ODU EBOOKS
Functional Specifications for Converting Old Dominion
University Books to Electronic Format
Project Manager: Joel Carter
Web Design/Account Research: Divyesh Vallabh
MS Projects and Technical Aspects: Vadim Dolt
Presenter/Technical Research: Mike Dmuchowski
Marketing/Web Design: John Griffith
Marketing Research/Presenter: Ronak Patel
At Old Dominion University
Fall 1999
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:
We wish to thank Dennis Ray, professor at Old Dominion University for Computer
Productivity Initiative, for his assistance in specifying the requirements for this document. We
wish to acknowledge our contacts at NuvoMedia for expressing interest in the project and
keeping in contact with us during our research. We wish to acknowledge James Warren from
Digibooks for expressing interest in this project. We finally wish to acknowledge our contacts at
the e-book home page for their great guidance and support on researching earlier materials in the
project.
ABSTRACT:
This document is constructed for a people experienced with two or more years of
computer science background and have the knowledge of the supporting facilities at Old
Dominion University. This knowledge should have been acquired through adequate educational
background and or industrial work experience.
One of the top ten growing industries is the one of electronic books, better known as e-books. Ebooks are books published in the electronic format. The function specifications described here
deal with converting the educational textbooks at Old Dominion University into electronic
format that will be read by the e-book reader device, the Rocket eBook that was developed by
NuvoMedia. The ultimate goal of the project being to provide at least one class of ODU the
course book in electronic format by the end of Spring00 semester. The impact on the society, the
contractual aspects, planning schedules, required resources and their correlating budget,
personnel requirements, evaluation and testing methods, and potential problems and risks are all
laid out in the function specifications. The planning schedule section is extended in detail to
include the description of hardware and software required. The planning schedule for what has
been completed until the point of this document has considered the marketability and feasibility
of this project via research, contacts, and surveys conducted. The latter supporting materials
have been documented. Research for technical aspects were pursued, a budget was estimated,
and a schedule for completion of project was devised.
PROJECT OVERVIEW AND DESCRIPTION
One of the emerging industries of the near future is the electronic book, better known as the ebook. What better place than the educational market could benefit the advantages of electronic
publishing? Inference can be made from statistical reference to the exponential growth of ecommerce that shows commercial products sold on the Internet have great impact on society. [1]
This statistic also implies commercial buyers are relying on the Internet for faster and cheaper
solutions. These statistics support the finding (by verbal survey) that more and more students are
relying on the Internet to save on textbooks. Well, if buying textbooks off the Internet was
preferred, then we believed that being able to download books to a simple device from a database
of books and obtain them instantaneously was even a greater advantage.
Many more advantages came from the idea that resulted in our project: conversion of the
educational textbooks at ODU. These advantages were, not having to stand on line for buying
and selling textbooks, elimination of carrying multiple textbooks and not having to worry about
wear and tear of the cover or inside pages. We were referred the Rocket eBook device to be best
suited for our purposes. This device added the to list of advantages. The first advantage was
NuvoMedia, the developers of Rocket eBook, is contracted with Barnes & Nobles (a leading
bookstore of the nation). Why should this benefit us? Barnes & Nobles own the University
Bookstore (one of our needed contracts). The next few advantages were ones directly from the
Rocket eBook itself:
About the size of a paperback book, but weighing only 22 ounces, the Rocket eBook goes
anywhere you go to work, on trips, to the beach, or to bed . . ..
Read it just as you would a paper book. Make margin notes, underline special passages, and
bookmark pages. What’s more, you can search the contents of any RocketEdition on your
Rocket eBook . . ..
There is instant delivery for your purchased book. No shipping fees. . . . [3]
The Rocket eBook and future Rocket eBook readers allow users to easily carry a small library
with them, wherever they go. This 22-oz. hand-held electronic reader can hold up to 40,000
pages of text and graphics at a time. A battery life of up to 40 hours provides users uninterrupted
reading whether in the office, at home or on the go. With the addition of the RocketWriter
software and www.Rocket-Library.com owners can download original content and Web pages, to
the Rocket eBook, as well as share community-focused Web site. [2]
We had further researched the project for feasibility and marketability. We found that all the
technology needed to overcome the project was available and time permitted to complete before
the end of the Spring00 semester, therefore the project was determined feasible. We had also
conducted surveys of the students at the University and found an acceptance rate of more than
60% of all different age groups, therefore the project looked marketable. Marketability was also
supported by surveys found on e-books.
With the two major factors determined, the project was under evaluation for the hardware,
software, budget, contracts and risks involved. The latter will be discussed in more detail
in the next sections.
PROJECT OBJECTIVES / FUNDAMENTAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Although the advantages may seem numerous, it takes only a few disadvantages to
overcome them. One major disadvantage is we are asking the lifestyle of many microcosms to
change. For one, the students must adapt to a new way of education that contradicts the
traditional ways they grew up with. Next the publishers who were printing texts would now have
to make an electronic format of the text. This brings up the puzzler of which format to use since
no standard has been set yet. The bookstore will now have to incorporate a new technology into
their system and adapt to it. These are all hurdles that we have to overcome.
The goal of the project is to overcome these hurdles and provide at least one class with
the course book in electronic format by the Spring 00 semester.
CONTRACTUAL ASPECTS
The following contractual aspects listed are those that we feel are necessary by our
evaluation:
1) NuvoMedia: One of the primary contractors. The Rocket eBook reader devices must be
supported via NuvoMedia. Intent of support and interest in the project has been shown. One of
the major goals is to get an agreement for support that should include some sort of price discount
and support of repairs or replacements for needy devices. Backup intent for support is
Digibooks.
2) Publishers: Contracting to the publishers is necessary to obtain the copyright’s the textbooks.
The contract will include a certain percentage cut on every copy of the textbook sold. The goal
is to have this percentage as low as possible to increase earnings.
3) University Bookstore: The bookstore will be undertaking the major part of the project. The
devices will be sold in the bookstore. They will handle the movement of book sales. They will
be responsible for updating the database of books. Other responsibilities may arise.
