to manage the project. Moreover, PHP with MySQL database is selected to develop the website. Apart from this, MoSCoW and timebox are applied to control the timeframe. All the facts from project analysis to development to deliver a successful project are fully described in details with eight chapters plus appendices in this report. After completing this project, I could also enhance my knowledge and experience in the field of both business and IT. 2

3. Acknowledgements Firstly, I want to express my genuine appreciation to University of Greenwich and also KMD for giving me a chance to develop this project. Moreover, I also want to pass my special thanks to Mrs. Moe Pale, manager of KMD, for her help and guidance. There is also one important person whom I want to say my special words of gratitude. He is my project supervisor, Mr. Francis Murphy, for making my knowledge broaden by giving me valuable advice and guidance. In addition, I also thank Daw Nwe Nwe Oo, managing director of Dreamland Fashion Company, for letting me analyze and develop this project. Without her trust on me, I cannot develop this project. I really appreciate everyone who helps me during developing this project but left to describe here. 3

4. CONTENTS Abstract...... 2 Acknowledgements 3 Contents.. 4 1. Introduction.. 7 1.1 Introduction. 7 1.2 Background Information. 7 1.3 Problem Areas. 8 1.4 Scope of Project.. 8 1.5 Aims and Objectives.. 9 1.6 Chapter Summary 11 2. Literature Review 12 2.1 Introduction. 12 2.2 eCommerce Concepts for Online Fashion Store. 13 2.2.1 People 14 2.2.2 Public Policy 14 2.2.3 Marketing and Advertisement 14 2.2.4 Support Services 16 2.2.5 Business partnerships 17 2.3 Review of economic, legal, technological and financial infrastructure to... 18 adopt EC for Dreamland 2.4 Methodology. 19 2.5 Techniques. 26 2.6 Tools.. 27 2.7 Chapter Summary.. 33 3. Feasibility Study... 34 3.1 Introduction 34 4

5. 3.2 Deciding by using six suitability filters of DSDM. 34 3.3 Chapter Summary 35 4. Requirement Analysis and Requirement Specification.... 36 4.1 Introduction. 36 4.2 Business Study (Analysis) 37 4.2.1 Research on four similar fashion websites. 37 4.2.2 Proposed system Dreamland Fashion Website based on four websites. 47 4.2.3 Interviews with Responsible Personnel.. 48 4.3 Requirements Specification 49 4.3.1 Functional Requirements prioritized by MoSCoW 49 4.3.2 Non-functional Requirements 50 4.3.3 Use Case 51 4.3.4 Class Diagram 53 4.4 Chapter Summary.... 53 5. System Design... 54 5.1 Introduction. 54 5.2 Database Design.. 54 5.3 Prototype. 54 5.4 Chapter Summary 55 6. System Development 56 6.1 Introduction. 56 6.2 Changes 56 6.3 Timebox Schedule 57 6.4 Chapter Summary.. 59 7. Evaluation. 60 7.1 Overview Summary. 60 7.2 Project Evaluation 60 7.2.1 Review on implemented database design 60 7.2.2 Review on front-end portion (customer site) of Dreamland website 62 7.2.3 Review on back-end portion (admin site) of Dreamland website 63 5

6. 7.2.4 Review on Development Processes. 64 7.3 Personal Evaluation or Lessons learnt from Dreamland project.. 64 8. Conclusion.. 66 Bibliography. 67 APPENDIX A Project Proposal.. 68 APPENDIX B Project Plan. 71 APPENDIX C Interviews 73 APPENDIX D Use Case Description.. 78 APPENDIX E Class Diagram. 84 APPENDIX F Prototype. 88 APPENDIX G Test Case and Test Log 90 6

7. Chapter 1. Introduction 1.1 Introduction In our country, the number of people who surfs the internet has been obviously increased as Internet has gained popularity between any ages during a few years. As a result, many companies try to persuade the customers to buy their products online and they think about online marketing and online shopping issues which are different from the traditional selling methods. 1.2 Background Information Dreamland Fashion Company established in 2010, is one of the famous Fashion Company in our country, Myanmar. It is a medium sized company with 10 branches sited all over the country. Its headquarters is located at Yangon City and company operates with over 120 staff. A wide range of stylish and fashionable catalogues can be available under this company. As fashion becomes part of the life for everyone, especially, teenagers, this company becomes a target for those elegant ladies who like to wear trendy and beautiful blouses, dresses, trousers, skirts, jeans, etc. Moreover, Dreamland is also a big chance not to miss for boys and gentlemen who want to be the handsome guys in gentlemanly, nice and smart shirts, jeans, style pants, trousers, shorts, etc. At present, Dreamland could strengthen its market position just by using offline selling method, i.e. selling Mens and Ladies Wear at the branches of Dreamland at supermarkets, shopping malls, etc. But now, Dreamland also wants to promote its market sector and branch out into online market. 7

8. 1.3 Problem Areas Some problem areas force into implementing a new system for Dreamland. Firstly, Dreamland is using a manual paper based system at present. All data is stored by each branch in its own format. Apart from this, human input errors usually make conflicts. So, when information is sent to headquarters or to each branch, data inconsistency is always the big case. Secondly, since branches are not situated in every town, it cannot reach country wide. So, Dreamland cannot easily notify latest and trendy products in accordance with time and this affects the marketing. Thirdly, branches cannot open 24/7 because overtime cost given to employee is a bit high. Thus, we cannot provide excellent customer service and also cannot build a strong relationship with customers. Consequently, Dreamland wants to implement website as one stop online shopping place for all these matters. By implementing website, customers can shop from any place where internet connection is available at any time, efficiently reduce transaction costs and easily compare different products. 1.4 Scope of Project Scope of project must be defined to produce a successful business model. The main intention of this project is to provide the facility for the customers to shop around the company website conveniently. Thus, customers must be able to visit our website, browse the catalogues and search for the required items with size, colour, price, etc. But, if they want to buy the products, they must be the member of our website. Customers can add the items they want to buy to the shopping cart. As we will have to deliver the items, customers will need to give their contact information and delivery contact information. After filling delivery information, payment must be made. If customers want to check out, they will have to make payment with their accounts which the customers can deposit money at any branches of Dreamland. Customers can enquiry or complaint if they are not satisfied with companys products and services or if they want to inquiry about something. 8

9. Apart from this, there will be promotion page for the purposes of marketing and to attract the customer's attention. Review session will also be provided so that customers can know the information of the latest products, discuss about company's products and rate them. To support these front-end activities, some back-end activities will be implemented for staff. These will include recording information of products, customers, purchase, sales, delivery and feedbacks. Moreover, there will also be a function to produce daily or monthly reports concerned with which products are the best sellers, daily or monthly income, complaint information, etc. 1.5 Aims and Objectives As the major aim of Dreamland project is to produce successful and efficient system to the end users, user requirements must be correctly identified. Identified user requirements must be useful for the end users. Moreover, the system should have high usability to achieve more satisfaction from users. Finally, the system can be maintainable and extendable, i.e, must allow for future enhancements and amendments. With the intention to achieve this aim, the objectives described below are needed to be defined and accomplished. 1. To analyze the requirements of the proposed Dreamland website and to make research on the similar websites. Activities Capture the companys requirements and processes by requirement analysis methods such as interview, workshops, observation, documentation, etc. Abstract the main processes that will be included in the proposed system. Outline alternative technical requirements and solutions for Dreamland website. Research the popular online shopping websites and learn which how the contents are arranged and displayed Deliverables Functional requirements and non-functional requirements for the proposed system. (Chapter 4) The best content arrangements and strengths and weaknesses of each website. (Research on four similar fashion websites Chapter 4) 9

