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E-Commerce Success and Failure

E-Commerce Success and Failure. Roger Johnson School of Computer Science. Outline. Modern Information Systems Designing E-commerce screens Success and failure are only hair’s breadth apart Sample first hand problems Can poor design damage your dot.com?. Modern Information Systems.

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E-Commerce Success and Failure

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  1. E-Commerce Success and Failure Roger Johnson School of Computer Science

  2. Outline • Modern Information Systems • Designing E-commerce screens • Success and failure are only hair’s breadth apart • Sample first hand problems • Can poor design damage your dot.com?

  3. Modern Information Systems • Most complex artifacts yet built • Essential to modern civilisation • Robust and Secure • Poorly understood by public • Very limited direct public use e.g. ATMs • Interfaces must be used without training

  4. Are E-Commerce Systems Different? • Fundamentally - Yes and No • E-Commerce applications typically • interfaced to existing information system • small range of functions • easy to build(at least badly) • Disintermediation • widespread direct public access • Customer Screens are Hard to Design • most early web sites repeatedly redesigned

  5. Can Technology Work Wonders? • Not a Fairy Godmother’s Wand • Can make new businesses • Online casinos, information providers • Can’t make bad business plans succeed • Boo.com, eToys.com, Amazon.com • But may be they can destroy your dot.com

  6. Success and Failure • Success and failure with Information Systems can be hair’s breadth apart • Examples • IBM Hursley Online Supermarket • Asda v. Tesco • BA Timesaver Tickets

  7. IBM Hursley Online Supermarket • Late 1980s Experiment with Online Shopping and Home Delivery • IBM’s staff initially enthusiastic • System installed • Minimal uptake - Why?

  8. IBM Hursley Online Supermarket • Late 1980s Experiment with Online Shopping and Home Delivery • IBM’s staff initially enthusiastic • System installed • Minimal uptake - Why? • Customer could not control delivery time

  9. Asda v. Tesco Home delivery strategy (Asda) Centralised warehouses and van fleet versus Stored based strategy (Tesco) Distribution from local stores with local vans and drivers

  10. BA Timesaver Tickets • Early 1990s BA Corporate Customers very keen to have “walk up and fly” • BA provide ticket machines and corporate “credit cards” for UK shuttles • Minimal Uptake - why?

  11. BA Timesaver Tickets • Early 1990s BA Corporate Customers very keen to have “walk up and fly” • BA provide ticket machines and corporate “credit cards” for UK shuttles • Minimal Uptake - why? • Credit limits too high for most users • Solution - one time cards

  12. So What? • Examples highlight importance of thorough requirements analysis, design and testing • Most dot.coms are “one product” companies • How many dot.com’s have failed because of missing crucial component?

  13. Personal Problems!

  14. First Hand Problems –“I Don’t Believe It!” Railtrack Early web site showed phantom trains Railtrack and Trainline Unable to maintain up to date information on services post Hatfield - isn’t that what real time information is all about? Also unable to include weekend engineering works

  15. First Hand Problems - Support British Airways Early web site had no phone numbers Still common error by many other retailers Trainline.com Took 6 weeks to respond to a missing password request – but did reply

  16. First Hand Problems - Bugs Connex • Browser Wars - Netscape v. Internet Explorer Site works only with IE (and they don’t know) All email messages from Netscape lost British Airways • Software error - “All flights from Gatwick” • Unfinished purchase “Service not available please try again later”

  17. First Hand Problems – Design Mistakes Hawkshead Mail Order Outdoor Clothing My wife places large order via Web Offers next day delivery on orders over £100 After 4 days no goods have arrived Contact Hawkshead by phone and?

  18. First Hand Problems – Design Mistakes Hawkshead Mail Order Outdoor Clothing My wife places large order via Web Offers next day delivery on orders over £100 After 4 days no goods have arrived Contact Hawkshead by phone “Order safely in computer - delivery soon” “What about next day delivery over £100?” “We pick them out when we open the post”

  19. Information Technology Help or Hindrance? • Web Technology is • robust, cheap, easy to use • Web site design is very hard to get right • Trivial design issues can turn off users • How many dot.com’s has IT turned into dot.bomb’s?

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