Film Drifter is a movie business that was started many years ago by Paul George, Mark Hamill, and Stephanie White. The business is among the fast-growing rental chains and movie sales in the country. Paul was a business oriented individual and was interested in filling the market niche and business opportunities while Stephanie and mark were film and movie enthusiasts and had sufficient knowledge about the various movies.
The idea that Paul perceived was to provide additional services such as pickup and delivery for their customers, assist them in their movie choices which was not being provided by other movie vendors who focused only on popular and latest movies for customers to select for themselves. Film Drifter is focused more on customer satisfaction because this is what will draw customers more to the store (Sheu and Stewart, 2011). Paul, being a business-oriented individual, has taken time to investigate the opportunities that the business may gain by adopting mobile and online technology to enhance customer satisfaction.
The business has done so well that the way the founders expected it would. Currently, the business has five stores in Melbourne and is predicting that the business will expand it territories to other states and cities. Every store has a manager in charge and contract employees. Film Drifter has attributed its success to the careful choice of the location to put their stores, and the knowledgeable and customer friendly managers managing the stores. Paul, Mark, and Stephanie have put extra effort in supporting the store managers so as to run them more effectively and efficiently.
Problem & Project Scope
Film Drift is anticipating for expansion and growth and this necessitates that the business upgrades its information technology infrastructure so as to be able to meet the growing needs of the business. The company has a stand-alone software that has been installed in every store to manage the sales and hiring of movies but they are not linked, this means that every store operates independently. Each store is required to prepare its individual report which will be consolidated later by Paul for the purpose of management and decision making.
The current software has several limitations and cannot give business analytics and real-time or on-demand reporting. Additionally, the effectiveness of the software depends on the knowledge and expertise of the store manager since every store is given a list of the available movies but not what is in other stores making the software unreliable. The business has identified this problem and have decided to implement an online system that will be centralized and allow all the stores to access same content and makes updating the list of movies easy.
Methodology
While developing Film Drifter website, the development methodology adopted was waterfall. Waterfall methodology is the first model process to be introduced in terms of research methodologies (EconomicTimes, 2018). Waterfall is also terms as a linear sequential life cycle process model. Waterfall is very simple to understanding and easier when being used waterfall. In this type of methodology, one must complete the preceding phase before moving to the next phase and thus no overlapping in phases. This type of the model is one of the earliest software development life cycle approach that was in application for developing software’s. The explanation of the software development is illustrated in a flow which is linear sequential (Rouse, 2018). The real reason for such name is that any phase will only exist or take place when the previous phase has been completed.
Design of Waterfall Model.
In ensuring success of the project waterfall approach methodology was one of the first software development life cycle to be used. In this approach the entire process is divided in to several and specific phases. Typically, in this waterfall approach, the outcome of one single phase always act as the input of the following phase in a sequential manner. The figure below is an illustration of the way the different phases of the waterfall approach are represented.
The waterfall model phases or the sequential phases are explained in details
Requirement gathering and analysis. In this phase all the requirements which are possible in a given system that is to be developed are captured and much more documented in a requirement specification in the document.
System design. In this phase the requirements specifications are always studied in details in this phase and in this case, they are prepared. This phase helps the designer in being able to identify all the requirements which are hardware and system related and thus helping in definition of the overall architecture of the system.
Implementation phase. In this phase the inputs from the phase of the system design are used in developing the small programs in form of modular and units which are always integrated in the next phase. Each and specific unit will have to be developed and much more tested for their functionality and always referred to as the unit testing.
Integration and testing. In this phase all the units which have been realized in the phase of the implementation must be integrated in to the system where there are brought together to work as one system unit after each has been tested in its own unit. A post integration for the entire system is always tested after integration of the units for testing all the faults and failures that maybe associated.
System deployment. In this case once the testing which are functional and non-functional are done, then the product will be deployed in the environment of the customer or being released into the market.
System Maintenance. This is the phase that’s come after the system has been deployed in the other end of the customer. There may arise issues in the client environment. In fixing such issues patches must be released and thus able to enhance the product with some better versions which are up to date. This phase is done to help in delivering the changes in the environment of the client.