10. Interview schedule plus report (Interviews with Responsible Personnel Chapter 4) 2. To define scope for Dreamland website and create requirement specifications. Create Business Prototype such as Use Case and Class Diagram based on analyzed and confirmed data. Identify and prioritize the critical functionalities. Arrange development schedule with milestones Deliverables Use Case, Class Diagram and Screen Designs (Chapter 4) Prioritized functionalities by using MoSCoW and Timebox. (Chapter 4 and Chapter 6) Project Plan (Appendix B) 3. To evaluate the different methodologies, tools and techniques to be used for our project Activities Compare and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of methodologies, tools and techniques to manage the development processes. Choose the ones which can meet the needs of our project best. Deliverables Literature Review (Chapter 2) 4. To carry out design phase and implement the system Activities Analyze the gathered information again to document the system design. Create database design and usability prototype such as screen designs. Implement Dreamland website. Deliverables Design Approach (Chapter 5) Complete Implemented System. 10

11. 5. To test functionalities and features of implemented system with test cases and test logs Activities Arrange test schedule and set test cases. Test the specified test cases whether they meets with intended user requirements. Deliverables Test cases and test logs to prove bug free and workable system (Appendix G) 6. To review and evaluate the development of each phase Activities Review and criticize whether each phase can fully support what the users need or not. Evaluate whether the selected methodologies, tools and techniques can really assist in the development of the project or not. Review the difficulties and problems faced throughout the project life cycle. Deliverables Written report concerned with project (Chapter 7) Lessons learned report (Chapter 7) 1.6 Chapter Summary In this chapter, background information of Dreamland Fashion Company is explained in detail. So, its market position and in which market it is doing its business now can be observed. Then, problem areas are identified and these point out the reasons why Dreamland wants to develop the proposed system. Next, scope of project is clearly described. Thus, which types of functions will be included to help ease of Dreamland's business processes can be seen. Finally, since aims and objectives are justified obviously, there are more chances to deliver the successful project. 11

12. Chapter 2. Literature Review 2.1 Introduction According to Alemayehu Molla and Paul S. Licker (2005), "several studies of eCommerce in developing countries have emphasized the influence of contextual impediments related to economic, technological, legal, and financial infrastructure as major determinants of eCommerce adoption." So, the characteristics and flow of eCommerce should be reviewed first to adopt eCommerce for a developing country like Myanmar. Only if, potential risks can be identified and reduced. Apart from this, a project cannot successfully come to an end without carefully planned, analyzed and controlled. Methodology is needed to choose because it can show the way of how a project can be controlled in a systematic way to achieve the required milestones and to deliver the system within a predefined timescale and budget. On the other hand, tools and techniques are also essential while developing a system because it can assist the chosen methodology to be more effective. So, literature review concerned with comparisons of methodologies, tools and techniques will be carried out and the ones which can best converge to meet the end users' needs will be chosen. 12

13. 2.2 eCommerce Concepts for Online Fashion Store Turban, et al. (2008) states that "Electronic commerce (EC) is the process of buying, selling, transferring, or exchanging products, services, and/or information via computer networks, including the Internet." Sometimes, the term E-Business is used instead of eCommerce because it covers not just only buying and selling products and services but also providing collaboration between business partners, servicing customers, offering e-learning and supporting electronic conduction of transactions within an organization. McKay and Marshall (2004) also claims that "e-business is the use of the Internet and other information technologies to support commerce and improve business performance." EC can be classified based on the nature of online transactions or interactions. Although there may be many types, the following are the most accepted category of EC. Following table is referenced from Tassabehji (2003) Figure 1 Classification of eCommerce Among them, Dreamland project can be put under Business-to-Consumer (B2C) because it includes retail transactions of clothing from company to individual customers. But, it does not matter whether it is online fashion store or other business. Whatever it is, Turban, et al. (2008) has shown that EC applications has "five support areas: (i) people, (ii) public policy, (iii) 13

14. marketing and advertisement, (iv) support services and (v) business partnerships." These five support areas will be justified by using Online Fashion Store as an example. 2.2.1 People The first area, people, comprises of such people as a seller which is Dreamland Fashion Company, buyers as well as customers, IS people, employees and other participants whoever support EC in any ways. 2.2.2 Public Policy The second one, public policy, is mostly influenced and controlled by the government and there can be a bit different from one country to another. Technical standards defined by the government, legal and regulatory issues, for example, privacy protection policy and taxation are included in this important support area. The policy also varies according to the products. If products are digital products such as music, software, ebook, etc, breaching copyright law prescribed in intellectual property law is usually the most found issue. For some fashion online stores, they have to order clothing from foreign countries. So, taxation and shipping fees should be shown on the websites. So, every EC website should declare their respective policy clearly. 2.2.3 Marketing and Advertisement Like commerce, eCommerce also needs strong marketing and advertisement support area so that it can persist longer in the competitive market. Especially, it is crucially important for Business to Consumer type of online transactions like Dreamland Fashion Company because the sellers and customers do not know each other. So, many tactical ways should be applied to retain the loyalty of customers. 14

15. Market Research Firstly, market research needs to be conducted to understand the consumer behavior online. A critical success factor for Dreamland which is B2C category is to make customers happy by identifying what customers need and providing them to fulfill their wish. From the result of market research, customers also demand for convenience, customer service and product quality in addition to price. Moreover, they often have desire to inspire the online shopping experience. So, while attempting to adopt ecommerce for Dreamland, these facts should be taken into account to retain the long term customers. Promotions and Sales Discount Secondly, B2C companies gradually increase in the market and they apply many ways to persuade customers. One of the most commonly seen methods is promotions and sales discount. Since customers usually look for discounted products by making cross-site comparisons, B2C companies usually strength relationship with customers with monthly promotion or special promotion period. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) It is essential to retain the loyal customers in the field of both commerce and ecommerce. Since loyal customers are key to success of a company, many companies approach a business strategy known as CRM. For internet based ecommerce, eCRM is central requirement for survival and for obtaining competitive advantages. According to Plant (2000), "Four parts compose the value chain for CRM. They are (1) customer acquisition (prepurchase support), (2) customer support during purchase, (3) customer fulfillment (purchase dispatch) and (4) customer continuance support (postpurchase)." 15

16. Online Marketing and Advertisement Like traditional offline marketing, there are also three types of online marketing: - Mass Marketing, (this type of marketing targets to everyone. The benefit of it is reaching to the mass number of people and creating interpersonal communication with whoever sees it. The drawback of it is that sometimes, it can be a waste. ) - Market Segmentation, (this type of marketing promotes the goods or services to a group of potential customers. The advantage of it is that better response rate can be obtained than mass marketing as it matches the needs of target audience. Generally, market segment is defined based on gender, age and purchase pattern.) - One-to-one Marketing (this type of marketing treats particular customer in a unique way. This is the most effective way of marketing because products can exactly match with individual customers. So, there is more possibility to build long-term and unique relationship with individual customers.) After deciding what type of marketing should be used, a variety of online advertising methods can be applied to achieve the marketing goals. The most popular one is email advertising because of reaching to a mass of audience and its low cost. Search Engine Optimization is also a well-known advertising method in persuading new customers. So, many companies use AdWords which is offered by Google to make their website URL appear at the top of Google's display. Since people are usually influenced by society, social networks and blogs become the target place for advertising and promoting products. In addition to these methods, banner swapping, pop-up ads, newspaper-like and classified ads and newsletters are used to draw the consumers' attention in the world of ecommerce. 2.2.4 Support Services eCommerce is supported by many services from content creation to order fulfillment, logistics to payments. Unlike commerce, new functions such as delivery process, payment via internet and security support are introduced in ecommerce. Every ecommerce website is linked to the online banks or payment gateways such as PayPal to accomplish payment process. Visa, Master, American Express credit card can be used to make 16

