Service Request SR-kf-013
Team D
BSA/375
July 6, 2015
Dr. Cheryl Mason

Service Request SR-kf-013

Introduction

Kudler Fine Foods (KFF), an upscale specialty gourmet foods shop with three locations (La Jolla, Del Mar and Encinitas), has documented interest in the development of a Frequent Shopper Program to allow enhanced information management by tracking customer-purchasing trends. This request is in an effort to boost revenue, increase loyalty, and maximize profitability of KFF’s consumers. Providing a loyalty points system to offer incentives for customer loyalty can be an effective way to collect valuable customer data including future purchasing needs

Scope

The scope of the project itself will include developing methods to track and analyze customer purchases, collect customer information, reward customers for their loyalty to Kudler, as well as determine a process to base inventory decisions on customer purchase data. These types of systems are very common in most grocery store chains around the world offering discounts on in store products, however KFF is determined to cater to the demographic of their shoppers by taking this program a step further. The system specific to KFF needs, includes a reward points system designed to provide the customer exclusive offers on both in store products and with third party partners.
This system will be designed to store customer data while providing reward points to be used for purchases both in-store and with third party partners. Reward points will be redeemable for fine foods, first class airline upgrades, high end gifts, and other items and bonuses of that nature. Points will be rewarded in increments based on money spent on purchases within the store in which the customer provides a reward card or number to reference (phone #) during checkout process. Since this system will be collecting customers’ personal information, it is imperative that potential issues are addressed prior to the implementation of this system. The primary reasoning behind this strategic ploy is due to the fact that Kudler Fine Foods wants to keep their loyal customers and gain more by introducing this form of marketing to the public. According to an article found on accessdevelopment.com, The article states that “ Sixty two Percent of consumers said they'd switch to grocery rewards if a grocer offering gas rewards gave them the option of a different type of reward; 24% said they'd stay with gas rewards; 8% said they'd opt for travel rewards; 6% chose electronics, housewares or apparel.” (Carter,B. 2015) With that said it is becoming more important today, as the direct competition is out there and there are so many different competitors it is vital to keep the ones that you do have and offer incentives to continue to use your stores and purchase only from Kudler Fine Foods.
In order to open a rewards account a customer will need to provide personal data such as phone numbers, and home/email addresses. Due to the sensitivity of this data and the protection of the customer in mind, considerations need to be made making the customer aware of the intended use of this data. It will be important that the information regarding the use of this data is clearly stated on the application form.
It is important to identify that KFF does not currently have an IT department. They have two computer support specialists whose job duties include making minor repairs to computer hardware and software systems as well as providing technical assistance and training to the system. An analysis will need to be done to identify whether they have the skills to develop and implement a loyalty points program, whether KFF will need to buy a COTS or SAAS product, or contract out for the systems analysts necessary to build an automated program.
Chief Stakeholders and Assignments:
Kathy Kudler - President The President * Identify high level strategy and business requirements for the proposed system. As Kathy is also involved in the purchasing of specialty items and bulk purchases for all three stores, she will have extensive knowledge of the buying history of the company. * Responsible for making the ultimate decision on who will develop the system once the requirements have been fully documented. * Once the project is underway, will need to see reports on how well the program is doing and the outcome of the program.
Harvey Stephens – Director of Finance and Accounting * Manage account overview to properly fund the new program. * Brief the President as required. * Aid in drafting the feasibility analysis. * Provide financial reports to appropriate parties on the program status.
Yvonne Reynolds – Director of Store Operations * Fundamental in providing requirements to aid in determining inventory and purchasing processes around the new system. * Make decisions regarding how best to set up the criteria for the points program.
Kent Vesper, Laurie Priest and Juanita Lopez - Store Managers * Identify the requirements needed to smoothly implement the system in each of their own stores. * Validate processes are streamlined and consistent among the three stores. * Develop processes in filling out the applications correctly and how to inform the customers about their points and what they can get for them.

