MIS

Woodworker Cabinets Web Site Upgrade

Sam Woodworker, a 48-year-old carpenter turned entrepreneur who has worked in the

industry since his apprenticeship 30 years ago, owns woodworker Cabinets. Sam

founded Woodworker Cabinets 10 years ago, after becoming convinced that he could

serve the market better than his previous employer, So-So Cabinets, where he had been

the Lead Designer and Vice President of Manufacturing and Development for 10 years.

Currently, Sam employs twenty-five highly skilled, carpentry specialists in the

manufacturing department.

To support the core business, there is a finance/accounting department, a marketing/sales

department, a human resource department, and an information technology department.

The Woodworker Cabinet executive team consists of Sam Woodworker, the CEO and

owner, Samantha Woodworker, Vice President of Manufacturing and Development,

Nancy Moneykeeper, Chief Financial Officer, Danny Humanner, Vice President of

Human Resources, Mark Seller, Vice President of Marketing and Sales, and Samuel

Woodworker, Chief Information Officer

Recently, Sam attended a cabinet-makers industry conference and discovered that

many of his competitors had deployed software tools through their corporate websites.

These tools allow customers to design their own cabinets either online in real-time or in

an offline mode. The customer then submits the design and other pertinent information

such as requested delivery time and quantity needs to the company. Woodworker

Cabinets has a web site but it is more of a passive, institutional advertisement vehicle,

with no interactive capability beyond simple informational inquiry capability using

HTML forms technology,

Sam, after seeing what his competitors were doing with their web sites, recognizes that he

has to compete more effectively. To do so will demand the implementation of highly

interactive, collaborative capabilities as part of any web presence. Sam tells his executive

team that he plans to have a basic cabinet design tool on the corporate website in place

within the next two months. Within six months, he wants a complete redesign and

deployment of the site with the goal of being a true corporate web presence that allows for

fully interactive, highly collaborative user experiences, such as online chats with sales,

product support, and design staff. In particular, and at the very least, Sam wants the

cabinet design staff to be able to work in real time with customers to create and submit

their designs. Sam desires a project plan from the executive committee within 15 weeks

specifying how to make this happen.

Woodworker Cabinets Information