Website Migration and Design Project - Report Example

Website Migration and Design Project Table of Contents 0 Introduction 2 1 Background: 2 2 Case Study 4 3 Purpose and Scope 4 1.4 Problem Statement and Assumptions 4 1.5 Audiences 5 2.0 General Website/System Requirements 6 2.1 Website System Capabilities 6 2.2 Major Website System Conditions 6 2.3 Website Interfaces 6 2.3.1 Relationship Diagram 6 2.3.2 Logical Data Process Model 8 2.3.3 Data Flow Diagrams 9 2.3.5 Website’s Use Case Diagram 14 3.0 Security Requirements 15 4.0 System Architecture and Design Specifications 15 5.0 Feasibility Analysis 16 6.0 Implementation Plan 16 6.1 Support Operations for Internally Hosted Website 16 6.2 Project Monitoring and Control Plan 17 6.3 Timeline of Activities 17 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Background: With globalization and increased competition in the marketplace, businesses focus on exploiting information technology as a key driver of competitiveness. In particular, e-commerce has changed the way companies contact their businesses with technology providing new tools for reaching to customers and restructuring business processes (Shin, 2001). With the increased adoption of online shopping, company websites have become critical tools for facilitating business operations across different functions from marketing communications to distribution. Consequently, one of the areas that have elicited widespread scholarly attention is the need to develop effective Websites that enables businesses to appeal to remote customer and enable businesses to meet their goals and objectives. Preliminary investigations reveal that the key determinants of success or failure for e-commerce operations are not mere presence in the Web or low price, but delivering the right quality of service (Ranjbarian et al., 2012). Website design is a critical aspect of delivering quality e-service and a primary determinant of user experience associated with a company website. Some of the Website features that influence user satisfaction and purchase decisions include usefulness, usability, reliability and features correlated with user attitudes in online environments. This study describes the application of the SDLC in designing new Website and migrating data for a Case Study company (Tonys Chips). SDLC is a term often used in systems engineering to describe the typical multi-step process of planning designing, constructing, testing and deploying information systems. Although different scholars have described various SDLC methodologies and models, the consensus is that the process follows phases or stages. The classical SDLC model identifies eight basic phases: requirements, analysis, design, construction, testing, installation, operation and maintenance Cohen et al., 2010). The requirements phase, the organization establishes the need for a system and considers its purpose together with security considerations as well as confidentiality, integrity and availability issues regarding the use of information. This stage also involves establishing the services that the target customer requires from a system and possible constraints under which it operates. System analysis involves analysis of current system to determine requirements, analyze requirements and report them. Scenario-based techniques such as Use cases and data flow diagrams help in identifying actors and their interactions in a system. This follows software/system design, actual construction and testing, as well as implementation and maintenance. 1.2 Case Study The Case Study involves a company called Tonys Chips, which has been sold to a new independent company. The new company wants to move its old Website from an externally hosted solution to an internal host. The company has expressed concern about possible issues of data redundancy and emphasized on having a back-up site as an alternative if the main site suffers temporary failure. In addition, the company wants the site redesigned to enable customers to order products online. 1.3 Purpose and Scope The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of the SDLC) for the design of a new Website for Tonys Chips. In particular, this document discusses what it would take to build Web architecture for the company, move its existing Website with minimal downtime, and to provide disaster recovery solution. We also justify the choice of operating systems (OS) for the Website, evaluate the alternatives for self-hosting the site and explain the evaluation of its performance. 1.4 Problem Statement and Assumptions From the case study, we establish various problems with the old Websites. First, we note that the system does not allow customers to order chips online, which is an important goal for the new Website. Secondly, we note that the company wants the new Website to address redundancy issues and emphasizes on establishing a back-up site. From this perspective, we make the following assumptions: i. Most customers use internet enabled devices to reach the company ii. The overriding goal of the new Website is to enable users to make online orders for products iii. The new Website must address issues of data redundancy iv. The New Website must encompass data backup system The proposed new Website for the company will use the concept of distributed processing and responsive platform to enhance system usability and data backup system to improve security and reliability features. In addition, the new Website will include additional features to help improve user experience as well as enabling connection via PCs, smartphones and tablets. 