4) ODU: An enhancement to the project would be to have Leo - On-line directly connected to it.
This would be to add a link to the registration page that allows students to directly see which
books are available in the electronic format. Other agreements for advantage of the project could
possibly arise.
PLANNING SCHEDULES
The following descriptions are for the Fall99 semester and follow directly from the chart. Please
refer to Table 1 for this chart.
Create Final Specifications 10/27/99 - 12/08/99
The function specifications were to be documented and re-documented upon changes made.
They define the conditions necessary for the completion of the project. It includes all of the
categories specified in class.
Presentation 3 10/27/99 - 11/10/99
The presentation covered aspects spanning the entire project. The focus was on what to do and
not how to do it. Objective, overview, contractual aspects, schedules, resources, personnel,
testing, and potential problems were discussed. All of the previous were subject to change as
planning continued. The project schedule and budgets were created.
Presentation 4 11/13/99 - 12/8/99
This is the presentation that was conducted for approval by the board of directors. The main
target was to gain consent for continuation with the project. The presentation included the
functional specifications.
Marketing Research 10/27/99 - 12/8/99
Obtaining support from the Old Dominion Bookstore is still pending. An attempt to make
contact with the corporate office was undertaken several times, but delayed without any
response. We are unaware what the reason is. Obtaining licensing agreements with publishers is
also pending due to insufficient response from contacted publishers. However the general aspect
of the bookstore should be to obtain some form of consent to introduce the prototype for the
Spring00 semester. The publisher must provide the copyrights to reproduce the text, to avoid any
legal action from taking place. This must be in the form of a signed agreement made by the
marketing head and approved by the entire group with consent.
Technical Research 10/27/99 - 11/9/99
The Rocket eBook was preferred as the primary reader device for use. The Rocket eBook uses a
cradle for downloading. The cradle is connected to a PC’s serial port. To download a book, the
user would download a textbook from the site then use the provided Rocket software to
download the text to the reader via the cradle. This seemed to be the easiest method of obtaining
textbooks as opposed to using the Softbook device which required plugging into a phone jack to
download books. The features of the Rocket eBook also include a built in Random House
Webster’s Dictionary and Thesaurus. Therefore it was decided to use the Rocket eBook.
Hardware and Software Requirements:
A database server will be necessary to store all the electronic texts. A web server will be needed
to provide exchange between the users and the database via the Internet. A firewall machine and
its software need to be tied in for additional security to the system against penetration. Other
hardware in general is a router, hub, printer, developer machines, and a scanner. MS SQL is an
application software needed for creating and administration of the database. An operating
system is required. Web application and development tools are necessary to handle the creation
of web page sites that the user can go to download the texts. Encryption software is a must in
order to prevent the texts from being reproduced from machine to machine. The encryption
makes the text device specific.
Please refer to figure 1 for the general layout description. ODU bookstore will handle the
agreements with the publishers. Once the copyrights are obtained, they update the database to
include the new materials. The encryption of the materials takes place before the material is
made tangible. Web users can connect to the Internet site and login. There is a secure socket
layer for security between the connection of the Internet and the web server. The server contacts
the eBook database after going through the firewall penetration security. The information from
the eBook database goes back to the server and back to the Internet user.
Evaluation of the Rocket eBook reader device had also been taken place.
Web Page Development 10/27/99 - 12/8/99
The web page site is http://www.cs.odu.edu/~cpi/cpi99-00/ebook. This page is made to serve as
an informational and feedback medium. It includes a link to the function specifications and the
general details of the project mentioned. There are lists of interesting sites we had encountered
in our research. A page has been set up to conduct surveys. Contacts are made available if
necessary. This tool should serve useful when presenting to serve as a basic guidance and
introduction.
The following description refers to table 2 and is laid out for the Spring00 semester:
Marketing 1/00 - continuance of project:
Contracts should be prepared with ODU Bookstore early so they could begin to thin of necessary
requirements that they must consider. A contract should be established by mid March. Potential
investors should be searched for early on. Funding is a crucial element and must be established
by mid February for success. Any delays in funding may result in no funding at all. In order to
obtain a fund, a prototype must be created which demonstrates at most what the project
encompasses. Identifying the potential test market should be complete bye mid July. Testing is
an important part of the projects and must be done over and over to achieve maximum
satisfaction with products. Surveys should be developed for the testing market to evaluate by the
beginning of August. From then on, monitor the evaluations.
Fig. 1
Organize Location 1/00 - 6/00
The project team needs to organize a place to work in. You must find a location and sign a
contract. This maybe a temporary workspace until an established business location is found. Be
prepared to move to new location.
Software Development 1/00 - 6/00
First stage of prototype: You must design a backend database to store the information of the
texts. Encryption software will be designed in-house by someone on the team. This is necessary
for security from others obtaining unauthorized copies of the texts. The web site to handle the
downloading of books should be complete. The web site should contain minimal graphics in
order to decrease bandwidth. Prototype should be ready for presentations. You also should
make ready a class course on which to use the prototype.
Product development: Obtain a high speed Internet connection for the transport of large
quantities in minimum time. Install networking system, firewall, and encryption software for the
bookstores to have ready for use.
Software Testing: The test prototype should be up and running to make ready for testing. Test
the prototype, firewall, and undergo a full production system test.
Product Evaluation 6/00 - continuation of project
Start the product evaluation on the computer science faculty.
REQUIRED RESOURCES
The following gives a detailed listing of all of the resources involved. This is an estimated
budget to provide you with the figures when asking for the funding. The figures are subject to
change, but should be sufficient enough for judgment.
Direct Project Expenditures (Long Term) : $169,140
 Hardware: $35,950
(Servers, Development Machines, Routers, Printers, UPS)
 Software: $24,200
(Development Tools, MS SQL, Win NT Ent., Firewall Software, Encryption)
 Personnel: $81,760
(Database Admin, Network Engineer, Developer, Technical writer)
 Facility Requirements: $24,360
(Rent, Telephone)
 Contract Support Services: $2,870
(Rocket Ebook, EveryBook, SoftBook devices)
Direct Project Expenditures (Short Term) : $7,000

