E-Commerce
Study guide for
2004/05
How
the assessment relates to the learning
outcomes
Supplementary
reading and study material
This module is part of the BSc Information
Systems and Management, Autumn Term 2004. It covers both the theory and
practice of conducting business over the Internet and the world Wide Web.
Students should read this study guide carefully and also ensure that all the
links have been followed to other accompanying material. The information in
this study guide is maintained by Dr
This webpage will be updated while the course is
in progress. Please be sure that you check it to find out up-to-date information
about the module.
03/11/04: The coursework deadlines have been
revised. Check the revised coursework description document in the Assessment
section.
26/11/04: A Seminar entitled “From E-commerce
to E-business: current developments and future directions” will be given by
Dr Natasha Papazafeiropoulou (Brunel University) on the 3rd of
December. The seminar will take a technology-oriented as well as strategy-oriented
approach to e-commerce/business phenomenon, analysing cases studies from
various industry sectors, while giving projections for the future of the
e-commerce era. You are expected to participate in an active discussion about
the pros and cons of e-commerce practices, comment on case studies and even
give your ideas for successful application of e-commerce endeavours.
29/03/05: Revision class-1 is Friday April 22, Room 124, 6pm-7.30pm
and Revision class-2 is Friday May 13, Room 124, 6pm-7.30pm
Electronic commerce is defined as any business
process or exchange conducted electronically over telecommunication networks.
This could include exchanging data files, designing and maintaining a web site,
using businesses’ web-sites or buying and selling goods online. Web-based
business is generating a vast amount of consumer transactions. The aim of this
module is to present and discuss concepts and challenges of e-commerce
providing a balanced coverage of both the technological and the strategic
aspects of successful e-commerce. It will cover the business strategies of
e-commerce, and the technologies involved in the design and deployment of
e-business. No particular programming language knowledge is assumed and
mathematical prerequisites are kept to a minimum. Familiarity with Computer
Networks is an advantage.
·
To
introduce the basic concepts of e-commerce theory and practice;
·
To
present and discuss business strategies and technologies for e-commerce;
·
To have
hands-on experience with implementing a simple e-shop.
By the end of the module students must
demonstrate ability to:
·
Discuss
basic concepts of e-commerce;
·
Discuss
and explain theoretical and practical issues of conducting business over the
internet and the Web
·
Evaluate
user needs and implement a simple e-commerce site.
The module will be delivered through a series of lectures, which runs in
two threads, one addressing the technological aspects (delivered by G.
Magoulas- GM), the other addressing the commercial and societal (delivered by
R. Johnson - RJ). Several evenings are given over to a practical e-shop
implementation (delivered by
Lecture
programme
Lectures are on Fridays 18:00-19:20 and 19:40-21:00.
The following lecture programme is based on our best estimates of the course
material but may need to be varied as the course progresses.