1.5 Audiences The proposed Website will affect various stakeholders for Tonys Chips including internal stakeholders such as business managers and employees. It will also affect external stakeholders, mainly the customers. The best practice in system design is to ensure stakeholder participation and involvement in system development projects (Cohen et al., 2010). Existing literature identifies lack of stakeholder involvement in system design as a major cause of project failure. In order to address this, issues, we propose to hold regular stakeholder meetings and workshops to create awareness about the need for the new Website, collect their views and needs, as well as resolve emerging issues and solicit for support from senior company managers. 2.0 General Website/System Requirements 2.1 Website System Capabilities The new Website should meet the following capabilities in terms of availability, devise accessibility, technical capability and target deployment environment: The new Website shall be available on the internet 24 hours a day The Website will allow customers to make product inquiries and place orders through self-service module The system will allow managers and employees to access order information System maintain accurate and updated customer records System must produce sales reports System must notify employees via email when it processes personal action System will be accessible via mobile devises System will support flexible reporting on customer purchase behavior 2.2 Major Website System Conditions The new Website should meet the following conditions, constraints and/or assumptions: The Website must employ SDRAM and Xeon processors as the physical Web server The system will use two mirrored servers (one located at the company’s physical location using fiber optic to link with remote servers The system will use cloud-based servers to support data backup and system recovery The proposed system must interface with specified payment systems to allow customers to make payments 2.3 Website Interfaces 2.3.1 Relationship Diagram The proposed website features virtual storefront where the company offers its products to customers via electronic channels. Figure 1 below illustrates the B2C relationship envisaged for the new Website. It illustrates the various components and their interactions including the customer, the Internet Service Provider (ISP), Electronic Catalogue, Product Suggestion, Firewall, Virtual Store, Payment Process, Help Desk and Account Status. Figure 1: B2C Relationship of the Proposed Website Generally, the proposed Website will provide a virtual store and allow customers to make payments. Customers will use via ISP to connect to the Website. A web application Firewall (WAF) will ensure security for the Website including SQL injection attacks and potential cross-site scripting (XSS). We expect the company to customize its security rules for the Website in order to identify and block most attacks. The selection of the Web application firewall is based on consideration of the following factors: Protection against common security threats on E-Systems Strength of Firewall as a default defense The type of vulnerabilities that it detects and prevents Use of simple and intuitive user interface XML/web service support Protection against brute force 2.3.2 Logical Data Process Model The proposed Website will use the business-to-customers (B2C) e-commerce model, that is, the business will sell diverse group products including chips to customers over the internet. The new Website will allow customers to make orders and make payments using PC and mobile devices. The model for the new system for Tonys Chips features cloud-based servers, a Java-based website with integrated e-retail applications and customer Database based on MySQL. Generally, Java programming language involves the creation of a Web applications using 3-layer architecture. Figure 2 below illustrates the logical data process model for the new Website. It demonstrates the use of a java-based Website and MySQL databases. The overall objective is to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements concerning the handling of personal and financial information as well as ability to deliver a system that delivers identified user requirements including the primary quality attributes of functionality, efficiency security, privacy, availability, usability, scalability and maintainability. The system will integrate both PC and smartphone platforms (Yuan, 2004). Figure 2: Logical data process model for the new Website. We propose to use Java-based Website due to consideration of the following reasons: Enhanced security: vital for e-commerce systems involving exchange of sensitive customer personal information and financial data. Ability to provide Website up to level: ensures scalability of the Website in case of unanticipated increase in number of customer orders. Provides good integration with oracle Easy design with Java Applet and Java Scripts that can