INFORMATION SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE DESIGN
Phase SD.1 General requirements analysis
be informed of the existing system
not only the existing information system, but also the
business processes involved in domains highlighted in the
startup phase
try to know and understand better the end-users (the
target customers) highlighted in the startup phase
The study of the existing system must always be limited
to the essential. It may not become an extended
description of all the details of the current system.
Nevertheless, it is mandatory that the requirements
analysis is built upon a sufficient knowledge of the
existing system.
structure the scope of the study into
functional domains
describe the main flows between domains.
structure the target users into users
types or customers types
assign specific domains to each users type
identify the main constraints
quantify the volumes to be
processed
electronic operations: expected traffic on your web site
manual operations: delivery, ...
identify the requirements
identify the main information requirements (satisfied
& not satisfied)
identify the functions & purposes by domain and user type
set the priorities.
give a first diagnostic
also in terms of performances and cost of the current
system
propose new evolution
possibilities.
marketing choices
management choices
organization choices
technological choices: IT, telecom, ...
Interviews & workshops
Study of the existing system
Enquiry (organization chart, workforce,
available resources, main functions of the services,
documents inventory, documents flow)
Study of the existing documentation:
market studies
relationship with suppliers and/or retailers
regulation
reports of the direction committee & reports of the
IT committee, previous architecture designs, audit
reports, ...
analysis documents, user documentation, applications
mapping.
Identify the corporate
e-business potential
Identify all the products and services you can provide
by the web, and that will help you to reach your goals.
Identify all the market segments that each product of
service can support.
The next steps will help you to choose which
product/segment the e-commerce solution should target.
Market study from the
customer point-of-view
If you plan to reach end-customers, for each product
category :
Evaluate the level of familiarity and confidence
required in the buying process
Do the customers know the product ?
Familiarity and confidence results from :
-
purchase frequency
-
brand strength and reputation
Evaluate the product characteristics
If the customers don't know the product, do they need
to physically touch or try it before buying ?
Evaluate the customer emotional/rational commitment
in the shopping and buying experience.
1. Rational commitment makes a
product more suitable for e-business :
rational decision taken upon objective
criteria (quality/price ratio, ...)
but decisions perceived as
complex sometimes need the physical presence of
an expert
routine decision : everyday products
(basic foodstuff or clothing, drinks, ...) are
more suitable for e-commerce
the current purchase process is already
virtual (sale by phone, fax, mail)
2. For emotional commitment,
evaluate which physical sense(s) is involved to
select the product and make the buying decision :
much suitable for e-business: to see, to
read, to hear ;
but some buying decisions need
the physical presence of a sale assistant
less suitable for e-business: to touch, to
taste, to smell, but packaging replaces them by
the recognition based mostly upon the view sense
Try to
increase the attractivity of your products for the
e-commerce
Which added value could bring online selling on your
products ?
Market study from the
distribution point-of-view
Evaluate the impact of an e-business migration on the
existing distribution channels.
E-business can result in a new distribution process and
the disappearance of many intermediates
(disintermediation) or in reducing
their sales level. In many cases indeed, the
manufacturer will be able to sale and to deliver
directly to the final customers.
Evaluate your actual distribution partners sensitivity
on this question if you will still need to work with
them.
Market study from
the competitors and
partners point-of-view
Depending on your place in the distribution process,
evaluate the risk of losing a part of your business due
to a reorganization of your business partners and
competitors.
Can your suppliers skip you ?
What if your customers do not longer want to come to
your shop, or the shops selling your products ?
Do your customers consider the shopping experience as
an unpleasant duty ? Can they buy your products in
another way ?
Is there a risk that new entrants come on your market
and beat it ? Can a competitor implement by the net a
much faster and more powerful distribution process
than the current one ?
General description of the current
information system
describe the main processes and their functions.
Note: When a part of the documentation lacks, it is
sometimes necessary to do a more detailed analysis of
the existing system. A this stage, the analysis will
anyway always stay focused to the identification of the
requirements (satisfied requirements by the way).
Estimate the results of the current
systems :
information system performances
realizations, volumes, delays, working and maintenance
costs, resources, performances.
business performances
sales level, customer awareness
customers, suppliers and retailers satisfaction
marketing, sales and distributing/delivery costs
Study of
the new requirements, that may raise from the evolution
of the domain or of its environment.
economical, marketing and customer
requirements
Would the consumer want to make the purchase
electronically and how to promote this kind of shopping ?
Triple-I model :
-
Deep market immersion in order to
understand deeply what are the customers needs today.
-
Intuition to understand how they
will evolute.
-
Innovation to invent new products
and new ways of shopping that will please them.
Formulate new requirements :
for the e-business system
new marketing challenges :
-
more information for sellers about their
customers
-
deep customization for each customer
(and not for each customer type)
-
data mining
-
more information for buyers about the products
and services
-
new intermediaries (marketing information
management, logistics, ...)
-
world-wide sourcing and
-
greater value consciousness
for the traditional sale process
-
Will the customer still want to go in your
traditional sale points ?
-
What to do to keep them doing profit ?
regulation
taxes
organization
users basic requirements
qualification, responsibilities, working hours,
friendliness, security,
privacy, languages, payment methods, process simplicity,
delivery time, ...
technology
Identify the main constraints
constraints forced by the distribution
and competitors
technical constraints forced by the
expected users' browsing agents
which user agents are to be reached ?
-
only PC-driven browser or also GSM, palmtop ?
-
proprietary or standard technologies ?
-
last-generation agents or also older agents ?
Write a first diagnostic
Propose an action plan for the next
phase
Control by a second reading, simple or
alternate.
Key factors:
identify and take all needed information sources into
account
brainstorm efficiently to imagine the future evolution
At the end of this phase, you should:
select the requirements that need being
satisfied; rank them by priority.
agree on a limited number of
"acceptable" orientations .
agree on the methodology for the next
phase.
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