This purpose of this report is to provide an analysis of the business and user requirements for the Bazaar Ceramics website.
Bazaar Ceramics has been operating for 20 years and have grown to a point where they need to reach a wider audience in both a sales aspect and an advertising one.
The website will provide an avenue for exposure to the international world for advertising purposes and also allow for the sale of items over the internet through an online store.
Advertising costs have risen in recent times and is becoming an expensive way to promote their products, the website will provide will help reduce a number of advertising running costs.
A number of data gathering techniques have been used to assess the project, including:
• Interviews
• Questionnaires
• Workshops
• Research
From these a list a Functional and Non Functional requirements have been found. Amongst the key requirements were the online shop/catalogue, gallery, mailing lists and online order forms (See Appendix F for full details).
Interviews have been held initially with the key stakeholders to get an overview and direction for the project. A workshop was held, this workshop provided the foundation for the Functional Requirements
The only thing left open at the end of the workshop was the ‘ Look and Feel’ component, the use of Autumn colours with highlights is the direction we have been given, along with the ‘ Crisp’, ‘ Contemporary’ and ‘ Arty feel’ keywords describing the website as mentioned in the initial interviews.
Questionnaires to all the Account holders were sent, this was to gain some feedback as to customer requirements for using the site.
It is recommended that we split this project into 2 stages. The first stage will be used to lock down the ‘ Look and Feel’ component of the website. As this company is in the creative arts field, the ‘ Look and Feel’ of the website has an important role to project the right image for the company. The second stage will then add the Functional requirements to the site.
Table of contents
Executive Summary1
Table of contents3
Introduction4
Report Purpose4
Company Background4
Project Background4
Problem/Opportunity Statement5
Functional Requirements6
Mandatory Functional Requirements8
Desirable Functional Requirements8
Non-functional requirements9
Technical requirements for external suppliers10
Technical output requirements for customers11
Technical requirements for interfacing with internal systems13 Technical requirements for system procedures and processes14 Data Flow Diagram. 19
Storyboard20
Technical specifications. 21
Appendices25
Specification development sheet25
Report on Authoring Tools27
Introduction
Report Purpose
The purpose of this report is to provide the business and user requirements for the Bazaar Ceramics Project.
The project is to provide a dual main purpose website, to both advertise and sell their ceramic products online. The main purpose of the site is to provide an avenue for customers to order their products online. The secondary purpose of the website is to be a medium for the business to further advertise and expand their market coverage, due mainly to rising costs of advertising in magazines and to keep up with their competitors.
Company Background
Bazaar Ceramics is a medium sized manufacturer of ceramics that have been operating for about 20 years now, having grown from a small collective of artists, into the ceramic company it is today. They produce for corporate clients and individuals, producing both exclusive art pieces and domestic ware.
Their reputation has grown steadily in recent years, to the point where they are now ready to scale up and increase exposure nationally. The owners of the company have become aware that many of their competitors now have websites and believe a website will help them to decrease marketing costs and increase their profile.
Project Background
Bazaar Ceramics They have tried advertising in top ceramics magazines with some initial success at a significant cost. This has now been deemed a very expensive way to advertise and the proposal to create a website to serve in its place, has risen directly from this.
The added benefit of being able to take orders online for many of their account customers will provide a more streamlined process overall and will also aid in cost cutting internally.
Problem/Opportunity Statement
Bazaar Ceramics would like to develop a website that enables new and existing customers to purchase products online. The website itself will also serve as an advertising platform, opening up more opportunities online and also reduce the advertising costs currently being incurred through advertising in magazines and journals.
The overall aim of the project will be to create an online presence to showcase their products. The website will reduce advertising costs and also streamline the ordering process.