help to get connections for other services such as database connectivity Simplicity of implementation an speed of execution of the Website Justification of MySQL database: MySQL ensures durability and recoverability of an entire system. That is, the system can automatically restart and reconfigure itself in the event of a failure MySQL offers a broad range of technologies that help in delivering high availability (HA) and dynamic scalability for Websites MySQL has established itself as a proven choice for mission-critical applications with real-time performance attributes MySQL is a flexible and customizable Cost effectiveness Ease of use Ability to allow data recovery, a major objective for the proposed Website 2.3.3 Data Flow Diagrams Data flow diagrams show the follow of data from external entities into a system and from one process to another within a system. Figures 3 to 5 represent the Data Flow Diagrams for the new Website. The Context level DFD provides a conceptual view of the process, inputs, outputs, and data stores. The Detailed DFD gives a detailed view of the interactions of the various sub-processes within the system. Figure 3: Customer-Browse Context DFD Figure 4 below illustrates the customer cart context DFD Figure 4 CustomerCart Context DFD for the proposed Website Figure 5 below depicts the detailed Customer-Shopping Cart DFD only for authenticated customer. We have proposed to use user authentication based on unique user ID and password. Figure 5: Detailed Customer-Shopping Cart DFD (for authenticated users/customers) Preliminary investigations show that passwords play a vital role in Websites with regard to restricting unauthorized users from accessing the system (Raza et al., 2012). Since, passwords are not safe, we propose to use a two-factor authentication for users. Justification for the proposal to use user ID and password authentication; Two-factor authentication can utilize various methods including smartphone applications that communicates using SSL Security improvement, which is vital for the new Website because it will handle sensitive financial and personal information Ability to prevent the common attacks on Websites: brute force attacks and dictionary attacks (Karthiga and Aravindhan, 2012) Ease of use (usability) of the authentication method Compliance with Federal banking regulation for financial institutions 2.3.4 Website User Interface Design We propose to construct a few user interface designs to visualize the user interaction with the new Website before implementing the actual design proposed for this project. This will follow our DFD illustrates as elaborated in Figures 3 to Figure 5. Figure 6 below shows the user interface from the integrated mobile device. The interface includes the customer app, instant messaging, text/SMS, video, voice, and an option to go back to the Company website. Figure 6: User Interface from PC/Mobile Device Figure 7 depicts the registration (login) interface for the proposed system. The interface will include User ID, password, confirmation of user password, first and last names of customer, address, City, Zip, State, email address, and an option of including details of daytime phone numbers where applicable. Figure 7: New User Registration Figure 8 shows the process of authenticating authorized users. The login interface requires registered users to supply User ID and Password. In addition, the interface provides an option for password recovery, or reverting to the registration process for new users. Figure 8: Authentication of Existing Users 2.3.5 Website’s Use Case Diagram Figure 9 shows the use case diagram for the proposed Website. The System Admin manages user groups, manages users, coordinates sessions and manages logs. The Help Desk facilitates management of users. Figure 9: Use Case Diagram 3.0 Security Requirements The proposed Website for Tony’s Chips shall meet the following security requirements and controls: Legal and regulatory controls: The information system network, components and subcomponents must meet stipulated quality standards and specifications The system components and their capabilities must comply with privacy laws Physical control: The company shall use access controls such as locks, fences and doors to limit access to computer resources including servers Technical controls: The proposed system will use technical controls including antivirus software, firewalls, and login authentication Procedural controls: The information system shall allow secure user log-ins through passwords and usernames 4.0 System Architecture and Design Specifications The sales support staff at Tony’s Chips will send messages text messages and emails to customers through the system. The Website will derive messages through its established links to the customer database and direct them to the app to customers to download them. Both the app and the Website must work in multiple browsers including Safari, Mozilla, Google Chrome and Internet Explorer. In addition, it will establish connections to staff databases and the relevant channels of communications. The proposed Website/system must meet the following specific hardware, software, data platform, tools and OS requirements: Specialized hardware requirements: Physical Web server Xeon processors SDRAM Read More