17. payment. But, this type of payment is not widespread used in Myanmar although some banks allow to use these cards and a payment gateway called MyanPay has recently been established. Some methods such as cash on delivery and gift card are widely used in Myanmar. Many B2C companies like Dreamland also accept payment with account which must be opened at their companies by depositing money. There should also have high security support for ecommerce website because survival of EC companies is dependent on the trust of the customers. To let the customers feel that their privacy information is highly secure, EC companies usually partner with third party which provides SSL certificate. By using SSL service and by using encrypting method (Message Digest), they can protect customer's privacy information from security issues and attacks. 2.2.5 Business partnerships Exchanges, joint ventures and other several types of business partnerships can be observed in EC. They relate with each other to support EC and their collaboration and coordination usually takes place throughout the supply chain. In other words, it occurs when EC Company interacts with its customers, suppliers and other partners. E.g. affiliate programs which are mostly found on B2C website are one of the types of business partnership. 17

18. 2.3 Review of economic, legal, technological and financial infrastructure to adopt EC for Dreamland Based on section 2.2 eCommerce Concepts for Online Fashion Store and other findings, this section will be written. Due to the economic growth in Myanmar, commercial world has gradually changed into more progressive as well as more aggressive form. The paper world is replaced with the digital world in order to live in harmony with the competitive business world, to reduce cost and to be more efficient in doing business. Moreover, since selling online can reach country wide and more potential customers can do shopping, it can promote the rate of sales and it is economic for Dreamland. In Myanmar, there is not too many laws, regulations and taxation prescribed for online shopping store. If products are imported from foreign countries, there is tax law. But, since clothing and other products of Dreamland are made only in local, tax will not have to be paid. Although Myanmar is a developing country, there is enough technology available to support ecommerce website. Moreover, there are also proficient technicians and website developers from creating website content to maintaining website. From financial perspective, there will be tangible costs for the development of Dreamland website, cost for buying domain name and hosting, internet-line costs and software/hardware/network cost. But, it will not cost too much and benefits will be over total costs in terms of both tangible benefits (money) and intangible benefits (usability, availability, customer satisfaction, etc) Therefore, after making review on these four aspects, adoption of EC seems to be the best approach for the future success of Dreamland. 18

19. 2.4 Methodology David, et al (2003) states that "a methodology will consist of phases, themselves consisting of sub phases, which will guide the systems developer in their choice of the techniques that might be appropriate at each stage of the project and also help them plan, manage, control, and evaluate information systems projects". The importance of using methodology can be inferred from this statement. So, two well-known methodologies are chosen to compare based on their weakness and good points for our project. They are Structured Systems Analysis and Design Methodology (SSADM) and Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM). 2.4.1 SSADM SSADM is a traditional methodology with well-defined seven phases. But, it is a heavyweight methodology which requires heavy documentations. So, this kind of methodology should be used by only large-scale software development project. According to our research, we found that many projects in UK, especially projects for public organizations and government, are implemented by using SSADM which is a formal methodology. Paul Bocij (2006) also concluded that "SSADM is a methodology that defines the methods of analysis and design that should occur in a large-scale software development project. It is used extensively in the UK, particularly in government and public organizations". SSADM highlights the feasibility, analysis and design for the required project but it does not consider the implementation and maintenance aspects of the system. Moreover, iteration is not allowed by this methodology. 19

20. The following SSADM lifecycle is referenced from the work of author David Patel. Website Culture, 2012. Available at < www.websiteculture.com/david/docs/methodolgy_lifecycle.doc > [Accessed 13 April 2013]. Figure 2 Structure of SSADM 20

21. Potential Strengths One of the most obvious potential strengths of SSADM is that it applies uses 3 techniques to create information system viability. Logical data modeling documents the entities of a system and relationships each other. Data flow modeling which is the second technique determines how data is carried into and out of the system. Finally, Entity event modeling shows how entities are affected by the business events. Besides, it uses good documentation standards and project managed with SSADM is well documented. Apart from this, developers have more authority and freedom to get on with it because users do not usually heavily involve throughout the development. Potential Weakness Development times can be long because each stage must be finished completely before starting the next stage. In addition, SSADM needs too much documentation leading to high cost and time consuming. So, if an organization wants to adopt SSADM, it should have large resources. SSADM is sequential and not iterative. Thus, changes are not allowed and cannot easily be implemented. Unfortunately, user needs always change quickly to keep pace with ever changing business world. In worst cases, even system failure occurs and end users reject the delivered system because user requirements are captured at early stages of life cycle and system is built based on these requirements. 21

22. 2.4.2 DSDM DSDM is a framework rather than a methodology and it is formed by modifying Rapid Application Development (RAD). Unlike RAD, it is quick and processes can be performed in a short period of time within 6 months in a well-controlled project environment. We noticed that DSDM has gradually gained popularity because it is more flexible than the traditional methodology as it allows iterative and incremental approach. The philosophy that is behind DSDM is very simple. Stapleton (1997) states that DSDM is based on four main facts: "(1) Development is a team effort. It must combine the users' knowledge of the business requirements with the technical skills of IT professionals. (2) High quality demands fitness for purpose as well as technical robustness. (3) Development can be incremental and (4) Resources must be spent developing the features of most value to the business." By embracing these facts, DSDM is used to effectively understand, communicate, plan, control and deliver all projects in its development lifecycle which has five phases. They are (i) feasibility study phase, (ii) business study phase, (iii) functional model iteration phase, (iv) system design and build iteration phase and (v) implementation phase. DSDM four main techniques such as JAD workshop, prototyping, MoSCoW and timeboxing also add value to DSDM. Figure 3 Structure of DSDM 22

23. Potential Strengths DSDM embraces the concept of active user involvement is important. So, JAD workshops are held to encourage the user commitments. In addition, prototyping is used to ensure that user requirements are correctly captured and MOSCOW technique is applied to prioritize the functional requirements and to emphasize on the most important processes. Later, requirements with the largest potential profits are firstly developed with the help of Timeboxing technique to be able to deliver them within a fixed timescale. Moreover, since DSDM is a product-base view, it concentrates on frequent delivery of the working parts of the system and this can solve the immediate needs of business as soon as possible. Potential Weakness DSDM is not a good solution for computationally complex applications and projects which are going to develop for new and innovative technology. Apart from this, since end users have to be involved throughout the development, they gradually understand their requirements more and more. Therefore, they change their requirements again and again and they also want to add other extra functions. This can affect the developers, time, scope and money if it is not controlled effectively. 23