Functional Requirements
Mandatory Functional Requirements Automatically email the producer* of the product when an item is sold Provide account application form – for printing and faxing Enable account customers to order on line (no funds transfer – just added to customer’s existing 30 day account) Standard products should be displayed with a “ low stock” banner when stock gets below a predetermined level Provide a listing of prestige customers who have purchased our products Standard products should be displayed with a “ order now” banner when stock is sold out When a “ one-off” product has been sold, the next visitor will be redirected to the special orders page if they want that product Search facility for products Search facility for Documents Provide a hit counter Account customer (reseller) pricing should be made available to account customers – this should not be visible to the general public Includes the ability for visitors to vote on products even if they don’t want to buy the product right now The system must accept multiple payment methods (credit card)
The system should automatically print invoices at the location where the stock is held (showroom, or one of the remote workers locations) The system should be able to identify where stock is held (showroom, warehouse or remote workers location) Include a privacy policy Conduct ecommerce transactions over the internet – credit card orders The system must interface with the finance system to record account customers sales The producer* should be notified when standard items** are sold out The producer* should be notified when standard items** are getting below a predetermined level Enable customers to track the delivery of products Enable a customer to track the status of their special orders Provide 3D images that customers can view and spin around Enable customers to place special orders on line (customised production, or made-to-order) Automatically email the producer* of the product when an item is sold Provide account application form – for printing and faxing Enable account customers to order on line (no funds transfer – just added to customer’s existing 30 day account)
Standard products should be displayed with a “ low stock” banner when stock gets below a predetermined level Provide a listing of prestige customers who have purchased our products Standard products should be displayed with a “ order now” banner when stock is sold out When a “ one-off” product has been sold, the next visitor will be redirected to the special orders page if they want that product Search facility for products Search facility for Documents Provide a hit counter Account customer (reseller) pricing should be made available to account customers – this should not be visible to the general public Includes the ability for visitors to vote on products even if they don’t want to buy the product right now The system must accept multiple payment methods (credit card)
The system should automatically print invoices at the location where the stock is held (showroom, or one of the remote workers locations) The system should be able to identify where stock is held (showroom, warehouse or remote workers location) Include a privacy policy Conduct ecommerce transactions over the internet – credit card orders The system must interface with the finance system to record account customers sales The producer* should be notified when standard items** are sold out The producer* should be notified when standard items** are getting below a predetermined level
Optional Functional Requirements Enable customers to track the delivery of products Enable a customer to track the status of their special orders Provide 3D images that customers can view and spin around
Mandatory Functional Requirements
The website must display images of the products.
The website must enable a text description of the products. The website must display pricing for products.
The website must provide a virtual tour of the production process. The website must include information about designers, designs, potters and owners. The website must include information regarding different types of glazes and categories of pots. The website must enable potential customers to contact Bazaar Arts. The website must enable potential customers to download an order form.(which can be emailed or faxed back) The website must capture customer details from interested customers. The website must enable visitors to provide feedback on new designs. The website must have a privacy policy.
Desirable Functional Requirements
The website may enable e-commerce in the future.
The website may link into backend sales and inventory systems in the future. The website may automatically e-mail product designers when an item is sold. The website may automatically discount prices for old stock. The website may enable account customers to access product pricing at their rates (logon required). The website may enable
customers to find out their delivery or production status.
Non-functional requirements
Non Functional Requirements The look and feel of the website. Backup System Manuals – How to Use Bandwidth Testing
Technical requirements for external suppliers
This website will not interface with suppliers systems.
Technical output requirements for customers
The mockup image below shows how the general layout of the order form will be on the website. It shows all the required fields to be completed by the customer, with provision for all the products they wish to order.
The image below shows a mockup of the feedback form. This is to be used by customers when they provide Bazaar Ceramics with any feedback on their site.
It has a Name and an Email field to allow return emails for correspondence, should the need arise.
Technical requirements for interfacing with internal systems
The system for this Stage 1 will not be required to interface with any of the current systems at Bazaar Ceramics.
Stage 2 if we proceed with this will integrate the stock/inventory control systems directly with the website.
Technical requirements for system procedures and processes
The table below lists the Input and Output data required for the interactive sections of the proposed system.
Data is used for which Order Form Interactive Process Data item Data Description Input or Output? Any special protocol required? Customer Details Section Customer/Business name Required for delivery and payment Input No details. Include in customer data base if new customer Customer/Business Address Required for delivery and payment Input No details. Include in customer data base if new customer Account Number Required for Account Holder accounts, forInput Needs to be verified against invoice and billing existing database, verify it matches correct format Contact Name Required for Account Holders Input No Phone Phone Number (Landline) Input Verify has 10 numbers FAX FAX Phone Number (Landline) Input Verify has 10 numbers Mobile Mobile Phone Number Input Verify has 10 numbers Email Email Address Input Validate, has to contain (@ & .) characters Deliver to (Name) Alternate Delivery Instructions – Name Input No Delivery Address Alternate Delivery Instructions – AddressInput No Delivery Instructions Alternate Delivery Instructions – SpecialInput No Delivery Instructions
Data is used for which Order Form Interactive Process Data item Data Description Input or Output? Any special protocol required? Product Details Section Product Title 001 Product Title Input No Product Description 001 Product Description Input No Quantity Required 001 Quantity Required Input No Product Title 002 Product Title Input No Product Description 002 Product Description Input No Quantity Required 002 Quantity Required Input No Product Title 003 Product Title Input No Product Description 003 Product Description Input No Quantity Required 003 Quantity Required Input No Product Title 004 Product Title Input No Product Description 004 Product Description Input No Quantity Required 004 Quantity Required Input No NOTE 4 slots to be available initially with provision of adding more products to the order list up to 999 products. So will need ability to extend these up to 999 products, stored in variable array.
