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COMP3241

E-commerce Technologies

Module Outline
Semester 1 2014/15
Module Tutors: / Richard Henson (module leader)
Contact details: / , CH1005, int tel: 5397
Academic Liaison Librarian: / Stephanie Allen ()
Time: / Wednesday 1315-1615
Venue: / CH1001
Verified by: / Pete Moody
Electronic copy available: /

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  1. What will I be able to do when I have passed this module?

On successful completion of the module, you should be able to:

  1. Analyse technical needs and economic factors affecting e-commerce implementations.
  2. Develop a website on a web server so that information can be stored on digital media using principles that minimise the chance of a breach of security
  3. Create server pages for collecting and storing customer and product data, displaying product information/order data so that customers can receive up-to-date information with minimal website maintenance
  4. Integrate server pages to create a shopping cart system that will maximise sales opportunities for the vendor and optimise the shopping experience for the customer and provide suitable accounting
  1. How will this module enhance my future employability?

This module will enable you to develop and enhance the following which are highly sought by employers:

  • Application of relevant knowledge: you will be able to create a website and backend that could be used in conjunction with on-line shopping, using the client-server platform of your preference
  • Research and problem solving: you will have to solve practical problems to create a working e-commerce site available through the www
  • Critical Analysis: planning and design of translating the basics of a face-to-face business transaction on a screen interface
  • Self-management: manage time appropriately and plan/implement assignment 2 activities appropriately as a mini-project
  • Use of IT: all the practical sessions and the whole of design/implementation of assignment 2 depends on appropriate use of IT facilities
  1. How is this module assessed?

The assessment for this module is based on two assignments as below:

1 Report (40%)

2 Working Product/Prac Report (60%)

Further details of the assessment items and submission requirements will be notified during the module sessions.

Assessment / Weighting / Learning outcomes assessed / Submission Date / Return Date
Assignment 1 / 40% / 1 / 3 pm on 13/11/14 / 11thDecember 2014
Assignment 2 / 60% / 2, 3, 4 / 3 pm on 15/1/15 / 14th February 2015

Specialist Software requirements for assignment 2: the module by default uses a Windows platform with Visual Studio 2010 and the .net framework, which can all be downloaded for student use from the Microsoft system specialist software website (managed by Dreamspark). Students who are unfamiliar with any component of this platform may wish to spend extra time in the lab so they understand the interface and environment for the web development component of Visual Studio. Any other software required is all freely available on the www. Students who are familiar with the PHP framework will be able to complete the practical assignment using that platform if they so wish. Further details of the assessment items and submission requirements will be given during the module sessions.

