Reflections on WISDM:The Global Drinks case

12.1 Introduction

To pull the strands of the WISDM framework together we introduce a real-life web-based information system development case study. The case is concerned with a UK-based small to medium size enterprise (SME) as reported by Vidgen (2002). Following the case we will introduce some theory into the WISDM framework to provide a basis for reflecting on the practice of information system development.

12.2 The Global Drinks case

12.2.1 The client organization in 1998

Founded in 1991, Zenith International Ltd is a business consultancy specializing in the food, drinks and packaging industries worldwide. The main business activities are market analysis, strategic advice, technical consulting projects and conference organization. In spring 1998, the strategic aims of Zenith were to create a global presence, to broaden the product range, and to develop complementary skills (e.g., a synergy of market intelligence reports and consultancy). In September 1998 Zenith launched its first web site. The adoption of the Internet by Zenith is explained well by Mehrtens et al. (2001), whose model comprises three factors: perceived benefits (e.g., sending product information to prospective customers), organizational readiness (e.g., high levels of Internet familiarity by staff and senior management support), and external pressure (mainly from existing customers who want the firm to communicate with them electronically).

Zenith can, therefore, be categorized as a stereotypical SME Internet adopter. Given these factors, it is not surprising that the first stage of the web site implementation was to create a web presence and to provide marketing information about Zenith companies and their services and products. Although customers could not buy digital documents on the web site they could place orders online for subsequent delivery of paper reports. Two of the most successful features of the site were the online conference booking forms and the Chairman's newsletters. In summary, the site was typical of a cyberbrochure, informational site, with elementary order taking facilities.

12.2.2 The Global Drinks e-commerce project 1999–2001

Analysis of competitors showed that the larger market research companies were making reports available online (e.g., Gartner, Data monitor) and issuing user identification and passwords to customers. The success of the company web site launched in 1998 gave Zenith the confidence to explore e-commerce and the online delivery of market research content. In October 1999 Zenith and the University of Bath established a two-year Teaching Company Scheme (TCS).

The objective of the TCS programme was to build an online Global Drinks Service (GDS). In 1999 the GDS was a paper-based survey of beverage consumption data, together with textual analysis, for all countries with analysis across product groups (e.g., soft drinks) and products (e.g., bottled water, fruit juices). This information is of value to the marketing and planning departments of organizations involved in the drinks industry, including ingredients suppliers, manufacturers, retailers, and packagers. In its paper form a customer was expected to buy the complete survey – all countries, all products, all years – and to renew a subscription on an annual basis if it wanted a new report with updated consumption data. By making this information available online Zenith would be able to supply information in 'byte-sized' chunks on demand.

12.2.3 Outcomes of the intervention

The project plan anticipated version 1.0 of the GDS being complete 12 months into the two-year project with the remaining 12 months being used for monitoring and iterative development. In Internet time 12 months might well seem to be excessive, but the time-scale needed to reflect the training requirements of the Teaching Company Associate (a recent graduate and novice developer) and allow the Associate to gain experience and confidence through working on technically less demanding pieces of work, such as a redesign of the company's main web site. Throughout the project rapid application development and prototyping were used. This approach allowed Zenith researchers and managers to see a working system quickly and for the developers to continuously check their understanding of the requirements. The internal prototype was evolved into a production system, culminating with the first live version of the GDS being delivered ahead of schedule ten months after project commencement. This first release allowed for end-to-end purchasing: customers could select the data they wanted to purchase, pick a user id and password, pay by credit card using a secure third party, and have immediate access to the data purchased (www.globaldrinks.com).

Once the initial version of the GDS was delivered, new releases followed at roughly two-month intervals. New facilities included: more sophisticated calculations (e.g., country to country comparisons of percentage growth in beverage consumption per capita) and improved graphical presentation, a report store allowing textual commentaries to be purchased in Adobe Acrobat (pdf) file format, a database of more than 1500 links to drinks manufacturer sites, an email news service, daily news available by mobile telephone using WAP (wireless application protocol), and real-time generation of user selected data in the form of an Excel spreadsheet. A revenue stream of GDS sales was created in the first year of the project and the financial targets for revenue generation specified in the project proposal for the two-year period were exceeded. From a TCS and company perspective the project was judged to be a success. In the context of an e-commerce web application, the GDS project was an important input to the shaping of WISDM, particularly with regard to the contents of the methods matrix.