Data is used for which Confirmation Form Interactive Process Data item Data Description Input or Output? Any special protocol required? Confirmation Details Selected Item 001 Concatenated details of Product Title & Output No Product Description Selected Item 002 Concatenated details of Product Title & Output No Product Description Selected Item 003 Concatenated details of Product Title & Output No Product Description Selected Item 004 Concatenated details of Product Title & Output No Product Description Possibly Selected Item 5 –
999Concatenated details of Product Title & Output No Product Description Subtotal Price Subtotal of Order Output No GST GST based on current order Output No Total Price Total Price of Order Output No Customer Name Concatenated Customer details Output No Customer Address Customer Address Details Output No Payment Method Chosen Method of Payment Output No Invoice/Order Number Auto Generated Invoice/Order number Output No
Data is used for which Order Form Interactive Process Data item Data Description Input or Output? Any special protocol required? Payment Details Section Payment Method Drop Down selection of: Invoice, Credit Input No Card Credit Card Type Drop Down selection of: AMEX, MasterCard, Input No VISA, Diners Credit Card Expiry Date Expiry Date of Credit Card Input Validate is correct date format Credit Card Security Code Security Code of Credit Card Input Validate has 3-4 numbers
Data is used for which New Product Entry Form Interactive Process Data item Data Description Input or Output? Any special protocol required? Product Detail Upload New Product Title Title to show for new product, required Input No for display on website New Product Description Description to show for new product, Input No required for display on website New Product Base Price Base price of new product, ex GST, age Input No discounts can be applied to this based on age of product Date of Entry Used to calculate age of product on site, Input Automatically applies the current to then apply discounts to. days date when uploading new product details New Product Image1 Front Shot of product Input . jpg, . png or . gif format New Product Image2 Side shot of Product Input . jpg, . png or . gif format
Data is used for which Feedback form Interactive Process Data item Data Description Input or Output? Customer Name Customer Name Input (String) Customer Email Customer Email address Input (String) Navigation Score Please rate the ease of our navigation system. (10= Best 1= Worst) Input (Integer) Look and Feel Score Please rate the look and feel of our site design. (10= Best 1= Worst) Input (Integer) Information Score Please rate the quality of our content. (10= Best 1= Worst) Input (Integer) Favourite Part What was your favorite part of the site? Input (String) Problem or Suggestion Did you experience any problems or have any suggestions? Input (String) Feedback Date Date is auto populated based on when form is opened, set to the Input (Date) current days date. Feedback ID Auto number generated at submission, not seen on front end. Input (Integer)
Context Diagram
This diagram shows the external interactions with the bazaar ceramics website. As you can see there are only two entities at present that interact with the site, either customers or staff. Data Flow Diagram.
This data flow diagram shows how the interactive portion of the Bazaar Ceramics website link together. It has been included to show an overall how the system works.
Customers and Staff will need to login to the site, this is to allow the customers details to be attached to any orders they generate. As most of the customers are return vistors or regulars, logging in with their details will allow for an easier process when ordering new items.
Staff will also be able to adjust stock and add new items based on their login credentials.
The use of two databases, one to hold and store the customers details and one to hold all current stock being displayed on the website and ready for sale.
Storyboard
The image above shows the basic layout for each page to be created. Each page will use this basic layout and navigation.
The main content will change from page to page, but keeping a familiar layout for all pages will make the site easier to use, with nothing new to learn for each page.
Technical specifications.