There is cascading of the patches in each other whose progress illustrates as if they are flowing steadily downwards and thus termed as waterfall through the cycles. The next phase has to be started only if and after the set goals which are defined in the initial phase are achieved for previous phase and thus it has to be signed off and thus being given the name waterfall model (Sharma and Singh, 2015).
Application of Waterfall Model.
In each and every software being developed there is always a difference and thus it may require a SDLC approach which must be suitable and has to be followed on the basis they are factors which affect internally and externally. The following are some of the situations or areas where waterfall approach will not be an appropriate methodology (Powell-Morse, 2016).
Where the requirements are well documented, very clear and well-fixed
The stability of the product definition
Where there is understanding of the technology and which is not dynamic
Where there are no ambiguous requirements
Where the resources are ample with the expertise required and available in supporting the product
The project is short.
Advantages of Waterfall Approach
Some of the merits of the waterfall approach are that it has enhanced the use of departmentalization as well as the system control. There is always a set schedule with deadlines in each and every phase of the development and thus the product has proceeded through the process of development one by one. In the waterfall development the cycle moves from understanding the concept, through to design, after design is implementation, the next is testing and installation, after installation one has to troubleshoot and ends up the operation and maintenance (Lotz, 2013). There are some strict orders in the development of each and every phase. Some of the major advantages are such as stated below.
It is very simple and much easy to use
Management is easy due to the model rigidity as each phase may have specific deliverables as well as the review process.
The phases are completed each at a given time.
They work well with projects which are smaller where all the requirements are well understood.
The stages are clearly defined.
It is easy to arrange all the tasks
The process and the results of the project are well documented.
Disadvantages of Waterfall Model.
One demerit of waterfall is that it does not allow too much reflection or any revision. In this case once an application is in the tested phase it becomes very difficult to go back to the previous phase and change anything that was not well documented or though off in the definition stage (Pathak and Saxena, 2012). Some of the major disadvantages of this approach are such as the stated one below (Tutorialspoint, 2018).
There will be no working software which can be produced until the life cycle is complete
The uncertainty and risk are very high
It is not good approach for complex and projects which are object oriented.
It may be a poor model for all the long and projects which are ongoing.
Results
By accomplishing this project, the business will be able to address the challenges that it is currently facing. Paul have done in-depth research regarding setting an online business, there are some consideration to make. There are many benefits which are associated with this type of business and making it viable option (Khoma and Kostiuk-Pukaliak, 2017). There are many companies which has been working online such as the Amazon and eBay which have succeeded in the market. The following are some of the major benefits associated with the Fil Drifter website project.
Saving Money. In this benefit the company will save money. This may include saving the business premises. In addition, one can make some savings in other areas such as cost of travelling. In this manner the cost of starting up a given business will be low if such cost is cut. For individual setting such businesses with a budget which is limited this is the ideal solution.
Very great for niche products. In this case when we sell the niche products, operating online maybe ideal. In this case the product type can easily be able to find and access all the services which may mean that the individual can benefit more from the clients when compared to bricks and setting up the mortar where it would be only accessible in the limited range of people (Pur, 2016)
Very simple and convenient. It may be a challenge to set up and run a business. However, when one is operating online, one can be able to eliminate a lot of stress and thus it is hassle involved.
Popular to many customers. In the current era many customers are enjoying the ease and convenience of being able to shop for goods and services in the online platforms (Datta, 2010). In creation of an online platform, one can be able to cater the growing demand.
Change Management
This being a new system to the company, Film Drifter should have a change management strategy to help the business in effective and planned shift from the old system to the new system. It is important to have a consistent change management in order to minimize the impact that the change might have on the employees and the business in general (Banerjee, 2017). The following are some of the steps that the company should take in order to have a successful change management:
The company should identify the aspects that will be improved or upgraded by clarifying on the objectives and identifying the focus (Lindberg, 2013). This will entail identifying the personnel and resources that will steer the project to completion.