  1. Indicative Schedule

UMS Wk / w/c / Lecture / Seminar / Reading
1 / 22 Sept / E-commerce technologies in context. The business and technical requirements of client-server systems allowing on-line trading through the www / Introduction to software development environments for creating and testing dynamic client-server systems / Shklar et al, ch. 1-4
2 / 29 Sept / Web-based networked applications: essential knowledge. External speaker on client-server environments and payment systems / Using Visual Web Developer features of Visual Studio for client-side website production / Sharp, Darie et al, Ch. 1-4
Randolph, et al
Ch.1-5
3 / 6 Oct / Developing client-side pages and sites & available RAD tools
This session will also contain an assessment briefing relating to both assignments / Focus on using Visual Web Developer for client-server website development / Sharp, Darie et al, ch. 5-6
Randolph, et al
Ch.6 on…
Watson ch. 1-10
4 / 13 Oct / No session / Work on planning assignment 1…
5 / 20 Oct / Theory of technologies for developing Server-scripts and Client-Server interaction through the web / HTML pages with server-scripts, web server controls, connectivity strings, and HTML forms / Gosselin ch. 2, Snell ch. 2
6 / 27 Oct / Customer input of data & shopping carts. Securing customer data in line with legal requirements / Introduction to client-side requirements for Shopping Cart software / Shklar et al, ch. 5-12
7 / 3 Nov / Server-scripting using prewritten “server behaviours” coded in ASP.net and other formats / Focus on using server-scripting to create components of shopping cart systems / Darie et al 5-12, Randolph et al,
Ch 19 and progression
8 / 10 Nov / Learning Week / Practice with using Visual Web Developer to provide webpage-database interaction / Darie et al, 1-12 Randolph, et al.
Ch 14 and progression…
9 / 17th Nov / WBS Future Week and Awards Ceremonies
10 / 24 Nov / Dynamic Product Pages and Server-side Shopping Carts Server-side databases, integrating relational database tables with web pages, SQL, connectivity / Developing a shopping system by engineering available server scripts to work with a local storage cookie. Interaction with pages & local cookie Database end of a server-side shopping cart. / Darie et al 13-19, Watson 18-20
Gosselin ch.7-9
11 / 1 Dec / Evolution of connectivity software: COM, DCOM, OLE DB, ODBC, specialised web tools etc / Development work on client-server website with shopping cart / Gosselin ch. 7-10
Shklar, ch 7-9 Nahari et al, Anderson
12 / 8 Dec / Processes involved in real-world Client-Server shopping cart systems / Development work on client-server website with shopping cart / Randolph et al
Ch. 19 in particular
15 Dec / Christmas vacation
22 Dec
29kk Dec
13 / 5 Jan / Internet uploading, https, sftp, and security of transactions / Development work on client-server website with shopping cart & uploading
14 / 12 Jan / No formal session - revision of previous work expected / Further enhancements to shopping systems (e.g. email fulfilment) / Hand in of assignment 2 (15th January, 3 pm)
15 / 19 Jan / Assessment week for Semester 1 modules

Specific support for your assignments is also provided via Richard Henson’s website and other on-line resources available via his website.

  1. What reading should I do for this module?

Set texts (theory & practice):

Darie, C. & Wilson, K. (2009) Beginning ASP.NET E-Commerce in C#: From Novice to Professional (Expert's Voice in .NET) Apress

Evans, Stephens, Kerr, 2004, “Constructing Usable Shopping Carts: Designing and Building Great E-Commerce Applications”, Apress

Other Important reading:

Anderson R, 2008, Security Engineering: A Guide to Building Dependable Distributed Systems (2nd Edition), Wiley

Darie, C. & Balanescu, E. (2008) Beginning PHP and MySQL E-Commerce: From Novice to Professional, 2nd edition, Apress

Gosselin, D. (2010), ASP .NET Programming with C# and SQL Server, Cengage

Kaufmann J, Spencer K, 2003, Beginning ASP.NET Databases, Wrox

Nahari, H. & Krutz, R. (2011) Web Commerce Security: Design and Development, Wiley

Powers, D. (2010), Adobe Dreamweaver CS5 with PHP: Training from the Source, Pearson Education

Randolph, N., Gardner, D., Anderson, C., & Minutilo, M. (2010) Professional Visual Studio 2010, John Wiley & Sons

Shklar, L. & Rosen, R. (2009) Web Application Architecture: Principles, Protocols and Practices, 2nd Edition, Wiley

Sharp, J., (2010), Microsoft Visual C# 2010 Step by Step, Microsoft Press

Snell M, 2010, Web Applications Development with Microsoft .NET Framework 4, Sams.

Waither, S., Hoffman, K., & Dudek, N. (2010) ASP .NET Unleashed, Pearson Education

Watson, K. et al, 2010, Beginning Visual C# 2010, Wrox

Journals

Harvard Business Review

Journal of Information Technology

Computing

Sloan Management Review

Information Systems Journal

Web Sites

Many web sources cover ASP.NET, C#, and PHP. Examples:

What Students love about this module:

An opportunity to use the asp.net platform for web applications

The buzz associated with getting it all to work

Previous feedback from this module indicated Last year’s cohorts of students were very supportive of this module, and the opportunities presented through it. Some students were not happy about the lack of a real www environment to load assignment 2 to or marking. This was also an issue for the tutor, and external examiner, and an appropriate web server environment will be available for the 2014-15 cohort.