The table below provides the process requirements for the Bazaar Ceramics Website Specification Rationale File Naming convention WEB PAGES Spaces can cause user issues, using lowercase to avoid UNIX issues No spaces, strictly. All lowercase to avoid UNIX issues. This will make building the shell of the site easier as there is direct Main html pages named directly after navigation link e. g. Gallery reference to where a link should be going. link goes to gallery. html, only exception will be the home page which will be named index. html Image names will need to be unique for each product uploaded, so using Sub pages will carry the name of the main page for that section, a combination of the creators initials and the date it was created will and then concatenate with an underscore and an appropriate name to help create unique file names. suit contents of page. E. g. process_firing. html would be a page navigated to from the main process. html page. IMAGES No spaces, strictly. All lowercase to avoid UNIX issues. A number of images will be required for each product to be displayed on the site, at present, we have allowed two images for each piece a front shot and a side shot.
Image file names should start with the initials of the creator e. g SW, then followed by the category the product falls into e. g. VASES then followed by the date created e. g. 15_05_12 in a DD_MM_YY format, then finally the angle of the shot either FR for front or SI for a side shot, so for this example the image would be named sw_vases_15_05_12_fr. jpg & sw_vases_15_05_12_si. jpg Folder Naming convention /images On the server we will setup a number of directories to help manage the site and keep it orderly /images/products – all gallery and catalogue images should go here to keep separate from the main content, as these will be updated regularly /images/site – contains main images to build website, main logo, buttons, backgrounds etc. Target Hardware Windows based operating systems 80% of the world market is currently using windows based operating systems Browsers (user agents) Chrome, Firefox and IE Market usage currently is Chrome 42. 9%, Firefox 33. 7% & Internet Explorer 16. 3%, that’s over 90% of online web users. Browser plug-ins JAVA Java is required to allow the website functionality to work, as most of the logic for the site will be determined by JAVA code.
A number of general information documents about processing may need to be supplied in a downloadable format, along with a number of order ADOBE PDF Reader forms. PDF is a universal format that a lot of people will already be using. Having a FACEBOOK like button may serve as a form of Advertising if the business already has a number of regular clients. FACEBOOK Like Button File Formats Downloadable information (Text) – . PDF . PDF is a common format widely used throughout the web for Images – .. JPG documentation and brochures alike. Web Pages – . HTML . JPG images are usually smaller in size without loosing too much in quality, this will also help reduce web page download times as these files are also generally smaller than most image formats. If image quality turns out to be an issue, using the lossless format of . PNG may also be an option. . html will be sued for all web pages: HTML 4. 01 Bandwidth Considerations Target audience is both the general consumer and also a number of http://techcrunch. com/2012/08/09/akamai-global-average-broadband-speeds businesses.
The products for sale are not commonly sold items so -up-by-25-u-s-up-29-to-6-7-mbps/ the audience will be a selection of the general population. A large part of this site is to display images and may have transitional Average bandwidth speeds across the globe are increasing daily, effects between one image and another especially on the Gallery or currently the average speed is around 2. 6 mbps, so a slow ADSL Catalogues sections of the site. So we are aiming at slightly connection up. higher bandwidth requirements than normal so we will be aiming for an average users bandwidth requirements. The site will be able to be used by slower bandwidths and will still be usable, but as with any slow connection, they still work, just not as fast. Screen Resolution 1366 x 768 http://www. geek. com/articles/chips/most-popular-screen-resolution-incre 1024 x 768 ases-to-1366-x-768-20120411/
In recent years widescreen monitors have come into play, this has effectively increased the average screen resolution upto 1366 x 768, which places the old 1024 x 768 into second place. We will be developing the site in a widescreen format to suit the content, but will allow for the slightly smaller screen resolution of 1024 x 768. The main page itself will fit into the 1024 x 768 format, but will allow for widescreens to display the page with the insertion of margins on the left and right to allow for wider than standard screen resolutions. Page Download Times Most pages should load within a matter of seconds (Text based Long page download times can interrupt the viewing experience of web pages). users, so minimising web page loading is key to creating a successful site. The gallery and catalogue sections will involve a large number of product images so we are aiming for page download times less than The Gallery and Catalogue sections will have the most work done on them 30 seconds. to optimise as best as possible bearing in mind the heavy image content to display the ceramic products. Content accessibility
This is currently a small business, so we will be using content The company has a limited audience at presents, there products need to accessibility as much as possible without costing the Bazaar be seen, they are a visual medium. We can endeavour to offer text Ceramics too much for little return. alternatives for all imagery and links, but anything beyond this will be overkill for little return. Type of database to be used. (if used) MySQL As this is a free open source database that can also interfaced with JAVA, this is the database type we will use to develop the Bazaar Ceramics website.