24. 2.4.3 UML From the work of David, et al (2003), UML can be defined as "a graphical language, or a notation, for modeling systems analysis and design concepts in an object-oriented fashion." UML itself is not a project development methodology. It is just a graphical language usually used in combination with other project management methodology to increase the power and efficiency of methodology. Moreover, it is independent of particular development methodologies or programming languages. UML has 12 different diagrams which can be categorized into three groups: static application diagram, dynamic behaviour diagrams and represents diagrams. Potential Strengths UML provides expressive and ready-to-use visual modeling language to extend the core concepts of projects. Different types of UML diagrams can be used in their own ways to capture the user requirements from different aspects. All types of diagram will not have to be used. Based on the chosen methodology and the developer who will use it, diagrams can be used as required. This is because 80% of problem areas can be pointed out by using only about 20% of the UML. 24

25. 2.4.4 Methodology chosen for developing our system (DSDM with UML) Since our system has to be finished within 6 months, we assumed that DSDM will be more effective than SSADM which takes too much time. By using DSDM, 80 percentages of functions can be obtained at 20 percentage of time because the most essential functions can be delivered rapidly at regular intervals. Hence, development time will not be behind schedule and the required system can be timely delivered without exceeding the allowed budget. Apart from making use of four techniques of DSDM, UML which is an expressive and visual modeling language will be taken into our development of the system to speed up the processes and to enhance the quality. We do hope that it can be more beneficial in capturing the user requirements by combining DSDM and UML than other methodologies. This is because both of them encourage user involvement and allow iterations. 25

26. 2.5 Techniques David, et al (2003) claimed that "a technique is a way of doing a particular activity in the information systems development process, and any particular methodology may recommend techniques to carry out many of these activities". So, some techniques should be applied to assist the chosen methodology. As we have expressed above, we will use UML modeling language to assist DSDM. Although UML has 12 types of diagram, we supposed that not all diagrams will be needed for analyzing our system. So, only use case diagram and class diagram will be chosen for system analysis and design purposes. We will explain below about the reasons of why we chose them. 2.5.1 Use Case Diagram Since use case diagram can explicitly confirm the high level functional requirements of the system and show which functions are carried out by whom, users can know immediately if important functions are missed to take into account. Moreover, the developers can see the system behaviours from the point of view of end-users. 2.5.2 Class Diagram Class diagrams are very helpful in identifying what sorts of data are needed to store in the database. By analyzing the system with the help of class diagram, we can know the relationships between data tables and which data tables together with their attributes must be created for the database of our system. Moreover, we can predict which methods are required to include in our system just by looking at operations of each class contained in our class diagram. 26

27. 2.6 Tools From the work of David, et al (2003), it can be inferred that "tools represent some of the artefacts used in information systems development." For the development of Dreamland website, programming language and database need to be evaluated and chosen. So, these will be reviewed in the following sub sections (2.6.1) and (2.6.2). 2.6.1 Programming Languages Despite of having many programming languages to develop a dynamic website in the programming language market, we will compare ASP.net and PHP which are the most familiar languages for us. ASP.NET ASP.Net is based on object oriented programming language and it provides a library and efficient IDE which can help developers to save time in developing a project. Moreover, we can find the encountered errors easily because it has built-in debugging functions. However, ASP.Net is the proprietary software of Microsoft. So, we will need to purchase the license for this software, IIS web server and database. Besides, ASP.Net cannot run on multi platforms, i.e. it can only run on Windows server. PHP Originally, PHP was known as "Personal Home Page" although it now stands for "Hypertext PreProcessor". According to the php official home page available at http://php.net/ [Accessed 14 April 2013], "PHP is a widely-used general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for Web development and can be embedded into HTML." PHP is open source software and everyone can get it free. The most obvious advantage of PHP is that it supports many DBMSs and runs on multiple platforms such as Linux, Unix, Windows, Mac OS, etc. 27

28. Comparisons of PHP and ASP.NET The following table is referenced from Bischolar website available at http://www.bischolar.com/comparison.php [Accessed 13 April 2013] Figure 4 Comparison of PHP and ASP.NET 28

29. Based on the surveys of Web Technology Surveys (2013), it is found that 78.9% of websites which use server-side programming language are implemented with PHP. Available at http://w3techs.com/technologies/overview/programming_language/all [Accessed 14 April 2013 ] Figure 5 Rank of prgramming languages Programming language chosen for developing our system (PHP) Unlike ASP.Net, PHP is open source software and everyone can get it free. This is the main factor why I think I should choose PHP. If the response time has to be compared, browsing ASP.Net web pages take more time than requesting PHP web pages. So, the response time can be speed up if PHP is used. We can also say that PHP is more bug free than ASP.Net. As it is open source software, there are many developers who are using this software and they have the right to correct the bugs. Consequently, PHP can be rehabilitated and released more quickly than ASP.Net. According to the table above, PHP is more secure than ASP.Net because IIS web server has faced with many numerous attacks. PHP can run on the multi platforms and this makes more convenient for the developers. 29

30. 2.6.2 Database Database is also a central factor which can help a project to be successful. So, developer will need to think thoroughly while choosing the database for the proposed system. In the market, Oracle, MS SQL and MySQL are the most promising databases which can be used with PHP. So, some comparisons will be made between these three DBMSs. Oracle With reference from http://www.techopedia.com/definition/8711/oracle-database [Accessed 15 April 2013], "Oracle database (Oracle DB) is a relational database management system (RDBMS) from the Oracle Corporation. Oracle DB is one of the most trusted and widely-used relational database engines." It can run on various platforms and there are four different DB versions available to meet with user requirements and budget. They are Express Edition, Standard Edition One, Standard Edition and Enterprise Edition. Oracle has a very flexible data network whose data capacity can be increased or decreased to suit with users' demand. This can be done without degradation of service. It also designs as a robust system because it protects from all common causes of accidental or planned downtime, including human error. MS SQL Microsoft SQL server is developed by Microsoft. Just like Oracle, the latest version SQL Server 2012 comes with three license configurations. They are new business intelligence edition, enterprise edition and standard edition. SQL server offers a robust system by providing the ability to handle a large number of transactions, users and capacity of data. It also includes locking function for concurrency control. So, it can prevent the changes concurrently made to the 30

31. same transaction. A wide variety of tools facilitate database administrators for managing the database with high level of control. MySQL MySQL is a multi-user and open source relational database management system which is now under proprietary products of Oracle Corporation. It is mostly used for implementing the web applications and also for developing open source projects. According to MySQL (2013) available at http://www.mysql.com/why-mysql/#en-0-34 [Accessed 16 April 2013], it stated that "Many of the world's largest and fastest-growing organizations including Facebook, Google, Adobe, Alcatel Lucent and Zappos rely on MySQL to save time and money powering their high-volume Web sites, business-critical systems and packaged software." MySQL also provides high flexibility because it can run on over several different platforms. Another major good point of MySQL is that it is available for free and this freely downloadable version (MySQL Community Edition) can even support large enterprise to implement scalable and high performance database. But, commercial customers can purchase any one of three types of MySQL editions to meet their specific requirements either for business or for technology. These three types are as follows: (i) Standard Edition, (ii) Enterprise Edition and (iii) Cluster Carrier Grade Edition. 31

32. Comparisons of three databases Area Oracle MySQL SQL Many security features Many security features Moderate Editions Multiple Editions Multiple Editions Multiple Editions OS Platform Multi Platforms Microsoft Windows only Multi Platforms Cost High High Cheap (can get both in Database Security free or paid form) Compatibility Compatible Not too much Compatible with PHP (can have some errors) Max DB Size Unlimited Unlimited Compatible Unlimited 32

