Systems Integration - Usability Analysis - Essay Example

Systems Integration: Usability Analysis. Systems Integration: Usability Analysis. 1 Abstract: 1 Introduction: 1 Customer Perspective: 2 Usability Analysis: 2 Navigation 3 Uploading Speed 3 Customization: 4 Accessibility 5 Easy to use 5 External Factors: 6 Back-end integration: 6 Conclusion: 7 Reference: 7 Amazon.Com: System integration and settings, accessed on Wednesday, 19 August 2009 at http://www.amazon.com/. 7 Abstract: There have been many advances made in the technological sector which has lead to the advancement of the other industries that are dependent on it, either directly or indirectly. In the following paper we shall look at how two global organizations- Amazon.com and Aquarelle have made changes in their marketing strategy with the help of the IT sector. Introduction: The world today has experienced a number of advances in technology which has bought about great changes in the organisation and functioning of the economic and marketing structure. There have developed more advanced methodologies of commerce and marketing of goods and services. (Georgia State University) There has emerged the concept of e-commerce, which is relies to a great extent on the World Wide Web. System integration has gained importance in this era, and it helps in the the bringing together of the component subsystems into one system and ensuring that the subsystems function together as a system. (System Integration). In information technology, systems integration is the process of linking together different computing systems and software applications physically or functionally. In this paper we shall observe and analyse the usability of this newly emerged system from the view point of the consumers. There shall be analysed two companies or organizations and their sites and their e-business models. Customer Perspective: Usability Analysis: Usability is a very ambiguous concept and there are a number of definitions that are available online. (Usability Evaluation) There also exist a number of theories as to how and according to what factors can usability be measured. Some believe that it can be measured from the view point of the producers, and then the factors that are evaluated are cost of evaluation, appropriateness to project, time constraints, cost of implementation and the cost of training new users. (Methods)In this paper we shall be studying and analysing the e-commerce of these two companies, Amazon and Aquarelle, from the view point of the consumers and the customers who access these sites. Amazon is company that markets all kinds of products, goods and services, from luxury items such as phones and sound systems to food items and candies. It has recently also started selling music online. It is a global based organization and has a huge customer and market base. Aquarelle is a florist website in France, but it too has a more global outlook and functions in the international market in affiliation with other websites also. In this paper we analyse the two on the basis of the model that has been presented by Green, Peterson and Peterson, where the factors that we shall focus on are accessibility, navigation, personalization, customization and downloading. Navigation Navigation is perhaps the most important factor that concerns the customers when one is accessing a site, and it is important that the system that has been set up is able to meet the demands and requirements of the consumers and is easy to comprehend and use. The navigation system that is employed by Amazon serves multipurpose and is very detailed. It has to be kept in mind that the company has a wide variety of products that it markets and it has to ensure that the details are available to all. Amazon thus has an elaborate navigation system that it displays on the left hand side of its page, and it is easy to comprehend and follow. (Amazon.Com) Aquarelle on the other hand has a limited number of goods and services that it provides and it has a rather simpler navigation system that it displays on the left hand side, it is highly detailed and a little plain. Uploading Speed Another very important factor that one has to take into account while setting up a page is that one has to ensure that the pages are easy to upload and do not take a lot of time to download and are light. Studies that have been conducted by various companies and schools from time to time have shown that consumers and customers prefer simple sites to those that have heavy graphics and are difficult to upload. Therefore when setting up a page one has to ensure that it is functional and easy to access and upload. Amazon has tried to ensure that it has pages that have light graphics which are simple, so that it is easy to upload, but there is still a plethora of information on the sites and it has been observed that loading speed varies from connection to connection. It is faster in broadband connections and for dial up connections it takes more time to download. But it has been observed that this is not the case for aquarelle, which has simple and light weight graphics and it is seen that it usually does not take much time and is easy to upload.   