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A Systems Analysis and Upgrade of a Small

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A Systems Analysis and Upgrade of a Small AA SSYYSSTTEEMMSS AANNAALLYYSSIISS AANNDD UUPPGGRRAADDEE OOFF AA SSMMAALLLL BBUUSSIINNEESSSS EECCOOMMMMEERRCCEE WWEEBBSSIITTEE A SENIOR PROJECT BY PAUL LOUTHAN AA SSYYSSTTEEMMSS AANNAALLYYSSIISS AANNDD UUPPGGRRAADDEE OOFF AA SSMMAALLLL BBUUSSIINNEESSSS EECCOOMMMMEERRCCEE WWEEBBSSIITTEE A SENIOR PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT OREGON INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE PAUL LOUTHAN JUNE 10, 2012 KingsMums.Com Upgrade Project Paul Louthan SENIOR PROJECT APPROVALS This senior project, completed by Paul Louthan for the Bachelor of Science degree, was accepted by the evaluation committee and the Department of Management at the Oregon Institute of Technology. COMMITTEE APPROVALS: _______________________________________ _________________ Reviewer 1 Date _______________________________________ _________________ Reviewer 2 Date _______________________________________ _________________ Reviewer 3 Date _______________________________________ _________________ Professor Grant Kirby Date Program Director (Oregon Institute of Technology) June 10, 2012 Page 2 of 78 KingsMums.Com Upgrade Project Paul Louthan EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This document is a record of the work done by Paul Louthan on a project to improve an existing e-commerce website by migrating to the Magento Go e-commerce software platform. This document describes the project, its objectives, stakeholders, planning and analysis, research results, scope, risk assessment, external inputs, solution outline, management model, success metrics, timeline, and summary of unresolved issues. It also includes an appendix, which contains the project proposal, analysis support documentation, design elements, list of product features and capabilities, cost structure, screenshots, and other resources. The e-commerce website, www.kingsmums.com, is a major asset of King’s Mums, LLC, a small business located in Oregon City, owned and operated by Ray and Kim Gray. The business is a greenhouse nursery that specializes in propagating over 400 varieties of exhibition, garden, and vintage chrysanthemums, which it sells and ships to customers throughout the United States and Canada as rooted plant cuttings. During production season, which runs from January through the end of June, King’s Mums earns an annual revenue of just over $100,000. Approximately 60% of the company’s orders are received through its website while the remaining 40% are accepted via catalog mail- order, phone, fax, or email. The original website and administrative interface was created in 2008 by a free-lance IT consultant. From the beginning, the website and accompanying order management software was obsolete and difficult to use. In order to fully automate transactions, provide improved customer experiences, and better compete with alternative chrysanthemum suppliers, the website design, functionality, and feature-set needed a substantial overhaul—or a complete redesign—from the top down to the bottom, with special considerations for the logistical and practical needs of the business owners as well as their customers. This project addressed those needs. This report documents the results of Paul Louthan’s work on this website upgrade project. It explains how he analyzed the existing website, business systems, and processes, and subsequently researched alternative solutions, including available e- commerce software platforms, web development tools, design standards, and security considerations, as well as competing industry solutions and standards employed by similar businesses. This report explains how and why he ultimately selected the Magento Go e-commerce software platform to address the needs of the King’s Mums website, and how he used the Magento Go software to design, develop, and plan for full implementation of the new e-commerce solution as a replacement to the existing website and management software. This document shows how the new e-commerce software improves common customer experience for tasks such as browsing and navigation, searching for products, placing June 10, 2012 Page 3 of 78 KingsMums.Com Upgrade Project Paul Louthan orders, and finding information. This report gives details on how this project expands website features, improves data quality, simplifies employee-facing software interfaces, and makes placing repeat-orders easier for customers. In addition, this document explains how this upgrade project has automated King’s Mums’ web order transactions and thus eliminated the need for an employee to process each order manually. This document explains how the new e-commerce software reduces the likelihood of human errors and improves overall efficiency. Finally, this document reports on the progress of the project so far, summarizes unresolved issues, and specifies the remaining tasks and timeline to complete the project. June 10, 2012 Page 4 of 78 KingsMums.Com Upgrade Project Paul Louthan ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful to the many people who have made this project possible and helped me along the way, especially OIT faculty and students, as well as my family. In particular, I wish to express my sincere thanks to the following key individuals: • Ray and Kim Gray, the dedicated owners and operators of King’s Mums, for their detailed feedback, helpful suggestions, endless support, continued patience, and their willingness to entrust me with a task so important to their business. • Ivan Gray, for his help with the analysis of existing systems and configurations, his extensive knowledge of the technical aspects of King’s Mums’ business arrangements, and his encouragement and support. • Ken Brueck, for lending his valuable time, technical expertise in graphic design and web development, and for his many words of encouragement. • Professor Grant Kirby, for his advice and mentoring throughout all phases of this project, and especially with regard to project planning, management, and documentation. • My wife, Beverly, for her special expertise in capturing, organizing, and providing the beautiful, high-quality images of countless chrysanthemums; her technical knowledge in using Adobe Photoshop for image editing; and her indispensable advice and guidance throughout the life of this project, from its inception all the way through its continuing development. June 10, 2012 Page 5 of 78 KingsMums.Com Upgrade Project Paul Louthan TABLE OF CONTENTS SENIOR PROJECT APPROVALS ........................................................................................................................ 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................................... 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................................... 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................................................... 6 CHAPTER 1 : PROJECT OVERVIEW ............................................................................... 7 PROJECT OVERVIEW ....................................................................................................................................... 7 PROBLEM DEFINITION .................................................................................................................................... 9 PROBLEM SIGNIFICANCE ............................................................................................................................... 10 BACKGROUND INFORMATION .................................................................................................................... 11 MAJOR MILESTONES AND TIMELINE ............................................................................................................ 12 CHAPTER 2 : PLANNING, RESEARCH, & ANALYSIS ............................................... 17 WEBSITE REQUIREMENTS OVERVIEW .......................................................................................................... 17 RESEARCH & ANALYSIS OF E-COMMERCE INFORMATION SYSTEMS ......................................................... 17 STATE OF THE ART OF E-COMMERCE ......................................................................................................... 21 SUMMARY ...................................................................................................................................................... 21 CHAPTER 3 : DESCRIPTION OF WEBSITE FEATURES ........................................... 22 OVERVIEW ..................................................................................................................................................... 22 FUNCTIONAL AND NON-FUNCTIONAL SPECIFICATIONS ........................................................................ 22 CHAPTER 4 : DESCRIPTION OF WEBSITE DESIGN ................................................. 24 OVERVIEW OF GOALS & OBJECTIVES .......................................................................................................... 24 WEBSITE DESIGN ELEMENTS ........................................................................................................................ 24 SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS & DEPENDENCIES ................................................................................................ 25 WEBSITE DESIGN TOOLS & SOFTWARE ..................................................................................................... 26 CHAPTER
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