Information Systems Analysis and Design Group Project: Analysis and re-design of the "Stephen Seitz Real Estate Business" website.

The Original Task Order ·  The Initial Analysis and Re-design Proposal ·  The System Analysis Report

The Project Ghant Charts Report ·  The System Design Report ·  The Project and Team Assessment Report

The Scope and Feasibility Analysis Report

Date: 10/03/2001

On: Stephen Seitz Real Estate Business, 410-xxx-xxxx, sseitz@xxxxxx.xxx

Prepared by: BAC Consulting, Inc. (Christopher Paul, Matt Berkowitz, Charlene Seitz, Vivian Cook, and Ari Kurz)

General Project Information:

Project Name: SSRE

Project Managers: Matt Berkowitz and Charlene Seitz

BAC Consulting Inc., proposes to redesign SSRE’s web site based on our analysis of his current web site. Our client, Stephen Seitz, has made it clear to us the kind of image he would like to portray on his business website.

BAC intends to implement some additions into the new website that through experience we have found to be appealing to real estate consumers as a whole. Stephen Seitz has approved these BAC recommended additions.

BAC believes the website being designed will do the following:

• Be technically feasible because the website will be easy to navigate and pleasing to the eye.
• The minimal download time that has been proposed for the web site will allow users to complete their tasks with a minimal amount of frustration and in a minimal amount of time.
• Each page of the site will focus on a single topic and will be designed to maximize the amount of information presented while minimizing the size of the page for the user.

• BAC's proposed system will carry a professional look with improved navigation, as well as an appealing look making it easy for the customer to find what they are looking for in a minimal amount of time.
• BAC is proposing to redesign Mr. Seitz’s web site based on what we found after performing an analysis on the current site. Even though our client has made it clear to us the kind of image he would like us to portray on his business web site, we are also going to implement ideas that we feel will make the new web site appealing to his customers.

System Requirements

SSRE will not have to upgrade his current hardware or software. BAC has also taken into consideration the users minimal requirements. If the average user cannot access the system, the cost benefit of having the site will not be justified. The web site has been designed to operate on several browsers and browser versions.

Operating Systems

Windows 95/98/2000/NT and Macintosh platform

Hardware Minimum Requirements

• 486DX 66MHz processor
• 16 MB of RAM for Windows 95/98
• 24 MB of RAM for Windows NT/2000
• 15” VGA monitor set to 256 colors.
• Monitor resolution set to 640 by 480
• 2x CD-ROM drive
• Mouse or compatible pointing device
• 56K Modem

Hardware Recommended Requirements

• Pentium III Processor 1.0GHz or higher
• 64 MB of SDRAM or higher
• 19”Super VGA or higher-resolution monitor set to 24 bit (true color) or higher
• Monitor resolution set to 800 by 600 or higher
• 8x CD-ROM drive
• Cable modem or DSL
• Mouse or compatible pointing device

Application Software: Microsoft Word or PowerPoint to view presentations.

Connection Speed: 56k Modem, Cable Modem, DSL access

Access Method: Web browser, Personal Digital Assistant, Web-enabled Television

Internet Browser and Version

• Netscape Navigator 3.0, or higher
• Internet Explorer 2.0, or higher
• Macintosh platform

Maintenance

An informational web site with a great deal of content and interactivity may require more maintenance than one with less content. BAC had given Mr. Seitz a variety of options to handle the maintenance of his site. Mr. Seitz would prefer having a website design he can maintain himself. Due to the complexity of his requirements, this will not be feasible.

Web maintenance involves a number of different tasks. BAC's recommendation to Mr. Seitz is to choose a web developer that he can hire on a contract "as needed" basis for general maintenance at an average cost of $150.00 per hour. Mr Seitz can do some of the weekly testing of the site or he can hire someone for a fee of $10.00 an hour to create a written report of any problems found with the site.

The frequency of link checking must be increased because content will be continuously updated. Old and outdated links need to be removed. If it is found that there must be a major change to a link on the site then a web development service can be contracted to make the changes. Our client was advised that these changes could command an hourly rate of $300.00 from a web designer to $1,200.00 a day from a web development company.

Periodic evaluations will still need to be performed to determine if the site is still meeting the needs of the user.

BAC has advised Mr. Seitz to confer with his Internet service provider (ISP) regarding web security. If the provider cannot provide written documentation on how they protect the sites they host from hackers, we advise Mr. Seitz to consider another ISP provider. With the number of small businesses using the web as part of their advertising our client may want to consider a new ISP provider if his annual rate increases by more than 75%. Currently Mr. Seitz pays $168 per year to Telephone Net to service his account.

The updating of search engines will need to be done on regular basis. Listed below are two sites that BAC deeems useful. The first one will check the links to verify all is working, and the second one will help get the site more hits.

http://validator.w3.org/ the W3C HTML Validation Service: a free service that checks documents like HTML and XHTML for conformance to W3C recommendations and other standards.

http://www.addme.com/ : allows one to submit a website or URL to the top 20 search engines and directories for free.

MRIS, Inc. (Metropolitan Regional Information System) who has the ultimate tool called, "Active Agent for Internet", marketing at the cost of $ 350.00 year. MRIS will provide a basic "fill in the blanks" type website, which is not what BAC recommends for our client. BAC recommends that Mr Seitz site needs stand out from the rest of the agents. The Active Agent for Internet tool offers other marketing features such as LEADLOCK, ACTIVE LISTING, HOMES PROSPECTOR, and ACTIVE AGENT STATISTICS. Active agent tracks advertising, searches the database for matching properties for the client, emails them one-liners, and provides reports on how many times the site was accessed.

BAC advised Mr. Seitz on a number of other issues for him to consider with the updating of his website.

• Economic: The new website will provide a good Return on Investment (ROI) because of the minimal out of pocket expense.
• Technical: No special software or hardware will be required to create or maintain the site.
• Operational: Updating the site to resemble the Prudential web site will give the site a professional appearance.
• Schedule: BAC will meet or exceed Mr. Seitz expectations by delivering a finished product by the agreed date or ahead of schedule.
• Legal and Contractual: Mr. Seitz has followed all laws that pertain to creating and maintaining a website that reference Prudential. All documents are current that permit the SSRE website to have a link from the Prudential main page. Any work performed on the site will have written documentation on the changes, how much was spent, and any other pertinent information.
• Political: At this time Mr. Seitz has not had any feed back from the Prudential organization if the site portrays them in a negative way.

The costs that we have outlined for Mr. Seitz have not exceeded the current money he has allowed for updating and future maintenance of the site.