Customization: Customization and personalization of the page creates a very positive impact upon the customers and consumers. It helps give that added advantage to the company to maintain a more personal contact with its customers in a system where face to face interaction is missing. Amazon has a very detailed personalising system, where the users can maintain a highly customised page, where there are a number of individual items. These include items such as recommendations on items, account information, records of purchases made, personal information, record reporting and tracking, etc. Aquarelle on the other hand has personalised the page for its customers but only to a certain extent. There is a simple system in place which looks into the customization of the pages for the users. There is the initial step of registration, where the users can sign in and create and maintain their own personal accounts. The site then allows them to ensure through this to keep records of all their purchases and also keeps track of the deliveries that are made. But beyond this there are very little options. Accessibility According to Green, Peterson and Peterson, accessibility means the availability of the contents and information of a site for use by potential users, for a particular site including individual and disabilities. It has been observed that through tests that have been conducted that the Amazon pages take less time to upload and the occurrence of error while uploading of pages is also low. On the other hand even though the pages of Aquarelle are highly dynamic and static, it has been observed through tests that there have been minor occurrences of error while the pages are loading and this leads to confusion between signing in users with the order racking. But, this said it also has to be mentioned that the pages of the organization are highly accessible and easy to use. Easy to use .The next factor that needs to be taken into account is how simple is the site and how easy it is to use it. There are a number of things that have to be considered while evaluating this for any site such as navigational facilities, the extent till which it allows personalization, registration procedures, etc. in Amazon, it allows for easy accessibility to its site where the user can easily up load pages and the system that has been provided allows for easy navigation from one link to another without any trouble, as the pages that have been provided are easily uploaded. The site also provides for single registration which makes the marketing experience easier for the users, especially for those who travel. Aquarelle has also made changes and adopted systems that have made it easier for its consumers, customers and users to access the facilities that it makes available. The pages that it uploads are easy to access, and there are usually low chances and incidences of error and this helps it in providing quick and efficient services to its users. The navigation system that it provides is easy and allows the users to access the various products and services available. Registration and purchasing processes that are allowed are easy to follow and made avail of. There is also the option that allows the consumers to switch from French to English, and this is highly useful. External Factors: Back-end integration: While we look at the functioning and working of the sites there are also a number of other factors that have to consider while evaluating the e-commerce services that are provided by a company. These are called the back end integration and looks at the office work, and the other services that are related to the usability of the sites. The system functions that have to integrate in both the organizations are registration, product selection, ordering, order fulfilment, billing and delivery. They also have to ensure that external integration which help in providing the integrated framework for the e-commerce of these companies. These are the various stores that are affiliated with the sites, the banking and credit facilities that help in the payment tracking, the posting services that they employ to fulfil the orders, and also all the other websites that they are affiliated with. The processes are ofcourse more complex for Amazon which provides a large number of goods and products and is more limited for Aquarelle. Conclusion: Thus we see that with the changes in the technological industry there have been advances made I the marketing industry as well which has grown more efficient economically and is more sensitive to the requirements of the consumers, customers and markets. These systems that have been developed have to be implemented and integrated to fulfil the requirements and to ensure that the process is easy to follow and accessible thus increasing the efficiency and economy of the procedures followed by the various organization s and companies. Reference: Amazon.Com: System integration and settings, accessed on Wednesday, 19 August 2009 at http://www.amazon.com/. Georgia State University: Systems Integration Course Syllabus, accessed on Wednesday, 19 August 2009 at http://www2.cis.gsu.edu/cis/program/syllabus/graduate/CIS8020.asp Green, Peterson and Peterson: Determing the importance of key criteria in web usage, accessed on Wednesday, 19 August 2009 at http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.2&thid=1232be2aa6fe88c8&mt=application/pdf&pli=1 Methods: Usability Evaluation Methods, accessed on Wednesday, 19 August 2009 at http://www.usabilityfirst.com/methods/index.txl. Systems Integration, accessed on Wednesday, 19 August 2009 at http://www.its.bldrdoc.gov/fs-1037/dir-036/_5265.htm. Usability Evaluation: Usability Evaluation methods, accessed on Wednesday, 19 August 2009 at http://www.usabilityhome.com/. Read More