CIS8100 Assignment 2
PROJECT (PROTOTYPE) & REPORT

Assignment 2

Description: Assignment 2
Marks our of: 100
Wtg(%): 30
Word limit: Approx. 3000
Due Date: 10 December 2013

Learning objectives and graduate skills tested
This assignment relates to your understanding of the key issues in relation to the infrastructure and functional requirements of a digital business and to allow you to demonstrate your ability to research, synthesise and specify the infrastructure and functional requirements of an e-commerce website in a report.

Assignment 2 and the subsequent Assignment 4 require you to plan and develop an e-commerce strategy including building a prototype website of your choice to facilitate your online business.

You will be required to design, install, configure and populate your proposed e-commerce site using the Joomla content management system using a URL in cloudaccess.net that will be supplied to you by the Course Leader.

Assignment 2 specifications

Assignment 2 is made up of THREE tasks:
TASK 1

Maintain a journal of the activities and research that you have engaged in in the completion of this assignment.

The journal must document the progress that you have made from start to the conclusion of this assignment.

Use the Journal Template provided in the CIS8100 StudyDesk.

The journal entries will include, in date order, the following:

? Date of project/research activity
? Project/research activity
? Duration
? Description/Discussion of the project/research activity
? Follow up task arising from this activity
(10 marks)

TASK 2

For Task 2 you are required to conduct a preliminary analysis of your proposed online business (of your own choosing) and develop an e-commerce strategy and prototype web site.


The report must address the following:

1. Conduct an environmental analysis of your proposed e-commerce presence, keeping in mind the potential for global e Business and focusing on the following:
a. Value propositions of your e-commerce strategy
b. Core competencies that can be enabled/enhanced through an e-commerce presence
c. Market analysis and trends regarding your proposed e-commerce strategy
d. Evaluation of the e-commerce strategy in terms of Porter’s competitive forces model.
2. List and describe the strategic goals and objectives of your organisation that will be addressed in your proposed e-commerce website.
3. Identify what key stakeholders/customers will want from the e-commerce website, and how this fits with the goals of the e-commerce website and the organization
4. Briefly describe and justify the e-Commerce business model(s) that will be used in your e-commerce website.
5. List and briefly describe the potential risks associated with your proposed e-commerce strategy and presence.

(50 marks)

NOTE: The word length for this task is about 2500 words, so ensure you cover all the above topics adequately and concisely while taking this constraint into consideration.
TASK 3

Prepare and submit a briefing document (about 500 words) on completion of the following activities using Joomla!:

1. Use the assigned URL supplied to you by your Course Leader to commence the first steps in familiarising yourself with Joomla as a content management system and to develop a preliminary prototype of your proposed e-commerce website. (State the URL in the first part of the report)
2. Configure the e-commerce site and create a home page (include the name of the business) with a menu and links and describe the steps required to achieve this (include snapshots in your document).
3. List all the Joomla! components and features you are likely to use for Assignment 4 and why (see a selection of Joomla! features below).
4. List and briefly describe any links and resources that you have used or will likely to use to research and build the site.

You will not be required to install the Jooma! system on your computer.
Instead you will be provided access to a pre-installed Joomla! development environment provided by cloudaccess.net.
Instructions to access the cloudaccess.net website will be provided on the StudyDesk.

To complete this task you will need to familiarise yourself with the features of the Joomal! Content Management System by studying the online guide, Joomla! Beginner’s Guide (available from the CIS8100 StudyDesk) and any other relevant resources.

(40 marks)

TOTAL MARKS: 100