A SYSTEM FOR TEACHING MIS AND MBA STUDENTS TO DEPLOY A SCALABLE DATABASE-DRIVEN WEB ARCHITECTURE FOR B2C E-COMMERCE

1. A SYSTEM FOR TEACHING MIS AND MBA STUDENTSTO DEPLOY A SCALABLE DATABASE-DRIVEN WEB ARCHITECTURE FOR B2C E-COMMERCE Alexander Y. Yap, Ph.D. Elon University, North Carolina Claudia Loebbecke, Ph.D. University of Cologne, Germany Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina

2. Background • IS Environment: Five Years Teaching in two Business School Environments (MIS & MBA students) • A variety of B2C E-commerce systems solutions are available for different business needs … • But deciding on a particular systems solution can be a challenging process • Putting things in perspective for students • Choosing the appropriate IS strategy for Business Objectives • Looking at Business Processes behind E-commerce systems • Assessing how different solutions and systems address short term vs. long term strategies Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina

3. Objective • Show students different solution paths • We came up with four generic solutions models • Show different architecture scalability • Demonstrate the role of database in e-commerce • Show how a web application server (middleware) shuttles data between the database and browser • Discuss the importance of web interface and its usability (front-end design) • Develop and Deploy an E-commerce application (one project for each student) Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina

4. Business Process Optimization, Outsourcing, & Content Development Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina

5. Stand Alone Model (Two-tier Architecture) Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina

6. E-Commerce Integrated with E-Business Systems(Model 4 – Three-tier & Multi-tier Architecture) Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina

7. Web Architectures Two-tier Architecture Three-tier Architecture Multi-tier Architecture Client Computer (Web Browser) Client Computer (Web Browser) Client Computer (Web Browser) Web Server + Stand Alone Database (Access) Web Server Web Server Database Server Database Server (Oracle, SQL Server) Email Server File Server Video Server Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina

8. E-Commerce: A Two Component Course (Teaching the Business & Technology Components) • Students taking MIS (Graduate Level) – needed 2 semesters to cover the business component (1) and the technology component (1) • Three-tier architecture • Oracle and SQL programming • Customize the Application with a lot of hand coding • Setting up the Application Server & Web/HTTP Server • MBA students learning E-commerce were limited to a one semester. Business component (half a semester) and technology component (half a semester) • Two-tier architecture • MS Access • Use Rapid Application Development Methods for Coding (Wizards, Drag and Drop coding, reuse of existing components – shopping cart) • No Server set up required Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina

9. Student Feedback • MBA students with no database background were more suited to learning Model 3 (just to see how technology manages the electronic process) • MIS students preferred Model 4, because they know that high-end relational database management systems (like Oracle) work with other enterprise applications • MBA students were able to see how different systems could be integrated with e-commerce systems, enabling them to make technology acquisition decisions (Model 4) • MIS students were able to set-up customized e-commerce applications with their own coding logic, their choice of database, and operating system (Linux) Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina

10. Client Software (Home Installed) Middleware (University E-commerce Server) Parsing Codes Embedded in Tags COLD FUSION APPLICATION SERVER Processes Web pages with CF tags Web Page HTML Tags + Cold Fusion Tags WEB/HTTP SERVER (Microsoft IIS) Process HTML tags Cold Fusion Tags with SQL scripts are passed on to database FLASH Animation (Nested in html codes) HOMESITE Generates Cold Fusion Enabled Web pages (*.cfm) DATABASE ORACLE or MS ACCESS (interprets SQL scripts) Database (University Server) ApplicationDevelopment Environment Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina

11. TECHNOLOGIES USED SOFTWARE TOOLS • Macromedia Homesite+ & Dreamweaver (editors for coding) • Cold Fusion Server (Application Server - middleware) • MS Access Database or Oracle (relational database; back-end) • Macromedia Flash MX (animation) • Others (Fireworks, Photoshop, Graphic editors) Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina

12. Application FeaturesWhen we decided to use CF (2000-2001) Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina

13. RDBMS/Database Connectivity Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina

14. Cold Fusion Studio(now Macromedia Homesite +) – RAD Features • You can link the tables: ‘click and drag’ the primary key to the foreign key • Then, double click on the fields and they will appear automatically • SQL Script appears automatically • You can sort the order by a chosen field (e.g. date) Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina

15. RAD Tools:Drag and Drop Query Codes(Cold Fusion Studio -> Homesite Plus) Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina

16. RAP - Using Wizards to createForm and Action Templates Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina

17. Select Table and Fieldsthat you want to include in form Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina

18. Form & Action Template Created(product_entryform.cfm, product_entryaction.cfm) Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina

19. Form TemplateDesign & Code Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina

20. Action Template(CFINSERT) Validation/Confirmation that data has been inputted into the database Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina

21. First Step: Create Database Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina

22. Second Step: Show students how their data is connected to the Server “Creating the ‘data source’ using student’s name” Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina

23. Data source • MSAccess – set up the path of the database file in the server • Oracle – create a schema name for each student (using Oracle’s userid and password) Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina

24. Third Step:Creating the E-commerce Application:Separating Content and Web Design Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina

25. TheShopping Cart Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina

26. Handling Session Variables(Passing Data from Catalog to Shopping Cart to Database) Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina

27. Passing Data Variables(Using different web templates) Product Table Info Online Product Catalog Shopping Cart Capture Order Info In Database Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina

28. Form Variables Inserted into the Customer Table Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina

29. Fourth Step:Flash Animation • SPLASH PAGE • Create layers • Separate animated objects for each layer • Different animation effects • Timeline of the animated objects • NAVIGATION BUTTONS (optional) Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina

30. Embedding Sound • Drag the sound clip to the object • If you successfully dragged the sound, it will appear on the frame Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina

31. Conclusion • Students taking MIS at the Graduate level, with background in SQL and Oracle, handled the three-tier architecture system very well. • They all wanted to learn full scalability of the architecture (Model 4). • MIS students mostly combined hand-coding and RAD functions • MBA students learning E-commerce for the first time could handle the two-tier architecture without a problem. • But they need to use RAD methods with minimal coding (drag & drop, wizards, application server handled by someone else) • MBA students felt they could make technology-related decisions better knowing the capabilities of web technologies to improve business process. • Multi-tier architecture was only feasible if taught across several courses (logistics limitations; cannot be compressed into 1 or 2 semesters) Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina

32. CFGraph Pie Chart Of Quantity Sold • Create query • You can use SUM to add • Use an alias – e.g “as totalsum” for the sum of a variable • Define the graph as shown • Sum (Quantity x Price) Horizontal bar Chart of Sales Amount Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina

33. Dynamic Charts based on the Database (Sales Table) Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina