IS6117 EBusiness Development Project Lecture 1: Introduction to IS6117 Rob Gleasure

IS6117 Lecture times  , Tuesday (Connolly S3A) Contact me at  Ext 2503  Room  Website for this course 

IS6117 Today  Course objective  Course outline  Important dates and marking  Some readings

Course Objective To gain a practical understanding of developing new e-Business ventures To identify a new technologically-enabled e-Business venture To prototype the e-Business applications necessary to make it run

Course Outline Project work starts at the end of the summer exams but thinking and planning for project ideas starts immediately The project concludes with a presentation of the proposed electronic business venture and demonstration of a proof of concept prototype in late August/early September 2015 Projects will be completed in groups of 3 people Mentors are: Tom O’Kane, Timothy O’Sullivan, and Rob Gleasure (module coordinator)

Course Outline The IS6117 slots on Wednesday afternoons will be allocated to technical tutorials, idea development workshops, progress meetings with mentors, and seminars Students must attend 80% of both scheduled seminars and group meetings in order to pass the module Exact dates for deliverables will be confirmed via

Important Dates and Marking Part 1 (Individual work) Executive summary of idea 1  17 th October  A single paragraph describing your idea, handed into my office (room 2.112, O’Rahilly Building) Initial report on individual e-business ideas  14 th November  5%  The report should describe what the idea is, the target customer base, the value proposition, and possible revenue streams (a template will be provided)

Important Dates and Marking Part 1 (Individual work) Executive summary of idea 2  late January  A single paragraph describing your idea, handed into my office (room 2.112, O’Rahilly Building) Detailed interim report on individual e-business ideas  late February  5%  This detailed report on your idea should elaborate on the earlier report by incorporating mentor feedback, early stage market research, and reflect the idea based on your e-business and technical learning from the December to March 2015 timeframe (a template will be provided)

Important Dates and Marking Part 1 continued (Individual work) Individual e-business proposals due  Early June  The individual proposal should be a concisely written submission based on your business idea and the revisions you made to that idea based on feedback from the pre-summer seminars, market research, and the additional work done to date to develop the idea (a template will be provided)

Important Dates and Marking Part 2 (Group work) Group project proposal  Late May/early June Interim Project Report I due  Late June  5% Interim Project Report II due  Late July  5%  The interim project reports should provide a high level overview of your work to date, and an assessment of the implications of that work for the operational, economic and technical feasibility of your proposal. The reports should consist of 4-5 pages plus appendices providing evidence of work undertaken (templates will be provided)

Important Dates and Marking Part 2 Continued (Group work) System and systems documentation due  Late August  35%  This deliverable should include a full assessment of the technical feasibility of your business venture. The deliverable will include a working prototype (including source code submitted on CD- ROM), a description of the application’s technology platform and architecture, a requirements specification, analysis and design documentation (for both data and functionality) and a discussion on how the chosen implementation supports the proposed business venture.

Important Dates and Marking Part 2 Continued (Group work) Business Plan due  Late August  35%  This document should include a full assessment of the commercial feasibility of your business venture. The deliverable will include: an assessment of your value proposition, market and competitor analysis; customer analysis; an evaluation of your product/service offering; details of venture financing; financial projections and breakeven analysis; company description; details of operational and management structures and activities; marketing and sales plans; and stakeholder analysis.

Important Dates and Marking Part 2 Continued (Group work) Final presentations  Late August  10%  This will consist of a 20 minute presentation plus 10 minutes Q&A. The presentation should examine both business and technical aspects and feasibility. The business aspects should include the management team, market opportunity (including competition), value proposition, market launch, forecasted sales figures, key risks and contingency plans, financial aspects, and an examination of why someone should invest in your business proposal. As well as demonstrating the systems prototype, the presentation should include an overview of the architecture, an assessment of technical feasibility of delivering value proposition, and system challenges & plans. All members of each group must participate in the presentation and Q&A session.

What is eBusiness? Image from

Some readings Brown, T Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation, HarperBusiness, USA Christensen, C Seeing What's Next: Using the Theories of Innovation to Predict Industry Change, Harvard Business Press, Cambridge, MA. Moore, G Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customers, HarperCollins, NY. Kim, W. & Mauborgne, R Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant, Harvard Business Press, Cambridge, MA. Ries, E The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses, Crown Business

More readings Barringer, B Preparing Effective Business Plans, Pearson Williams, S The FT Guide to Business Start Up 2008, Prentice Hall O’Kane, B Starting a Business in Ireland (5 th ed) Oak Tree Press Getting Real (