Need a business problem for my ecommerce dissertation

[z064life]

For my dissertation I am making an ecommerce system using AJAX.

However, I need a business problem to model the system around. For example, I came up with the idea of having a small company with limited Human Resources and no specialist IT staff, who had to spend hours changing taxation levels to what they are in the UK (the business problem), but they could connect to the XE.Com web service, which is self-updating (the solution). Unfortunately, this solution is financially unfeasible as it costs a lot of money to access the web service.

So I was wondering if there is anyone here who knows of a business problem I can use as an "angle/story", or how I can still do the whole tax level fluctuation problem above, but without spending so much money, or even nothing at all.

Thanks for all the help!

[m12_nathan]

Why don't you just pretend that they subscribe to a service like xe and knock up a web service to represent the kind of data they'd get back from it and that an update on your xe like site is reflected in the companies website?

[plasticpig]

I dont understand the nature of your business problem. I thought xe.com was to do with exchange rates. If they are a business to business organisation they would use a fixed rate and would not change that rate every day but only when a defined fluctuation in the rates occured. If it is business to consumer then they would have to use the rates used buy their credit card processing provider. Anyway try www.webservicex.net as I think you will find they provide the service you are looking for.

[simpo two]

I have one for you! I make cretinously simple websites and one of my clients is making noises about tacking on e-commerce... which I have no clue about. So, your business problem woudl be to add e-commerce to a cretinously simple site managed by a cretin who knows nothing about e-commerce, 'back-office functions' etc.

This is actually a real problem, so if you want to field it or discuss it for real (there will be a budget) let me know

[ThePassenger]

z064life said:

For my dissertation I am making an ecommerce system using AJAX.

Question. I thought Ajax was an interface technology rather than an actual middlewear or application?
I.e. Wordpress uses PHP for the application, but it's admin interface is Ajax'd.

Or have I got it arse over tit?

[Plotloss]

AJAX allows you to update webpages without refreshing the entire page, essentially.

So in the example stated, a maintenance function could get live data without having to worry about session management and the like.