1 WEB Engineering E-Commerce Strategy & Management COM350

1WEB Engineering

WEB Engineering

E-Commerce Strategy & E-Commerce Strategy & ManagementManagement

COM350COM350

WEB EngineeringWEB Engineering 22

Contents

The Web Eng. Process A Framework for Web Eng. Management Issues


Web EngineeringWeb Engineering

What is it?What is it? Who does it?Who does it? Why do we need it?Why do we need it?

Usability Usability Functionality Functionality ReliabilityReliability MaintainabilityMaintainability


A Framework for Web Eng.

Remembering the continuously evolving nature of web apps, a spiral model:

formulation

planning

analysis

engineering

page generation and testing

customer evaluation

engineering: architectural / navigation / interface design

content design / production


Formulation, Planning and Analysis

Formulation - ask the questions to identify the objectives and audience of the

web app.

Planning - costs, resources, risks, plans, timescale (always

compressed!).

Analysis - content, interaction, functional, confign.(cf. requirements analysis)


Engineering

Engineering - Architecture (structures), Architecture (patterns),

Navigation, Interface, Production.Page Generation - Write the pages!Testing - Review content, Review design,

Processing components are unit tested, Architecture integration tests, Complete Web app tested (functionality + content delivery),

Environment (operating systems) compatibility testing, End-user tests

Evaluation - Improve it, Revise it, Update it!


Management Issues

The Web team - different people for different rolesThe Web team - different people for different roles Content DevelopersContent Developers Web PublisherWeb Publisher Web EngineerWeb Engineer Support SpecialistSupport Specialist AdministratorAdministrator


Management Issues

Project management Project management Project Initiation Project Initiation Outsourcing issuesOutsourcing issues Estimation issuesEstimation issues Assessment of development scheduleAssessment of development schedule Managing scopeManaging scope


Management Issues

Configuration ManagementConfiguration Management content controlcontent control people / authority to make, approve, implement people / authority to make, approve, implement

changeschanges scale (change to scale = change to type of control)scale (change to scale = change to type of control) Politics -‘ownership’ of components (“rights and Politics -‘ownership’ of components (“rights and

responsibilities”)responsibilities”)


Enterprise Usability Management: A Compass for Top Management

Equate usability with competitiveness and quality in the enterprise Trace cost of usability problems to the source Incorporate design and evaluation cycles into product development Balance the use of static design standards and dynamic research results Systematise the learning of design principles and skills Develop team evaluation methods for team design projects. Align feedback loops from all sources toward new product design Maintain cross-project collaboration in the product design process Align all forms of communication to customers who use the products Participate in growing the base of knowledge about usability

.


Ten Steps to Product Usability: A Roadmap for Project Managers

Set strategic and detailed usability objectives Develop and incorporate user profiles Prioritise critical product components and task flow Identify a design team and clarify roles Define the UI design process (traditional GUI and Web interfaces) Develop a usability evaluation strategy

a usability test plan.... when should you test? how should you structure the test? Establish product design guidelines (traditional GUI and Web designs) Develop a UI specifications documentation procedure Develop a user assistance strategy

help, tutorials, splash screens, etc. that make-up the user assistance strategy Maintain a feedback channel for users


Ten Elements of Usability: A Yardstick for Designers:

Clarify the core concepts of the design

Plan and maintain consistency (internal and external consistency of UI design)

Fit content to customers who use the product

Provide reassuring and effective feedback

Clarify interaction rules (dialog design, data entry, selection, modes, drag and drop, etc.)

Structure navigation clearly (menus, tree structures)

Use plain terminology (terminology within the user's knowledge domain - know your user)

Optimise user assistance (help tools /on-line help and documentation)

Optimise visual design (graphics, layout, icons, metaphors, real world models)

Design for the context of use


Checklist for Testing Your Web Pages for Accessibility

Turn off graphics, make sure the ALT text displayed makes the page usable Turn off sounds, make sure no important instructions are lost Turn off style sheets, to make sure the page is still readable Use the High Contrast option in the Accessibility Options section of Control Panel, restart the

browser, make sure the page is still readable. Use Custom Font Sizes in the Display section of Control Panel Use the largest font size supported by the browser

(the largest is only available when High Contrast mode is turned on) Resize the browser window larger and smaller Navigate using the keyboard, make sure TAB traverses all links in reasonable order and that

CTRL+TAB moves between panes or sections Select all text and copy it to the clipboard, ensure it makes sense when pasted into a word

processor Use an analysis tool, such as ‘Bobby’, to examine your pages


Further ReadingFurther Reading

Pressman, Pressman, Software EngineeringSoftware Engineering, chapter 29 and, chapter 29 and

RSP&A Web EngineeringRSP&A Web Engineering

On usability issues:On usability issues:useit.comuseit.com: : JakobJakob

Nielsen's site (Usability and Web Design) Nielsen's site (Usability and Web Design)

The Usability Group - Leaders in Customer The Usability Group - Leaders in Customer Experience ManagementExperience Management

http://www.rspa.com/spi/webe.html

http://www.useit.com/





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1 WEB Engineering E-Commerce Strategy & Management COM350