Appendices
Specification development sheet
< use these sheets to show your rationale and research for specifications>
Specification Sheet Specification name Specification metric or Rationale Source referenced when researching specification measurement Screen Resolution 1366 x 768 Pixels primarily, but In recent years widescreen monitors have come into play, this has effectively increased http://www. geek. com/articles/chips/most-popular-screen- will allow for the 1024 x 768 the average screen resolution upto 1366 x 768, which places the old 1024 x 768 into resolution-increases-to-1366-x-768-20120411/ Pixels resolution in the design. second place.
We will be developing the site in a widescreen format to suit the content, but will allow for the slightly smaller screen resolution of 1024 x 768. The main page itself will fit into the 1024 x 768 format, but will allow for widescreens to display the page with the insertion of margins on the left and right to allow for wider than standard screen resolutions. Content Accessibility W3C Content Accessibility The following Accessibility Guidelines have been chosen for implementation on the http://www. w3c. org/TR/WCAG10 Guidelines website: [accessed on 12/5/2005] Alternate Text for all images, links and any auditory components.
Careful selection of colours to be both web safe and viewable by the largest possible audience, using Autumn colours is going to be a challenge as Reds and greens are the most trouble when it comes to colour blind individuals. Style sheets will be used to control the format of content. Use of abbreviations and acronyms will be highlighted and correctly implemented using the ABBR and ACRONYM tags. Tables will not be used to create structure. Page will be made viewable with scrips and alike turned off, including images. Time sensitive elements will be made pause able e. g. Gallery. Alternate navigation will be provide via mouse, keyboard or text via assistive technologies. Web content will be reviewed to make as concise and clear as possible. Facebook Like Button Advertising It has been identified that this site is going to be an advertising platform. We will usehttp://developers. facebook. com/docs/reference/plugins/l the Facebook like button to allow for advertising through the social media network. ike/ The Like button lets customers share pages from your site back to their Facebook profile with one click.
When a customer clicks the Like button on the site, a story appears in the user’s friends’ news feed with a link back to the website. MySQL Website Database This database if a free open source database so will be ideal in providing a solution, http://dev. mysql. com/usingmysql/java/ without an exorbitant cost. Bandwidth Average bandwidth speeds across the globe are increasing daily, currently the average http://techcrunch. com/2012/08/09/akamai-global-average- speed is around 2. 6 mbps, so a slow ADSL connection up. broadband-speeds-up-by-25-u-s-up-29-to-6-7-mbps/ The site will be able to be used by slower bandwidths and will still be usable, but as with any slow connection, they still work, just not as fast. File Formats . JPG images are usually smaller in size without loosing too much in quality, this will http://www. websiteoptimization. com/speed/tweak/format/ also help reduce web page download times as these files are also generally smaller than most image formats. If image quality turns out to be an issue, using the lossless format of . PNG may also be an option. Report on Authoring Tools
A number of tools will be required to help author and publish this website. Key to the site will be the imagery for all the products as this will be an ongoing event, new products are being made daily. So the business will need a method to turn photos taken of products into sized and cropped images to display on the website.
The Bazaar Ceramics business has invested in cameras prior to the development of the website, these will be used to take the original images, they already have setup light boxes and an area of the workshop where staged photos can be taken, extra lighting has been setup for such occasions.
To edit these images I am recommending the use of a free to use piece of software PAINT . NET, this provides basic functionality to cut crop and alter slightly any images taken to display on the website. ADOBE Photoshop is the standard and is costly, the program is overkill for such a task a cutting and cropping. Image manipulation will not be required to the degree capable in ADOBE Photoshop.
http://www. getpaint. net/download. html
NetBeans will be the IDE used to develop the JAVA coding to build the gallery and catalogue functionality.
There is an added bonus to using NetBeans as this can also be used to create . html documents.
http://netbeans. org/downloads/
PDFCreator – A free PDFCreator will be used to help publish a number of informational documents to be available for download from the web site. (Catalogue, Order and Feedback Forms?) This is a means to turn Word Documents into PDF files via the printer, Using the PDFCreator option once the plugin has been setup.