33. Database chosen for developing our system (MySQL) Cost MS SQL and Oracle are the proprietary while MySQL is open source database. So, the costs for the first two databases are higher than MySQL which can be downloaded for free. Functionalities, Security and Platform Although it is true that Oracle is the best database which can support more functionalities and security features than MS SQL and MySQL, it is too complex to use and the beginner developers are not familiar to use it. Although MS SQL is simple to use like MySQL and can support nearly the same functionalities as in MySQL, MS SQL cannot run on multiple platforms like MySQL and Oracle. Compatibility Moreover, we have learnt that MySQL is more compatible with PHP than the other two according to the research and the experiences told by my seniors and other programmers. So, these are the main reasons why MySQL is chosen to be used for Dreamland project. 2.7 Chapter Summary Chapter 2 discusses about literature review on the things and areas required for implementing ecommerce website for Dreamland Fashion Company. The concept of ecommerce was researched and many comparisons on methodologies, tools and techniques are carried out. As a result, in-depth knowledge of requirements to adopt ecommerce website is gained and the right solutions could be chosen. To manage and analyze the requirements for Dreamland project, DSDM with UML will be applied. Moreover, Dreamland website will be implemented with PHP and MySQL database will be used to store data. 33

34. Chapter 3. Feasibility Study 3.1 Introduction In chapter 2, DSDM methodology is decided to use for managing Dreamland project. But, DSDM is not possible to use for all projects. So, it will be needed to assess whether DSDM is the right methodology for this project. This will be done based on six suitability filters of DSDM. These six filters are referenced from Stapleton (1997). 3.2 Deciding by using six suitability filters of DSDM (1) "Is the functionality going to be reasonable visible at the user interface?" The answer is 'Yes'. Since it is only an ecommerce website, functionalities are the same with other websites. Moreover, the users can see clearly what they want and the purposes of developing this project. (2) "Can you clearly identify all classes of end users?" The answer is 'Yes'. End-user involvement is imperative for all DSDM projects. In this Dreamland project, a number of end-users can be clearly identified. (3) "Is the application computationally complex?" The answer is 'No'. The system that is going to be developed is neither safety critical system nor innovative system. The system is only an ecommerce website which has similar features and functionalities like other websites. (4) "Is the application potentially large? If it is, can it be split into smaller functional components?" The answer is 'Yes'. Dreamland website is a reasonably large ecommerce website which includes many functions and features. However, each function can be divided into sub functions and can be delivered separately in discrete chunks. 34

35. (5) "Is the project really time constrained?" The answer is 'Yes'. This project must be delivered within 6 month period. So, it is under time constraint. (6) "Are the requirements flexible and only specified at a high level?" The answer is 'Yes'. Users specify only high level requirements and low level requirements can be subject to change to meet the business requirements. 3.3 Chapter Summary In this chapter 3, whether DSDM is suitable for Dreamland project or not is determined based on six suitability filters defined by DSDM Consortium. It is found that DSDM is the right approach. So, analysis for the requirements of proposed Dreamland website will be discussed in details in chapter 4. 35

36. Chapter 4. Requirement Analysis and Requirement Specification 4.1 Introduction This chapter will explain how user requirements for Dreamland will be captured by applying many requirement capturing methods. Firstly, making research on similar fashion website will be carried out to understand the standard features that a fashion website should have. This will be done by analyzing four fashion websites. Secondly, interviews and JAD workshop meetings will be conducted with end-users of Dreamland Company from operational to management level. After analyzing Dreamland system, requirement specification will be processed. Firstly, functional and non-functional requirements of proposed Dreamland website will be pointed out. Next, MoSCoW technique will be applied to specify and prioritize the important functions. After specifying the functions for Dreamland project, Business prototype such as use case diagram and class diagram will be used because it is the best communication tool and it can to describe clearly what the proposed system will do. Since it is DSDM project, all of these analysis and requirement specification will be carried out by letting different classes of DSDM users involved. Users who must be participated consist of executive sponsor, ambassador users, advisor users, visionary, project manager, team leader, technical developer, tester, developer and scribe. 36

37. 4.2 Business Study 4.2.1 Research on four similar fashion websites What make a fashion website successful? To find out this answer, I made research on several websites. Among these websites, four best websites will be taken to make comparisons. According to TURBAN, et al. (2008), we realized that there are eleven main website design criteria which can make a website successful. They are navigation, response time, consistency, quality assurance, appearance, availability, content, usability, interactivity, security and scalability. These eleven criteria can be put under three general topics: (1) usability and appearance, (2) features and (3) security and trust. Based on these three topics, good points will be pointed out to take into Dreamland website and weakness will also be considered to leave out while designing and implementing the website. 37

38. (i) The first website: http://www.oasis-stores.com/?lng=en&ctry=GB&lng=en&ctry=& [Accessed 22 March 2013] Figure 6 Oasis Website (1) Usability and Appearance Oasis website uses beautiful and big images which can grasp the attention of ladies. Placing Sale 70% off in big space at the top of the home page can also attract the new visitors as well as regular customers to the website. Moreover, main categories of products are displayed with menu bar beside the company logo. This makes the visitors see clearly and quickly which products are sold by Oasis website. Under each category, there are subcategories shown in tree view. When customers browse the catalogue and look at the product details, related products and respective product review is shown. Products can be searched with price, size and colour and can also be sorted by highest to 38

39. low price, newest and rating. So, this website provides high search and make customers easy to use and navigate. But, since the images of products are not displayed at the home page, visitors will not see the products at first glance. Most people attempt to buy a product when they see it visually. This can decrease the demands of customers. (2) Features People are usually interested in gift and they usually search for delivery information while buying online. As all these information can be easily seen at the footer region, more satisfaction of visitors can be obtained. People are generally influenced by their surrounding society. By using this concept, statistical evidence 77,764 likes on facebook is put at the middle top of the website. Moreover, help feature is also included to let the customers help themselves. (3) Security and Trust Critical thing for ecommerce websites is security. People usually believe that a website is secure only when they see third party logos which provide the services for security. Logos of Verisign and McAfee are included at the bottom right corner of website. But, privacy policy is not clearly described. Strengths Weaknesses - Using beautiful and big images - Website design is too simple. - Placing Sale 70% off in big space - Cannot see the products visually on the home - Using statistical evidence 77,764 likes on page. facebook - A bit complex for navigation for beginner - Delivery information, gift card information, users. etc can be easily seen at the footer region - Include third party logos for security 39

40. (ii) The second website: http://www.sammydress.com/ [Accessed 22 March 2013] Figure 7 Sammy Website 40

41. (1) Usability and Appearance Website layout is systematic and attractive. According to survey, the most important items are put at top right corner of a website. As Sign in link, Register link and Company Phone No is placed at this place, it can increase the chances of getting new customers and help the customers more. Categories of product are displayed at left side bar. So, customers can know immediately which products are available. Animated slide show below menu bar also helps in obtaining customer's attention. Weekly Deals, New Arrivals, Hot Sales, Popular Search and other advertisements are also shown on home page to arouse the customer's desire to purchase. (2) Feature This website provides feature of currency change. The prices of products will be changed according to the specific customer choice of currency type. So, it will not be necessary to calculate money via exchange rate of customer's country. Social media to keep in touch with SAMMY community and third parties logos for delivery, payment and website security are provided at the bottom of the page. Quick index feature is also included to let the customers search products with alphabet. (3) Security and Trust For website security, they partner with McAfee and tested date is also displayed. Payment gateway PayPal is also used to make the customers believe that electronic payment is secure. Ecommerce website cannot survive without having good delivery service. So, DHL and EMS logos are shown at the footer region to guarantee that order can be delivered on the agreed time. Other policy such as privacy policy, terms and conditions, warranty and return, payment methods, and shipping and handlings are clearly mentioned on the website. 41