Determination of Requirements There are many different ways to gather information from everyone that will be us the new system. Each stakeholder will want the new system to do something different for their own purpose. A person that is doing research on the project can use one technique or they can use a mixture of them. It will be determined that various methods of analysis will determine user requirements for Kudler Fine Foods’ IT system. A list of possible methods for the team to consider are as follows: 1. Brainstorming: A meeting with key stakeholders to discuss the specifics of what the new system will do or not do. 2. Single panel interview: An interview with the stakeholder and the interviewer only. 3. Group interviews: Interview with a group of stakeholders from a certain department. 4. Joint Application Development (JAD): Interview of a group of people that is controlled by the lead person and is open to all personnel in the meeting to make their own inputs. Group is made up of a diverse group of stakeholders from other departments. 5. Questionnaires: Paper form of an interview that asks for answers to certain questions. 6. User cases and experiences: These are cases where the stakeholders have already experienced what works or does not work from their previous experiences. 7. Following people around: Following people around to see exactly what the steps are that will be required for the new system. 8. Prototyping: Making a model of the project to see if it will do what it is supposed to or if their will need to be changes made. The team is primarily focused on methods that will include interviews with the owner and store/department managers to determine and categorize the levels of information that will be needed. In addition, additional information may be gathered from corresponding departments for this project to be a success. These departments may include sales and marketing, operations, HR, and also details from the current inventory system. Interviews with these relevant individuals will be insightful as current methods of inventory and reporting practices must be disclosed. This will allow proper determinations that will affect the database structure for reports as well as the frequency of automated report distribution to the various department personnel. Examination of existing hardware and software specifications will also be a point of emphasis for the systems analysts on this project. By evaluating the compatibilities required for the Frequent Shopper Program (FSP), it will become optimized to integrate features of the Point of Sale (POS) system to include adding the reward point features, printing the balance on the customer’s sales receipt and even the possibility of providing current FSP values online. The Kudler Fine Foods website may be used to access the intended Web portal. Further determinations will be made after reviewing the confirmed requirements of the system on how the POS system may integrate with the website. Other methods will be used by the team of analysts which should include involving the user continuously throughout the analysis and design processes. Each element of the system design will be completed by allowing for feedback and the opportunity to evaluate further based on the validation of requirements and processes, as illustrated in Table 1: Confirmed Requirements.

| Confirmed Requirements: Kudler Fine Foods - Frequent Shopper Program | Mandatory | Optional | Point of Sale system will continue to perform existing primary functions, necessary for continued systems operations. | Increase usability, speed, efficiency, capability, and security requirements of the Point of Sale system. Seen as optional, but speed of transactions and response times will suffer. | Point of Sale system will support all registers simultaneously and retain all transaction data. Point of Sale registers operating simultaneously to support store sales is mandatory. | Provide Frequent Shopper Program point balance on customer’s receipt after each purchase. This is optional but can accommodate customers while in stores and customers without Internet access. | Additional or modified software to track customer purchases through account numbers generated for each customer as identifiers. Track Frequent Shopper Program customer purchases through improved database software functions. Necessary to track information, sustain project goals. | Integrate user portal on Kudler Fine Foods Website for customers to track Frequent Shopper Program points. This requirement is optional, and integration is solely for customer convenience. | Nonfunctional system requirements include maintaining the usability, speed, efficiency, capabilities, and security features of the Point of Sale systems. Mandatory to sustain the current and proposed database fed by the Point of Sale system | Provide Website links on the Kudler Fine Foods Website for partnered loyalty points program. This requirement is optional, and integration is solely for customer convenience. | Maintain purchase tracking per transaction for reporting and financial purposes. Necessary for sales, marketing, and accounting staff to continue with scheduled reporting methods. | Increase reliable reporting methods for department managers. This requirement is optional. Department managers could develop individual reporting methods through Point of Sale system features. | Forward sales and inventory data to operations and department managers; required to provide valuable decision-making criteria. | | Track revenues and tax liabilities. The accounting and finance departments must retain records for revenue and tax purposes. | | Implement improved system security measures including encryptions, firewalls, and authentication. The current system lacks security. | | Remove information system modems and install broadband connections in all store systems. Connectivity required for financial transaction processing as well as communications. | | | |
Table 1: Confirmed Requirements An outline of mandatory and optional system requirements, features, and improvements are required to be confirmed prior to moving forward in the project design. The most necessary system processes shall include sale processes, balance lookup, and report generation processes.

Proposed System Process View The insertion of the Frequent Shopper module into the current/existing system will offer a few changes to the functionality and workflow. The new system model will commence with a transaction as normal but now the customer will be asked about their current enrollment status in the FSP. Depending on the customer’s status they have the option to present credentials or establish the account authorizations during the current transaction. The normal POS transaction takes place as expected while the system calculates the current reward information and adding the new transaction while completing the transaction in normal fashion. The end result provides a cumulative points total displayed on the transaction receipt and management with reporting to identify the purchasing trends and inventory needs of the individual store.

Program reports will reveal the buying pattern data of KFF customers and through the system’s functional allocations, these processes displayed below become possible.

Fills Out Applications
View Points
Redeem Points
Fills Out Applications
View Points
Redeem Points
Customers
Customers

Managers
Managers
Review Applications
Reorder Product
Purchase Rewards
Process Sales
Order Rewards
Review Applications
Reorder Product
Purchase Rewards
Process Sales
Order Rewards

Gains New Customers
Keeps Old Customers
Promote Program
Ship Rewards
Gains New Customers
Keeps Old Customers
Promote Program
Ship Rewards
Sales
Sales

Applications Sent or Handed Out to Customers
Applications Sent or Handed Out to Customers

Managers Reorder Product
Managers Reorder Product
Application Entered and Approved in System
Application Entered and Approved in System
Customer Receives Rewards
Customer Receives Rewards
Sales Ships Rewards
Sales Ships Rewards
Customer Redeems Points
Customer Redeems Points
Customer Gains Points
Customer Gains Points
Customer Purchase a Product
Customer Purchase a Product
Customer Fills Out Application
Customer Fills Out Application

Functional Allocation Model

Management
Management
Customers
Customers
Sales
Sales
Rewards Program
Rewards Program
Receive Rewards
Receive Rewards
Receive Points
Receive Points
Buy Items
Buy Items
Track Purchases
Track Purchases
Reorder Items
Reorder Items
Reports
Reports
Keep Current Customers
Keep Current Customers
New Customers
New Customers
Increase Sales
Increase Sales

Logical Model

No
No
Enroll Customer In Rewards Program
Enroll Customer In Rewards Program
Ask Customer If They Are Enrolled In Rewards Program
Ask Customer If They Are Enrolled In Rewards Program

Yes
Yes

Make Customer a Rewards Card
Make Customer a Rewards Card
Swipe Customers Card
Swipe Customers Card

Back Up System Daily
Back Up System Daily
Manager Updates System with New Rewards
Manager Updates System with New Rewards
Manager Reviews Daily Purchases
Manager Reviews Daily Purchases
Complete Transaction
Complete Transaction
Customer Purchases Products
Customer Purchases Products
Rewards Server Database
Rewards Server Database
Calculate Customer Reward Points
Calculate Customer Reward Points

Preliminary Design Model

Rewards Program
Rewards Program

Customers
Customers
Sales
Sales
Managers
Managers

Fill Out Applications
Fill Out Applications
Reviews Applications
Reviews Applications
Tracks Customers
Tracks Customers
Promotes Product
Promotes Product
Reorders Product
Reorders Product
Purchase Products
Purchase Products
Receives Rewards
Receives Rewards
Purchases Rewards
Purchases Rewards
Sends Rewards
Sends Rewards
Store Keeps Current Customers and Gains New Customers
Store Keeps Current Customers and Gains New Customers
Successful Rewards Program
Successful Rewards Program

Design Trade-off Approach
The Frequent Shopper Program will assist in simplifying business processes, enabling Kudler Fine Foods to focus on moving inventory while rewarding loyal customers simultaneously. The program will provide a method of monitoring customer-purchasing patterns in an effort to refine business processes and offerings to best satisfy Kudler Fine Foods’ valued customers. To determine whether the proposed system is effective and will perform efficiently within an appropriate budget and schedule will require reviewing trade-offs that could balance these.
In analyzing the design trade-offs of this system, reducing the costs and timeframe will only result in a system that does not perform adequately. The basic requirements for this structure should allow the system to run without interrupted performance, and without reducing response times for integrated systems or processes. Upgrading the point of sale systems for Kudler Fine Foods would significantly increase costs as well as delay the timeline for implementation of the project. Replacing the point of sale system would require upgrades to some of the currently used equipment as well as necessitate the installation of new equipment throughout the organization. However, replacing this equipment can improve the stability of the entire system, cut costs associated with servicing outdated equipment, and increase the performance of the processes. Increasing system performance of the network would require additional capital investment in the project, and the current infrastructure within all stores would require upgrades to avoid compatibility issues.
Kudler Fine Foods can benefit with the trade-offs by saving time and money or improve performance and increase the system stability. However, the owner will need to decide the optimum balance with implementation of the Frequent Shopper Program. The goal for this program balances expense, time, and improved performance. Detailed design processes and design specifications presented below confirm the system design processes required.
Software
1. Network operating system for internal and external users and groups. 2. Allows users to find or share information easily in the system. 3. Allows employees the ability to track who received forms and which forms have been processed in the system for each customer. 4. Tracking software will assist with tracking purchase histories of customers Hardware 1. Hardware upgrades at each location are needed. 2. Installation may be difficult depending on each locations current system hardware. 3. Business critical system server for rewards program is needed. Redundant Array of Independent disks (RAID) unit is recommended. 4. Hardware might need to be upgraded in the future depending on company needs. An example would be terminals in the store for the customers to use.
Network
1. Network needs to be safe and structured well at all times. 2. Network protocols will limit what users and customers will be able to access or update. 3. Firewall will be updated to reflect new traffic patterns and requests. 4. Virtual Private Network (VPN) will assist with assist with accessing information over a public network. 5. VPN will assist with isolating the users requests from interruptions in layer 2.
Human and Computer Interaction (HCI) considerations 1. System will be easily adaptable for users. 2. System will be able to communicate between the system and the user using basic terms for easy use by the customer. 3. System must be easy to use so that the customer has a pleasant interaction with the system. 4. Future HCI design considerations will be considered as technology advances occur.

Testing Process Summary

Installation Process and Training Plan Summary Installing the new system will include the implementation of new functions to the already existing system. This installation process takes less manpower and any overlapping of system modules will be migrated after the initial software installation. The new Point of Sale software and hardware will be put into place at each location on any given day during the setup period. The process will occur over a three-week time-line. * Week 1 of all existing databases and terminal information will be backed up. * Week 2 will consist of installing and transferring the needed data for the upgrade of the software. Also in week two of the installation process, all stores will be closed for a minimum of two business days to keep down customer frustration during checkout. The point of sales terminal will be up and down multiple times during this period. * Week 3, which is the final week, is set aside for all adjustments that need to be done to the system. Every location is required to have at least four contracted staff members, store manager and a team member for the installation. All contract staff/personnel are required to be skilled in installation of hardware and software. The stores will be receiving information about the installation process in stages; there will be a total of eight contracts over a three-week period. Training will begin at each store when the installation is complete and all last-minute glitches are addressed. The following employees will receive training: * Managers * All employees using the Point of Sale software (cashiers). * An on-site expert. The user guide and the quick reference charts will be available during the training to use as reference later.
Support and Maintenance Support Support is a major component at the close out of the installation of the new system. Once the system has been installed, training of the employees, and policies governing the new system have been written and approved. The support team can take over supporting the new system. Training of personnel will be handled on a case by case basis after initial training of all employees. The types of support that will be given are: * Step by step instructional hand outs. * Classroom training * On-demand Training (one on one) * Online Support * Help Desk Support All requests for support will be kept in a running record. The support team will keep an accurate record of all training requests, failures, bugs, and downtime for future programs. Accurate record keeping will also assist with repetitive bugs and preventing catastrophic failure of the system. Maintenance Maintaining the system after installation is detrimental for the successful roll out of the new system. Maintenance will include changes to software, hardware, and the network system. Software maintenance will include new software, updates to software, and scheduled backups of the software. Hardware maintenance will consist of upgrades to the hardware, new additional hardware, and preventative maintenance of the equipment. Network maintenance will consist of preventative maintenance, rerouting or updating of software on computer assets, assigning permissions to employees, updating of customer information, customer access accounts, and backing up the system. Maintenance to the system is the process of making sure that the new system operates with in parameters and meets the needs of our customers. Accurate records will be kept of all maintenance to the new system. The following maintenance actions will be recorded prior to, during, and after each maintenance action: * Changes to the system-from trouble calls * Potential change – upgrades * Changing the format of reports * Changes to the initial design of the system * Scheduled inspections and maintenance

References
Carter, B. 2015. Customer Loyalty Statistics 2015 edition. Information retrieved from http://blog.accessdevelopment.com/customer-loyalty-statistics-2015-edition

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