|
Week
1: 4 October – 8 October 2004 |
|
Lecture 1: Introduction,
Overview
and Case
Studies (RJ) |
|
Lecture 2: Infrastructure
I: Computer Networks (GM) |
|
|
|
Week
2: 11 October – 15 October 2004 |
|
Lecture 3: Selling
on the Web (RJ) |
|
Lecture 4: Infrastructure
II: the World Wide Web (GM) |
|
|
|
Week
3: 18 October – 22 October 2004 |
|
Lecture 5: Web
Server Hardware and Software (GM) |
|
Lecture 6: Marketing
on the Web (RJ) |
|
|
|
Week
4: 25 October – 29 October 2004 |
|
Lecture 7: Business-to-Business
strategies: from EDI to E-commerce (RJ) |
|
Lecture 8: Auctions,
Virtual Communities, Web Portals (RJ) |
|
|
|
Week
5: 1 November – 5 November 2004 |
|
Lecture 9: Environment
of E-commerce and Planning
for E-business (RJ) |
|
Lecture 10: E-commerce
Software (GM) |
|
|
|
Week
6: 8 November –
12 November 2004 |
|
Reading week |
|
|
|
Week
7: 15 November –
19 November 2004 |
|
Lecture 11: Payment
systems (RJ) |
|
Lecture 12: E-commerce
Security-I (GM) |
|
|
|
Week
8: 22 November – 26 November 2004 |
|
Lecture 13: E-commerce
Security-II (GM) |
|
Lecture 14: User
Experience (GM) |
|
|
|
Week
9: 29 November – 3 December 2004 |
|
Lectures 15-16: Guest lecture
|
|
|
|
Week
10: 6 December – 10 December 2004 |
|
Lab 1: E-Shop Exercise
(DD) |
|
Lab 2: E-Shop Exercise (DD) |
|
|
|
Week
11: 13 December – 17 December 2004 |
|
Lecture 17: Revision (RJ+GM) |
|
Lab 3: E-Shop Exercise (DD) |
Assessment
The module is assessed by a three hours written
exam, which counts for 80%, and a piece of coursework
that counts 20% of the overall mark. The coursework
covers both theoretical and practical aspects of E-commerce. In the practical
part students are asked to design and implement a simple e-shop. You can use
any tool(s) you prefer for your implementation, e.g. Microsoft Site Server 3.0,
Shop Creator (there will be three
sessions on how to use this tool – see the lecture
programme) etc. Your e-shop should mimic an actual company and contain a
number of products.
How the examination relates to the learning outcomes
The examination relates to the basic learning
outcomes stated earlier in this document. Exam questions will cover all aspects
of the module, assessing the accomplishment of ALL learning outcomes.
The following
reading list is a recommended source of course material.
Electronic
Commerce by G P Schneider
Published by
Thompson Learning, ISBN 0-619-15955-3 (from £16.00 on the
Web).
Electronic Resources
On the following sites you can find relevant
material:
·
http://portal.acm.org/portal.cfm
The URL
of the ACM digital library.
·
http://www-us.ebsco.com/online/Reader.asp
Links to
several journals. You might need your ATHENS password to access that.
·
http://www.elsevier.nl/locate/issn/08936080
Elsevier
Publisher. You might need your ATHENS password to access that.
EEVL is
an award-winning free service, which provides quick and reliable access to the
best engineering, mathematics, and computing information available on the
Internet.
Links to several journals. You might need
your ATHENS password to access that.
·
http://www.tedhaynes.com/haynes1/newterms.html
The E-Commerce Dictionary
A wealth
of UK-relevant information for electronic business
A large source of key information about e-business - articles, links to resources
on e-commerce and Web marketing.
· http://www.ecommerceadvisor.com/
Expert advice on e-commerce strategies & technologies.
· http://www.w3.org/ECommerce/
Latest developments on e-commerce from the Electronic Commerce Interest
Group of the W3C (the World Wide Web Consortium).
Resources on Web usability and e-commerce user
experience from Jacob Nielsen and his team.
§ http://www.fred.net/dhark/mwp.html
Resources for Managing your Web project.
If you don't have an ATHENS password please
visit the Library's web page and follow instructions to get an ATHENS password.
Journals
·
ACM
Transactions on Internet Technology
·
Data
& Knowledge Engineering
·
Data
Mining and Knowledge Discovery
·
IEEE
Intelligent Systems
·
Expert
systems with applications
·
The
knowledge engineering review
· IEEE Internet Computing
· Decision Support
Systems
Supplementary
reading and study material
The reading list, above, is the recommended
source of course material. You are advised to acquire the core reading text.
Use this study guide to assess the coverage and suitability of another
textbook. Some of the books will not cover the course entirely and, may contain
material not covered in the course.
It is advisable to look in the library or on the
Web for further reading around the topic of the module; you will find a lot of
literature dealing with e-commerce. Feel free to buy a book of your own choice
if it is not included in the reading list, and use the library frequently. You
will find it contains lots of other material that will interest you.
Please refer them to the course booklet –
this is standard across the whole college.