As an employee of a large international courier and shipping service, Bill Wiley met with many companies

that shipped and received packages almost every day. He was frequently asked if his company could

deliver local packages on the same day. Over several months, he observed that there appeared to be a

substantial need for courier services in the city in which he lived. He decided that he would form his own

courier delivery company called On the Spot to fill this need.

Bill began by listing his mobile telephone number in the Yellow Pages. He also sent letters to all those

companies that had requested same-day courier ser- vice that his prior company had not been able to

serve. He hoped that through good service and word-of- mouth advertising that his business would grow.

He also began other advertising and marketing activities to promote his services.

At first, Bill received delivery requests on his business mobile phone. However, it was not long before his

customers were asking if he had a Web site where they could place orders for shipments. He knew that if

he could get a Web presence that he could increase his exposure and help his business grow.

After he had been in business only a few short months, Bill discovered he needed to have additional help.

He hired another person to help with the delivery and pickup of packages. It was good to see the

business grow, but another person added to the complexity of coordinating pickups and deliveries. With

the addition of a new person, he could no longer "warehouse" the packages out of his delivery van. He

now needed a central warehouse where he could organize and distribute packages for delivery. He

thought that if his business grew enough to add one more delivery person that he would also need

someone at the warehouse to coordinate the arrival and distribution of all the packages.

Case Questions

1. Who are the stakeholders for On the Spot? How involved should On the Spot's customers be in

system definition? As the business grows, who else might be potential stakeholders and interested in

system functions?

2. If you were commissioned to build a system for Bill, how would you determine the requirements? Be

specific in your answer. Make a list of the questions you need answered.

3. What technology and communication requirements do you see? What are the hardware

requirements, and what kind of equipment will provide viable options to the system? What would you

recommend to Bill?

4. What are the primary functional requirements for the system as described so far in the case?