Since the business have several stakeholders, it is important to present a business case that is solid to them. This is because every stakeholder has different expectation of the impact of the new system and it is important to communicate the business case to them so as to be on the same page and prepare them for the changes.
It is important to have a roadmap to be followed while executing the change, that is, plan for change. This includes clearly outlining the steps and procedures that the business should take to achieve the change objectives. Provide use data and resources for evaluations. Funding and identification of resources are some of the important aspects in the planning process. Training tolls should also be provided to the users.
Communication is a very important in change management in order to plan and execute a successful change process. It is necessary to ensure that all the stakeholders are communicated to about any change that the system will bring and their role in the new setup. Finally, continuously monitor the change process for any resistance, risks, and dependencies. Revise, review, and improve on the system continuously.
Recommendations
Some of the limitations that was encountered while developing the system was majorly on finances. There was a limited budget for the project. However, the project was completed successfully. For project team recommends that the business should continuously upgrade their security features because of the increasing cyber threats facing the online businesses. Secondly, the business can adopt a cloud solution because it offers the best backup and disaster recovery procedures, have high level availability, supports scalability, and allows anytime anywhere access, it is also cheaper since the business will no longer have to worry about the maintenance of the IT infrastructure.
Conclusion
In conclusion, online business offers several benefits including cost effectiveness, allows the business to reach a wider audience, it is cheap and convenient, and allows centralize management. However, the initial cost of development and installation is high and is faced with numerous risks and threats.
Reference List
Banerjee, A. (2017). System Changeover Policy and Precautions. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVANCED ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT, 2(9), p.214.
Datta, P. (2010). A preliminary study of ecommerce adoption in developing countries. Information Systems Journal, 21(1), pp.3-32.
EconomicTimes, E. (2018). Waterfall Model – What is Waterfall Model ? Waterfall Model meaning, Waterfall Model definition – The Economic Times. [online] The Economic Times. Available at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/definition/waterfall-model [Accessed 13 Nov. 2018].
Khoma, I. and Kostiuk-Pukaliak, O. (2017). Importance of E-Commerce in the Development of Economy and Business. Economics, Entrepreneurship, Management, 4(2), pp.15-22.
Lindberg, D. (2013). Change Management Tools for Systemic Results. Change Management: An International Journal, 12(3), pp.1-6.
Lotz, M. (2013). Waterfall vs. Agile: Which Methodology is Right for Your Project?. [online] Segue Technologies. Available at: https://www.seguetech.com/waterfall-vs-agile-methodology/ [Accessed 13 Nov. 2018].
Mahadevan, L. and Meservy, T. (2015). Running on Hybrid: Control Changes when Introducing an Agile Methodology in a Traditional “Waterfall” System Development Environment. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 36.
Pathak, S. and Saxena, P. (2012). Hybrid Methodology Involving Scrum and Waterfall Model towards the Software Project Development in Academic Knowledge Centers. International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education (IJERE), 1(1).
Powell-Morse, A. (2016). Waterfall Model: What Is It and When Should You Use It?. [online] Airbrake Blog. Available at: https://airbrake.io/blog/sdlc/waterfall-model [Accessed 13 Nov. 2018].
Pur, P. (2016). Advantages of Web Services in E-Business. SSRN Electronic Journal.
Rouse, M. (2018). What is waterfall model? – Definition from WhatIs.com. [online] SearchSoftwareQuality. Available at: https://searchsoftwarequality.techtarget.com/definition/waterfall-model [Accessed 13 Nov. 2018].
Sharma, P. and Singh, D. (2015). Comparative Study of Various SDLC Models on Different Parameters. International Journal of Engineering Research, 4(4), pp.188-191.
Sheu, M. and Stewart, S. (2011). Personalizing Online Trading Without Spoiling Its Intrinsic Advantages. Journal of Business & Economics Research (JBER), 3(9).
Tutorialspoint, T. (2018). SDLC Waterfall Model. [online] www.tutorialspoint.com. Available at: https://www.tutorialspoint.com/sdlc/sdlc_waterfall_model.htm [Accessed 13 Nov. 2018].
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