20.4.2. E-commerce

📌 Project Objective Design and deliver a shopping cart feature for an online retail platform, enabling users to add, update, and purchase items.

The primary goal of the e-commerce project is to create a shopping cart feature. This feature is crucial for any online retail platform as it provides users the ability to select items they wish to purchase and manage those selections throughout their shopping experience. Think of it as a digital basket where products can be collected before finalizing a purchase.

Imagine going to a grocery store. You walk through the aisles picking up items and putting them in your cart. You can adjust what’s in your cart until you're ready to check out. The online shopping cart serves the same purpose, allowing flexibility until the final purchase.

✅ Key Business Requirements ● Users can add multiple products to the cart ● Cart contents are saved across sessions ● Discounts and promo codes can be applied ● Cart updates dynamically with stock availability ● Checkout process integrates with payment gateway

The key business requirements outline what functionalities the shopping cart must provide to meet user needs. Users should be able to easily add multiple items, maintain their cart even if they leave the site, apply discounts, see real-time stock levels, and have a seamless checkout experience. These functionalities ensure a user-friendly interface, encouraging customers to complete their purchases.

Think of the online shopping process as akin to adding items to a real-world cart. If the store is out of stock for a specific item, you need to know that before checking out. Similarly, applying a coupon for a discount is like presenting a discount card at a register—both enhance the shopping experience.

👥 Stakeholders ● Product Owner ● Marketing Team ● Customers ● Logistics & Inventory Team

Stakeholders are individuals or groups that have an interest in the project's outcome. The Product Owner focuses on vision and priority; the Marketing Team promotes the platform; Customers represent the users who will interact with the shopping cart; and the Logistics & Inventory Team ensures items are available for purchase and delivered effectively. Identifying stakeholders is essential for gathering requirements and aligning project goals.

In a movie production, stakeholders include the director, producers, actors, and audience. Each has their role in making sure the film is successful, much like how different teams contribute to the e-commerce project.

📊 BA Activities ● Gather user stories (e.g., “As a shopper, I want to remove an item from my cart”) ● Create wireframes for cart UI ● Define business rules (e.g., max quantity per product, cart expiration) ● Document functional & non-functional requirements ● Conduct UAT for checkout and promo logic

Business Analysts (BAs) play a crucial role in shaping the shopping cart feature by gathering user stories, which help articulate what users need. Wireframes visualize the cart design, while business rules stipulate how the cart should function. BAs also document detailed requirements and conduct User Acceptance Testing (UAT) to ensure the cart operates as intended before deployment.

Think of BAs as architects for an e-commerce project. Just as an architect draws blueprints and plans for a building, BAs create user stories and wireframes to outline how the shopping cart should look and function, ensuring it meets users' (tenants') needs.

🛠 Tools Used ● JIRA (User Stories) ● Figma (Wireframes) ● Confluence (BRD/FRD) ● SQL (Verify cart behavior in DB)

Various tools facilitate the project workflow, with JIRA managing user stories, Figma assisting in wireframe creation, and Confluence used for documenting business and functional requirements. SQL is utilized for checking the shopping cart's behavior in the database, ensuring that all interactions are correctly recorded and managed.

Using tools in a project is similar to a chef using various kitchen utensils for different tasks. Just as a chef needs knives for cutting and pans for cooking, BAs use specific tools to organize user requirements, design interfaces, and manage data effectively.

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