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=ITGS Case Study 2011= The purpose of this wiki is to introduce students to the Case Study for May 2011 by examining an existing e-commerce site using the information in the case study. Students will be introduced to the technical terminology which can then be expanded and built upon. This gives the students a firm and concrete example as a basis for the case study.

Students: things to do to begin with

 * Read through the case study and hightlight any terms that you do not understand (there will be lots!) Make a summary and submit it via Moodle.
 * Create a general summary of Bangladesh
 * Examined the website [|Bangladeshi Gift]

We will be working through the following: sometimes in class in group activities and sometimes individually. = Stage 1: Making sense of Bangladeshi Gift = Examine carefully the website and answer these questions in your notebook.

1.1 Market

 * 1) Give a brief overview of [|Bangladeshi Gift]
 * 2) Who owns it?
 * 3) Where is the site located?
 * 4) Who are the customers?
 * 5) What type of products are sold?
 * 6) Are these products perishable or not?

1.2 Cultural Significance/Background
> Bangladeshi gift offers its cutomers with a wide range of categories to chose from. This makes it easier for customers to navigate through the website and choose what gift they want from a specific category. It also provides the customers with a wide range of things to choose from, which will increase profits for Bangladeshi gift. > English is not the main language of Bangladesh, Bangla is. Most of Bangladesh's population is illiterate.However this website is written in English as it is mainly designed for foreigners, and their main language is english. Submit via [|Moodle]
 * 1) There are a number of type of categories for gifts. Explain the significance of these categories.
 * 1) Explain the date system
 * 2) Why is the language of the site in English? Is this the main language of Bangladesh? Why?
 * 1) Prices of the products - do you think these prices are reasonable?
 * 2) Currency conversion - is there one? Why would this be a good idea to add to a website?
 * 3) Explain/describe the cultural significance of the gifts
 * 4) Examine the FAQ:
 * What does FAQ stand for?
 * Explain "Is it really safe to do online shopping with BangladeshiGift.com?"
 * Examine the Terms of Service: Any spelling or grammar errors - do these matter?
 * Do they deliver anywhere in Bangladesh?

1.3 Privacy Concerns and Data Storage
Brainstorm the type of data is stored: > Which tables will have relationships (connected)?
 * 1) What personal customer information is stored by the site
 * 2) what information is required for the delivery.
 * 3) Stock control and product information
 * 4) Mock up the tables/database structure: give each table a name, and define the type of information stored for each record: name, data type.
 * 1) Read the privacy policy: Define the terms - third party, SSL protocol, vis-a-vis
 * 2) What are some of the new services that Bangladesh Gift may be able to provide?

1.4 Social and Ethical Issues - mini assessment
In your opinion, examine the three most significant issues that the site owners/customers of Bangladeshi Gifts need to consider. This response will be assessed using the IB ITGS Paper 2 (d) generic mark scheme. Once you have reviewed that material in the sections above (and the links to the responses) you should spend 30 minutes planning and writing your response. //Please upload to Moodle course by end of class March 3.// =﻿ Step 2: Technical Background = Making sense of Bangladesh Gifts web hosting company:

Tasks
Give a brief overview of Bangladesh Gifts
 * Who owns it?
 * Where is the business located?
 * Who are the customers?
 * What are the services provided?
 * What currency does the company operate in?

Tasks
Compare and contrast the webhosting features: [|BizBangladesh]with [|Find My Hosting]
 * Domain Disk space (Mb)
 * Free Bandwidth (Mb/Month)
 * Email accounts Cost per month

Completed by Wed March 9, submit via [|Moodle].

2.3 Comparison with Case Study - IT systems
(Line 16) Current IT systems Carmen’s shop, Foto Creativa, has the following IT resources: two computers, each with a large, high resolution monitor suitable for professional photography and video
 * a scanner
 * a photo-quality printer
 * a “high-end” digital camera and digital video camera
 * a laptop suitable for demonstrating and displaying work to customers
 * professional software for photography and video work
 * desktop publishing software
 * web development software
 * a small network with a server, including a RAID backup system
 * broadband Internet access
 * a spreadsheet for keeping all financial and customer records.

