Study Guide

Learning outcomes

The student is able to
- choose the most suitable online store solution and components for a company's operating environment
- recognise the services used in online store solutions and their interfaces
- name the factors affecting the cost effectiveness of an online store

Implementation and methods of teaching

Online Store Solutions (eShops, eCommerce, WebShops) are presented with lectures, students work on practical implementations (POC-like) and demonstrations. Nontechnical matters are summarized in essays. This course does include the technical aspects too, including add-on creation, though mostly the technological aspects involve solution setup and maintenance. Technical aspects are covered in a "walkthrough" fashion. Tasks are done individually.

Timing and attendance

Assignments are given weekly. There are no fixed lecture times, but especially for students who have little or no technical experience at systems level it comes highly recommended to arrange time early in the week to start on the assignments as soon as they are published. How much time the assignments take depends on the acquired technical skill level of the student and also very much on how much a POC is polished. The course has a fast pace initially as it is bound to a project course called "Setting Up and Developing an Online Store". To get a full view on the subject it is also recommended to enroll on the course "Online Business" simultaneously with this one.

Learning material and recommended literature

All material is given in Moodle. Material is often provided in video format.

Exam retakes

There are no exams.

Learning environment

The students need a laptop or they need to visit the LAB campus to work on the exercises! The material provided is targeted for the LAB campus lab machines (Windows): all recordings are done on a LAB Windows workstation. However, limited case specific (Online Store Solutions related) support is provided for all of the "major three platforms": Windows, MacOS and Linux. The student machine has to fill the requirements for a BIT student, though, as the software products used do have minimum requirements of their own.

Student time use and work load

Workload depends on the student's technical skills. Those already familiar with command line (text) interfaces and web publishing stacks will not find the tasks too much of a challenge. Those who have not yet acquired such skills should expect to spend the "hour quota" of a 5 credit units course practically fully on this course.

Contents

Exploration of existing and current online store solutions, solution suites and extensions. How, why and via what kinds of interfaces do online store solutions interact with the solutions surrounding them. How to procure a cost effective, customer service oriented online store solution. Online store solutions development (also at a technical level).

Additional information for students: previous knowledge etc.

Students who find the time to get familiar with the command line interface (CMD/Terminal/Bash) in advance will save some time especially in the initial exercises. A larger project based on the skills learned can be done in the scope of a project course called "Setting Up and Developing an Online Store". To get a full view on the subject it is also recommended to take the course Online Business simultaneously with this one.

Assessment criteria

Produced artifacts and demonstrations will be evaluated.

Assessment scale

1-5

Failed (0)

The student gains no view of the current "state of field" in the online store solution market segment. The student cannot understand how online store solutions affect the surrounding business and is therefore unable to understand what kinds of services and interfaces the solutions should provide. The student is unable to estimate the cost effectiveness of an online store solution and it's management.

Assessment criteria: level 1 (assessment scale 1–5)

The student learns about some online store solutions and learns how to utilize them. The student understands how the online store solution affects the business environment and has some idea of how it interfaces with surrounding solutions. The student has a basic idea of how the cost effectiveness of an online store solution can be estimated.

Assessment criteria: level 3 (assessment scale 1–5)

The student learns about several online solutions with different characteristics, learns how to utilize them and understands when to utilize them. The student has a good view of how the online store solution should provide services to surrounding solutions. The student can estimate the cost effectiveness of an online store solution.

Assessment criteria: level 5 (assessment scale 1–5)

The student can name and compare several online solutions with different characteristics, the student understands how they are placed in the market for online store solutions and knows when and how to utilize them. The student understands and can take into account the interactions and services the online store solution should be capable of and knows which interfaces to use to provide them. The student can measure and evaluate the cost effectiveness of an online store solution.