42. Strengths Weaknesses - Website layout is systematic and attractive. - Displaying too much products and - It follows the standard website layout. (put advertisements on home page. important things on top right corner) - It is a little bit cramped on home page. - Different categories are displayed systematically. - Navigation is easy. - Using Animated slide show for eye-catching purposes - Linking with social media - Including third parties logos for delivery, payment and website security - Providing abundant information to the customers. 42

43. (iii) The third website: http://www.boohoo.com/usa/page/home/ [Accessed 22 March 2013] Figure 8 boohoo website 43

44. (1) Usability and Appearance Website layout is simple. Website design is spick and span because of using only big images of celebrities. Since people usually keep eyes on what their ideal celebrities wear and imitate them, the technique used by this website can acquire great success. Most of fashion websites are dedicated to young people especially teenagers. Thus, colours used in the website should be their favourite ones. Only if, this fashion website can sustain the target audience for longer. We can say that choice of colours by boohoo website is perfect because of choosing mostly black, white and pink which are crazy colours of teenagers. (2) Features It includes a feature for the customers to receive the latest style updates by signing up. Like Sammy website, a feature of currency change is also offered. Delivery options are also described on home page so that customer can choose his/her preferable delivery option. The company also creates the blog for customers who do not have desire to do online shopping but have intension for window shopping can observe the review of the products and view other customers' comments. This website also has links to social media such as facebook, twitter. (3) Security and Trust Since awards got by boohoo were shown at bottom right corner of website, trust from customers can be gained more. In addition, terms of use, types of acceptable payment and privacy policy are clearly stated. PCI Compliant logo which ensures that credit card information is transferred in a secure environment is also placed to let the customers feel safe and secure for their credit card. Strengths Weaknesses - Website layout is simple but eye-catching. - It will be better and customers can - Using only big images of celebrities. pick up the latest fashion trend if - Using favourite colours of targeted audience sample of 4 or 5 new arrival products - Showing awards got by boohoo, PCI Compliant logo or hot products are displayed at home increases customers' trust page. - Includes a feature for sending the latest style updates - Consists of links to social media 44

45. (iv) The fourth website: http://www.smpasoe.com/index.php?gOo=shop.dwt [Accessed 22 March 2013] Figure 9 smpasoe website 45

46. (1) Usability and Appearance As it is a fashion website, design should be eye-catching. But, design is too simple and colours used in the website are not striking. Although black, white and red are actually the bright colours, black fonts on white background make the whole web page simple and not attractive. For a fashion website, look and feel should be on top priority. Functionality to search products by categories and ability to sort products by New, Recommend, Hot, Special, Brand, Promotion, Gift are provided on top portion. Therefore, customers can easily see them and can conveniently search the products which meet their requirements. (2) Features As this website is intended for Myanmar people who are not familiar with online shopping, links such as Guestbook, FAQ, Buying Guide and Help Center are positioned at obvious places like header and footer regions of the website to assist the customers in purchasing products online. (3) Security For privacy policy issue, this website claims that they will not let the customer personal information leak to other institution and individuals. This statement is shown on every page to make customers notice of it. Strengths Weaknesses - Can search products by categories and sort - Design is not cool and eye-catching. with various criteria. - Black fonts on white background make the - Many features such as Guestbook, FAQ, whole web page simple and not attractive. Buying Guide and Help Center are used to assist the beginner users. - It cares for privacy policy and shows on every page. 46

47. 4.2.2 Proposed system Dreamland Fashion Website based on four websites All fashion websites are similar because standard features for ecommerce websites are the same. After analyzing four websites above, layout, design and display of products seem to be the most important priorities for a fashion website. So, Dreamland website will be designed and implemented based on the research. (1) Usability and Appearance Most fashion website use black because it is crazy colour of young people. So, black color for background and white font will be chosen for Dreamland website. In addition, purple is also selected because its symbolic meaning is luxurious and attractive. While making comparisons of four websites, boohoo website seems to get more attention because of using large images of celebrities. So, their techniques will be followed by utilizing the slide show showing big images of celebrities in fashionable clothes. Functionality to search with product category, size, colour or price on left side bar will be provided so that customers can conveniently refine their requirements. Moreover, the ability to sort the display of products by Latest, Brand, Price and Popularity will also be included. (2) Features On Oasis, Sammy, boohoo website, we found some social media icons. Since people are usually influenced by their social surroundings, social network icons such as facebook, twitter should need to be included for the purpose of mass marketing as well as word-of-mouth marketing. Apart from this, we also add additional feature to send the latest style to the customers like boohoo website. (3) Security and Trust Like four websites we had analyzed, type of payment we accepted and third party logo (Verisign) for website security will be placed to make the customers believe that our website is secure. 47

48. 4.2.3 Interviews with Responsible Personnel Interview Schedule Interviewee Date Time Location Daw Nwe Nwe Oo 22 November 2012 11:00 am 12:15 pm At Daw Nwe Nwe's (Managing Director of office Dreamland Company) Daw Yuzana 23 November 2012 10:00 am 12:15 pm (Manager of Purchase At Dreamland's meeting room Department) Daw Aye Mon (Staff of Purchase Department) U Kaung Myat 26 November 2012 10:00 am 12:15 pm (Manager of Sales At Dreamland's meeting room Department) Daw Hla Win (Sales Executive) U Sai Sai 27 November 2012 10:00 am 11:15 pm (Senior Staff at At Dreamland's meeting room Delivery Department) Daw Moe Moe 28 November 2012 Daw Shwe Zin 11:00 am 12:00 pm At Dreamland's meeting room (Operation Staff) SEE APPENDIX C (Pg- 73) 48

49. 4.3 Requirements Specification 4.3.1 Functional Requirements prioritized by MoSCoW Must Have Register customer information Register staff Save supplier information Input information for items Insert information for subitems Record purchase information Sales information Buy a product Should Have Saving delivery information Record product review for review section Payment process (Dreamland Account) Recharge money to Dreamland Account Could Have Save promoted Subitems Make/solve enquires and complaints Comment and rate reviews and products Add to wish list View purchase history Daily/Monthly Sales/Purchase Report Stock report Best sellers report Would Have Return products Damaged products Notify users when quantity of each product in the stock is lower than the predefined quantity 49

50. 4.3.2 Non-functional Requirements Since the target audience is Myanmar people who are novices for shopping online, Dreamland website should be designed and implemented by targeting high usability and consistency so that the visitors can easily navigate around the website. To attract the new visitors, eye-catching colors and attractive design element must also be used. Short response time and 24/7 availability service should be offered to get the sustainable customers. Simultaneously, high security must be provided to let the customers make payment online without doubt and to make them believe that their privacy information is secure. 50

51. 4.3.3 Use Case Figure 10 Dreamland Online Fashion Store for Staff Use Case 51