Action from student feedback

Action Point / Progress
.NET is an industry-standard platform but some students expressed a preference for a PHP platform. / Use of Visual Studio 2010 via Dreamspark has enabled a completely self-contained client-end development environment with client-server based testing available to students, to allow software development using an industry-standard developmental environment. The university also provides a framework for development and client-server testing in PHP and at least one other module uses PHP. Materials are available for students wishing to use WAMP on an Apache platform.
Some students were concerned by the complexity of the practical work, and wanted more formal feedback. / The pace of working towards developing a bespoke working e-commerce system has been relaxed by dividing into a number of discrete stages, with feedback at each stage, giving a sense of achievement at each stage. However, a working shopping cart integrated with shopping pages is still the target
Some students wanted feedback to help them with assignment 1 / Session 3 will include a specific set of guidance on assignment 1. Arrangement of formative feedback on early practical stages will relate also to tasks for assignment 1
A small number of students did not see how this module helped make them employable / The practical work became even more explicitly related to business requirements, and attention brought to the many software development jobs available using the chosen web development platform. Local web development employers are invited to deliver part of a session. This will be extended to include more employers for 2014-15

Harvard Citing and Referencing Guide

Available at

Procedures for Dealing with Exceptional Mitigating Circumstances

Available at

Professional Code of Practice and Conduct

In order to enhance your future employability as well as the quality of your learning experience, this module seeks to encourage professional behaviour in class, which echoes professional standards in the workplace. Full details of the School’s Professional Code of Practice and Conduct can be found on Blackboard.

Sustainability

The University of Worcester is committed to addressing sustainability in its broad sense as reflected in the University Strategic Plan (to 2018) as an area of Distinction. Do consider this in the actions taken in the modules and generally in campus life.

APPENDIX - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Learning & Teaching Issues:

Q: How will this module be taught?

A: Sessions will consist of a range of tutor and student inputs and demonstrations, followed by a workshop. These may include: group discussions, presentations, practical activities, reflective summaries, peer and tutor feedback. In addition, links from RH’s website will enable discussion outside the formal class hours and form a repository for all module materials. You will be expected to practice the skills learned and participate in private research between the formal sessions. There will be tutorial sessions where guidance can be sought.

Q: What resources are available to support this module?

A: The range of sources includes:

  • The Blackboard Learning System – where you will find module, course and other useful information from your tutors, student academic representatives (StARs) and librarian. You will find a link from the module blackboard page to RH’s website
  • RH’s website: like many academics, I keep my own website. This is easily accessible using the URL ( or more simply by typing the tutors name into Google.
  • Software – software relating to above needs will be available to download and downloading instructions will be given.
  • Library Resources - The University of Worcester Library search tool ‘Library Search’ provides you with free access to several million books, journal and newspaper articles, market reports, conference papers and more through a single search box. These resources are not accessible through freely available search engines, such as Google. Access ‘Library Search’ by logging into the Student Portal and selecting ‘Library Search’. Alternatively go direct to your Business LibGuide or Computing LibGuide - these guides include ‘Library Search’ plus lots more useful guidance to help you with your research. It is important that you read and critically evaluate the resources you find, so that you are informed about, and can debate, key academic arguments. Used wisely and appropriately, Library resources, both print and electronic, will enhance your learning and help you improve your results. Make sure you use them! For further help and guidance email the general library enquiry service or contact your Academic Liaison Librarian, Stephanie Allen . You can also ask at the enquiry desk on level 3 in The Hive.

Q: What equal opportunities arrangements are available?

A: If you have any particular or additional learning needs, please feel free to speak with the module tutors, who will be pleased to help you. University of Worcester is committed to ensuring that disabled people, including those with learning difficulties, are treated fairly. Should you have any disability or condition that the tutor should know about, tutors will make every effort to accommodate any particular needs, so long as they are made aware of them. You will find additional useful information on the Disability and Dyslexia webpages at

Student Responsibilities:

Q: Why is it important to attend ALL sessions for this module?

A: Attendance and participation are essential elements of ‘being a student’ and there is a very high correlation between high levels of participation and achievement, consequently, the following requirements operate.