Tasks

 * 1) Imagine you are a computer company that will be supplying all the above hardware and software to Carmen. Select a name for your company. You must research each item, price it, find an image and also the configuration/details/specification that is required. You should put these items into a slideshow with the details.
 * 2) You also need to create a spreadsheet (with formulae) to show the pricing of the products you have suggested in your presentation. Remember, if you use currencies other than Taka then you need to be able to change the rates (these change daily!) and this will automatically update the spreadsheet. In one column you need to have a link in the spreadsheet for each item. You should put links in the spreadsheet to each item. I have started a spreadsheet here which you could use and build on. Please use formatting tools and add totals etc
 * 3) Outline which of the above IT systems the authors of the Bangladeshi Gifts website may have.



Completed by Monday March 14, submit via [|Moodle].

toc Networks · The advantages of communications networks, as well as the challenges they present · Components used to create communication networks · The role each component plays in enabling communications · The technologies which are applied to enable communications networks · Network operating systems. Key terminology · Network protocols · Dynamic IP addresses/Static IP addresses · Transmitting data with TCP/IP · Data transmission modes · Types of networks · Peer-to-peer and client-server networks · Network Operating systems.

2.4 Comparison with Case Study - Web Content Management
(Line 39) Web content management To run an e-commerce business successfully, Carmen needs a web content management system (Web CMS) to: Task Examine each of the above - to what extent does [|Bangladeshi Gift] web content management system provide these features/functions? Complete by Wednesday
 * organize and present information about her products and services through a consistent user interface
 * provide e-marketing
 * interface data from the central database
 * provide secure access to customers to view and upload files
 * provide an e-commerce facility (with a shopping cart service).

2.5 Comparison with Case Study: E-marketing
(line 63) E-marketing

Task
Define each of the following and then look for these features in ethiogift.com to see if these are provided. You need to provide evidence, for example an annotated screen shot. Remember, you only have user access. If you can't find the feature, discuss whether the feature be available for the administrator of the site.
 * ad banners
 * a blog
 * RSS feeds
 * bulk e-mails
 * site traffic analysis / web-counters
 * multimedia content

2.6 Comparison with Case Study: Technical Requirements
However, there are technical requirements that Carmen must meet whether she chooses a free or commercial Web CMS. She will need: Completed for Sunday's Class =Challenges=
 * a domain name
 * a hosting account – one of the more popular configurations includes:
 * MySQL database management system (DBMS)
 * PHP / other scripting language
 * Linux operating system
 * Apache web server
 * a shopping cart system – purchased or open source
 * a payment merchant account
 * SSL-encrypted web site pages.
 * Tasks **
 * Define each of the above.
 * Can you find evidence of these features in Bangladeshi Gifts? If so, provide evidence, for example an annotated screen shot. Remember, you only have user access.
 * Discuss whether the feature could be available for the administrator of the site, by looking at the web host features provided by website hosting service.
 * Could Carmen use this service based on her e-marketing and/or technical requirements? If so, how much will this cost her per month in US dollars?
 * Now go to to []
 * How does the cost of Carmen's web hosting compare with the hosting companies listed here?
 * Suggest a web hosting company that may be better for Carmen.

Tasks
Look through each of the following challenges that Carmen may face. How may/has ethiogift deal(t) with these challenges? Rank these in order (with justification) from largest to smallest. Remember, if you can propose a solution, this would lessen the challenge.
 * how customers and potential customers can be informed of new products and offers through the web site or other e-marketing techniques
 * different project management techniques to develop the new web site
 * how a range of multimedia features can be effectively integrated on the web site
 * how products are purchased through the use of an appropriate shopping cart service
 * a range of open source and commercial Web CMSs
 * methods of payment for goods (and delivery) purchased using the shopping cart, such as PayPal, credit card payments and direct deposit to account
 * appropriate privacy and other policies for the web site
 * search engine optimization so that the web site appears on the first page of results
 * the role of web site traffic analysis
 * techniques that can be used to secure a web site
 * policies that could lead to a secure web site
 * the relationships between the data, the DBMS and applications
 * the features offered by a range of web-hosting services

Next Steps
Now that you have completed this activity you need to review all the technical terminology.