52. Figure 11 Dreamland Online Fashion Store for Customer Use Case 52

53. 4.3.4 Class Diagram (See Appendix E for more class diagrams (pg - 85)) Figure 12 Class Diagram for Product Entry and Purchase from Suppliers 4.4 Chapter Summary In this chapter, features of four fashion websites are observed and standard features could be pointed out. Based on the research of these four websites, features to be used in Dreamland website could be defined. Moreover, user requirements such as functional and non-functional requirements could be easily identified by using many analysis methods such as interviews and JAD workshop. With the help of MoSCoW, functions could be prioritized. So, important functions can be delivered first and it can be useful if it is behind schedule. Use case and class diagrams also helped in describing the proposed system clearly. 53

54. Chapter 5. System Design 5.1 Introduction This chapter will describe design related matters. This will include how database of Dreamland will be structured and how user friendly HCI interfaces will be designed. So, samples of prototypes will be demonstrated in this chapter. 5.2 Database Design MySql database will be used to store data for Dreamland website. Class Diagram described in Chapter 4 will have to be reviewed to produce the tables. In the database design, the classes drawn in the class diagrams will become tables. Likewise, attributes in each class will become the fields in respective tables. Primary key will be defined for each table and this key must be unique and not null. For all one to many relationships, primary key of one table will become foreign key in another related table. By this way, Dreamland database could be well-structured and well-designed. 5.3 Prototype Prototype will be used to let the end-users see clearly what their system is and how it will function. So, some sample prototypes will be shown here. Consistency in design and the use of colours is the most important factor for every website. Thus, purple having symbolic meaning of luxurious and attractive and young people's favourite colours: black and white and will be used for the whole website. At the top of dreamland website, company logo, slogan and important things such as search box, sign in button and shopping cart will be placed because this place is the one which can be seen at first glance by the visitors. Navigation bar which include menus such as Home, Review, Ladies, Men, Promotion and Company Info will also be created at every page. Apart from this, there will be type of payment we accepted, third party logo for website security and some links under three categories: Customer Care, Information and Company at the bottom of our website to convey information to customers. SEE APPENDIX F (pg 89) 54

55. 5.4 Chapter Summary In this chapter, class diagram was transformed into database tables which were collected later to produce database design. Well-structured database could be designed with right keys, tables and attributes. Based on database design, prototypes were created so that end-users can broaden their knowledge of the proposed system. By this way, prototypes can improve the involvement of endusers in project development. 55

56. Chapter 6. System Development 6.1 Introduction After the design phase, timeboxing will be used for implementing the system because it allows iteration, can control the track of time and can deliver the required system within the predefined timeframe. Since this project has to be completed within 6 months, timeboxing will also be a great useful technique. According to "DSDM Consortium Public Version 4.1[pdf]" available at http://intra.iam.hva.nl/content/0708/propedeuse/ontwikkelmethoden_en_technieken//intro-enmateriaal/DSDM.pdf [Accessed 21 April 2013], " Timeboxing is a process by which defined objectives are reached at a pre-determined and immovable date through continuous prioritisation and flexing of requirements using the MoSCoW rules. " So, functional requirements prioritized by MoSCoW will be timeboxed to deliver a complete system without running out of control. 6.2 Changes All of the functions included in requirement specification for this project cannot be developed because of time constraints. So, I will implement the functions that are put under three categories: Must, Should and Could, and leave out the functions under Would for future development. They will be developed in each timebox described below. Testing for each timebox will be taken place at the end of each timebox and it will be integrated throughout Dreamland project development. 56

57. 6.3 Timebox Schedule No Date Deliverable Timebox 1 25 December 2012 Implement Database 27 December 2012 Timebox 2 28 December 2012 Design Home page and frame inside pages 3 January 2013 Timebox 3 4 January 2013 Implement login/logout and customer registration page 4 January 2013 Timebox 4 7 January 2013 Create Entry pages for admin site 10 January 2013 Timebox 5 11 January 2013 Create Transaction pages for admin site 17 January 2013 Timebox 7 18 January 2013 Produce product catalogue, shopping cart, delivery and 28 January 2013 Timebox 6 payment pages 29 January 2013 Add Review Section, Promotion and other static pages 5 February 2013 Timebox 8 6 February 2013 Create Report pages 7 February 2013 Timebox 1 This timebox is aimed to implement database for Dreamland. So, class diagram and database design must be reviewed first. Then, tables must be created first to store the respective data. For each table, unique primary key will be defined and foreign keys will also be linked. Finally, attributes are added to their respective tables. Timebox 2 The main purpose of this timebox is to design Home page and frame inside pages. So, I will have to implement the template for Dreamland website by using HTML, CSS and javascript. 57

58. Timebox 3 In this Timebox, login/logout and customer and staff registration pages will be implemented. After completing this timebox, customers and staff can login to the system and they will have the permission to view their allowed pages. Timebox 4 The major objective of Timebox 4 is to create Entry pages for admin site. Entry pages such as category, subcategory, item, subitem, review author, review, supplier, city, colour, size, brand, promotion are covered in this timebox. After testing this timebox, Dreamland staff can start migrating data. Timebox 5 The major objective of Timebox 5 is to create Transaction pages for admin site. Transaction pages such as supplier supplied item, purchase, assign promotion item and recharge money to account must be finished after this timebox. Timebox 6 In this Timebox, I will implement product display pages, shopping cart, delivery and payment. After completing this timebox, customers can browse the product catalogue, add to the items they want to buy to the shopping cart, enter delivery information, calculate delivery charges and finally can make payment with their Dreamland account. Timebox 7 In Timebox 7, Review Section, Promotion and other static pages will have to be created. After completing and testing this timebox, customers can read the reviews of product and other discussions concerned with fashion trends. Moreover, they will be able to comment and rate the reviews. Customers can also view the promotion area and buy the products. Company Information pages such as Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions, Contact us and About us, Help pages like FAQs and shopping guide will also be produced. 58

59. Timebox 8 For Timebox 8, report feature has to be added to the system. Daily/Monthly Sales/Purchase Report, Stock Report, Best seller report, delivery report, etc can be produced at the end of this timebox. Testing of these 8 Timeboxes can be seen at APPENDIX G (pg - 90) 6.4 Chapter Summary In this chapter, how proposed system will be developed is explained in details. System implementation will be carried out by using timeboxing and MoSCoW techniques. System will be divided and put into 8 timeboxes which can deliver workable parts at the end of each timebox. So, system can be delivered to the end-users frequently and this can lead to get more customer's satisfaction and can meet business requirements more. 59

60. Chapter 7. Evaluation 7.1 Overview Summary I wanted to implement a complete ecommerce website since I was a first year student. Successful completion of this project makes me feel like I am on cloud nine because I could turn my dream into reality. Before developing the project, I thought that I could implement complex ecommerce website and took into many features and functions into my website. But, I had to leave out some features and functions because of tight time-constraint and my weakness in skill and experience of developing website. So, I implemented 'Must', 'Should' and 'Could' functions prioritized by using MoSCoW technique. In this chapter, I want to discuss mainly focus on four parts. They are (1) Review on implemented database design, (2) Review on front-end portion (customer site) of Dreamland website, (3) Review on back-end portion (admin site) of Dreamland website, (4) Review on Development Process and (5) Personal Evaluation or Lessons learnt from Dreamland project. 7.2 Project Evaluation 7.2.1 Review on implemented database design At first, I took too many tables into my database design. For example, when there is one to one relationship, I can combine two tables into one. But, I did not know this. After discussing with my supervisor, I realize that I can combine them. For example, subtitem table and stock table has one to one relationship and only quantity and subitem ID are stored in stock table. But, I added quantity attribute into subitem table and made these two tables into one. Likewise, customer and staff tables can be combined into only one table by giving the name 'user table' because they two have the same behaviours and both of them have many common attributes. But, I separate them for the sake of developer so that developer can easily implement code. Physically, there may be two tables. But, logically, there is only one table. 60