  • You are expected to attend and participate in every session.
  • An attendance register will be taken at each session
  • If you cannot attend for any genuine reason (e.g. illness) you are expected to e-mail the module leader
  • Persistent non-attendance will require an explanation, in person, initially with the module leader.

Q: Why is it important that I hand my work in on time?

A: It is essential that you submit your work, in order to be able to pass the module. Work which is submitted late will be subject to grade penalties:

  • Late but within 5 days of the due date - the grade will be capped at the minimum pass grade (unless a claim of mitigating circumstances is made and upheld).
  • Later than 5 days but within 14 days of the due date - work will not be marked unless a claim of mitigating circumstances is made and upheld
  • Students are entitled to resit failed assessment items for any module that is awarded a fail grade, unless the failure was due to non-attendance or non-submission of all items of assessment for the module

Q: What will I be expect to do for this module?

A: In addition to the formal contact hours you will be expected to engage in approximately seven hours of independent study each week for this module. This is an essential part of your degree. In this module this will typically involve:

  • Reading for lectures, case study work, reading for seminars, or other activities set by the tutors
  • Pre-set work for seminars – if you do not do this you may be excluded from the seminar which will then count as a non-attendance.
  • Time to produce your assignments including - planning, drafting, consulting with your tutors or other students (if a group assignment), writing-up/production, confirming sources and references (to avoid any possibility of plagiarism), checking and finalising your work for submission.
  • It is essential, therefore, that you plan time in your weekly schedule for independent academic study and assignment preparation.

Q: What advice do you have about how to write, reference and present my work in order to obtain the best possible grade?

A: You will be graded on the quality of your writing as well as the content. This will include

  • The ability to present your material in an appropriate format (report, essay etc)
  • The ability to present your work in grammatically correct English (sentences, paragraphs, apostrophes etc)
  • The correct use of references based on the Harvard system – see guide available at . A hard copy of this guide is available in the Library.

Poor English and referencing can lose you up to two grade points per assignment (this will not apply to students having support from the Disability & Dyslexia Service).

Help with academic writing is available to all students from the Writer in Residence (see Blackboard for details). International Students can also contact the Language Centre (see )

You will also find helpful guidance from attending the Study Skills Workshops or accessing the Study Skills Advice Sheets (including on referencing) - see

Q: Why is it important to reference?

A: It is important that work you submit is entirely your own. This is why you must clearly identify all sources, including the internet, and communicate your thoughts in your own words/diagrams/images rather than reproducing the material of others. Failure to do so may lead to an allegation of cheating. The use of online collaborative encyclopædias such as Wikipedia is not acceptable.

Q: Why is it important that I hand my work in on time?

A: It is essential that you submit your work, in order to be able to pass the module. Work which is submitted late will be subject to grade penalties:

  • Late but within 5 days of the due date - the grade will be capped at the minimum pass grade (unless a claim of mitigating circumstances is made and upheld).
  • Later than 5 days but within 14 days of the due date - work will not be marked unless a claim of mitigating circumstances is made and upheld
  • Non-submission of work– will result in the overall module being failed. You will not be permitted a reassessment opportunity and will be required to retake the module (with attendance and incurring a fee)

Assessment & Feedback:

Q: How will I get feedback about my work?Feedback can take many forms, but each can be used to improve your performance. Some of the different types of feedback include:

  • Generic feedback from tutors covering particular strengths/weaknesses found in the work of a particular student group (by email, in class, electronic forms (e.g. videos, blogs, narrated slides etc).
  • Comments from other students about your work (peer feedback) written and spoken (in class, 1-1, in groups).
  • Verbal comments from your tutor associated with your work (while discussing in class (e.g. ideas you are thinking about), in seminars/ groups (e.g. Q&As, debates), 1-1 conversations).
  • Written comments from your tutor (by email answering questions, on the virtual learning website (e.g. Blackboard) providing responses to student queries, usually attached to your assignments).

A: You will receive feedback throughout the module via email and direct verbal feedback. Marks and comments on your coursework assignments are normally provided electronically via SOLE within 20 working days of hand-in date.