61. Another mistake I made during designing database can be seen as follow: Figure 13 My wrong assumption for putting foreign key Foreign key of customer is placed in both delivery table and sale table. Actually, it is ok even if we put foreign key of customer only in sale table because foreign key of sale table will be in delivery table. So, after discussing with my supervisor, I can correct this mistake like this. Figure 14 Correct mistake after discussing with supervisor So, I could fix all of these problems emerged from my wrong assumptions and made my database design better after discussing with my project supervisor. 61

62. 7.2.2 Review on front-end portion (customer site) of Dreamland website It will be better if I use more animated product catalogue than the static one to attract the customers more. But, file size to upload to UOG's server is limited. So, I used static catalogue. In my website, there are many useful features such as view purchase history, add to wish list, etc and I hope that they can acquire more customers' satisfaction. Customers can give comments on the products and reviews about their opinions. I implemented to let both register customers and anonymous users comment on them. However, if a person who wants to give comment is anonymous person, this person will have to give his/her name, email address. We can get more customers and can create the active discussions between customers because of this feature. Customers can also rate the products and reviews. I defined the range of rating as follows: below 5 clicks (1 star), between 5-10 (2 stars), between 10-15(3 stars), between 15-20(4 stars) and above 20 (5 stars). I did not define too much value to define range of rating because my project will be just a demonstration. But, what I see is more value is defined for range of rating in real world project. In other website, I observed that its related products are displayed while viewing a product's details. But, there is no feature like this in my website. So, I should consider this kind of feature for next coming projects. 62

63. 7.2.3 Review on back-end portion (admin site) of Dreamland website One of the strengths of my project is that it has six different roles for staff of Dreamland. According to the roles, authority and permission may not be same. I want to describe them from highest level to lowest. They are (1) Administrator (who has the permission to access all data), (2) Manager (who have access to all data except administering the staff information), (3) Purchase (who has access to product data entry, supplier data and purchase processes), Delivery (who has access to delivery information), Operation (who has access to review author entry, review entry and feedback which includes complaints and enquires), and Branch Staff (who has access to view customer information and recharge money). I follow the consistency rule and implemented all web forms in same look and format. For example, after clicking on 'Supplier' link under 'Entry' menu, there will be 'Add New' button to add new supplier. Existing supplier can be searched with different criteria to edit data. While clicking on the search result in table format, it will navigate to the edit form. Other entry of data is also based on this format. So, it is easy to learn for end-users. In addition to this, I implemented subitem code to generate automatically after prefix of item code has been defined. This makes the subitem code unique and reduces human input error. There is also one weakness I found for backend. When I record a new item, I must first record subcategory if this subcategory is not in the database. Sometimes, I am at new item entry page and fill all information of new one. Then, I realized that its subcategory is new and is not in the database. This makes me have to go back to subcategory page and make the entry leading to inconvenience. For desktop application, it is easy to put new button to call subcategory form and then send back to item form after saving new subcategory information. But, for website, I found difficulty to handle this. So, I leave out this feature. Actually, delivery is also important for ecommerce website. For this process, staff of delivery department will have to draw delivery schedule to deliver the products. But, the system does not support the functionality to produce the delivery route and rota. So, staff will have to arrange it manually. Likewise, I also left out the functionality to produce some types of report such as loss and benefits report because of time-constraint. 63

64. 7.2.4 Review on Development Processes The primary principal of DSDM is active user involvement and staff of Dreamland are also very enthusiastic to participate throughout development life cycle. So, development processes with DSDM seem to be productive for Dreamland project. Moreover, since I am not a professional system analyst, I cannot capture all the user requirements by only one time. Since DSDM has iterative in nature, it can fit my needs. JAD workshops also assisted me in making development processes more efficient because I could collect the user requirements easily. Similarly, I could motivate the participation of users with the help of prototyping. As a result, end-users could understand their requirements more and this improved the development processes. MoSCoW and Timeboxing also added value to development processes. Without applying them in this project, the most essential features and functions could not be delivered within 6 month period. Workable parts can be delivered incrementally and separately because of them. 7.3 Personal Evaluation or Lessons learnt from Dreamland project Although all of the functions defined in my requirement specification could not be implemented in Dreamland website, I am a bit quite happy because I could produce a workable website with standard features. I become more familiar with project management methodology, tools, techniques, concept of ecommerce and importance of literature review. Moreover, I become realize that a project cannot be successful by using only methodology and forget about other important factors such as time, scope and budget. This is learnt from my project. During developing this project, I fall ill and my project was behind schedule and I also cannot meet with my supervisor regularly. This affects the scope of project leading to degradation in quality. So, I have also learnt that time-management skill is a key to delivering a successful project under tight time-constraint. This also points out my weakness in managing time and I must manage time with great care for next coming projects. Another problem I faced with during developing Dreamland project is lack of professional technical skills. Since it is my first use of PHP to develop ecommerce website, I found some big 64

65. problems while implementing PHP code. But, I also thank this problem because I could improve my self-study skills of learning online. At first, I put all of my effort to learn PHP and ignore other things. But, I gradually learnt that research is more important than coding after discussing with my supervisor. This is because I found many mistakes and weaknesses in my design, assumptions and other things because I did not make enough research for project requirements. So, I started to read ebooks and browse internet to make my literature review close to perfect. By this way, I could make my research skill improved than before. The most important lesson I have learnt from this project is that communication skill is crucial for every information system development. I had to deal with staff of Dreamland to collect the user requirements of different level. I may capture the technical functionalities of the proposed system. However, the proposed system can fail sooner or later if soft factors of people cannot be identified. So, I learnt how to communicate with people and this made improved my soft skills too. To summarize, I put my utmost effort to be able to deliver a complete and workable project. There are some weaknesses in my project and I left out some functions for future development. However, I am satisfied with what I have done because I could turn my dream of implementing ecommerce website into reality. 65

66. Chapter 8. Conclusion To conclude, I become realize that developing ecommerce websites and selling products online gradually become popular because of having many advantages. Dreamland Fashion Company also gains many benefits from developing this project. The most tangible benefit is reduction in costs of hiring physical storefronts and costs for staff. Moreover, company can also create new sales channel which can be opened 24/7/365 and which can increase speed for time-to-market. Developing this project can also bring about improved customer relationship and service. Company can also promote its marketing by using new online marketing methods such as email marketing and eCRM. Since it becomes a computerized system, human errors such as data inconsistency can be reduced. Since reports can be produced easily and quickly, it is convenient for management level. This project can also create value for customers. For example, (1) information availability value, i.e, customers can find the information of products easily and (2) ubiquity value, i.e, customers can shop around the website at any time from any place. In addition, they can compare the products easily and choose the right one. Although this project can give many benefits for both company and customers, limitations of ecommerce should not be ignored. For example, customers' concerns for privacy information and website security deter the customers from purchasing online. So, Dreamland solved it by partnering with Verisign which provides security service. All in all, many aspects which take the main role of ecommerce as well as which are the survival of ecommerce are covered in this project report. So, I hope that this project report can give a big hand to other ecommerce organizations and students who want to broaden their knowledge in the field of business and IT. 66

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