Contract Support Services: +$3,000
(Legal Fees, Publishers contract negotiable)

Consumables: $3,950
(Paper, Advertising, Utensils, Furniture)
Direct Project Expenditures (Long Term)
 Hardware
1 Web Server
$10,000
1 Database Server
$10,000
1 Firewall Machine
$2,500
1 Router
$3,000
1 Hub
$300
2 Printer
$1500 (Inkjet & Laser)
4 Developers Machines
$6000 ($1500 each)
3 UPS (Servers)
$1,500 ($500 each)
4 UPS (Dev. Mac.)
$1,000 ($200)
1 Scanner
$150
$35,950
Total

Software
1 MS SQL
1 OS (NT Ent)
Web/App. Dev Tool
Encryption
Firewall
Total

Personnel (In house)
1 Database Admin.
1 Web Dev
1 Network Engineer
1 Trainee
1 Technical Writer
Total
$8,000 (25 clients)
$3,200 (25 clients)
$1,500
$1,500
$10,000
$24,200
$20,800
$20,800
$20,800
$240
$18,720
$81,760
($13/hr) (40 weeks)
($13/hr) (40 weeks)
($13/hr) (40 weeks)
($6/hr) (1 week)
($13/hr) (36 weeks)

Facility Requirements (If necessary)
Office Space ($12/sq ft)
$24,000 ($2000/month)
Telephone Service
$360.00 ($30/month
Total
$24,360

Contract Support Services
Rocket eBook
SoftBook
Everybook
Total

$270
$1,000
$1,600
$2,870
Direct Project Expenditures (Short Term)
Contract Support Services
Publishers
Negotiable
Legal Fees (Lawyers)
$80.00/hr ($3,000)
Total
+$3,000

Consumables
3 Case multi-purpose paper
Utensils
Advertising
Fax Machine
Furniture
Total
$100
$150
$2000
$200
$1,500
$3,950
PERSONNEL REQUIREMENTS
Bookstore: The bookstore will need a staff properly trained to handle the introduction of the new
system. Staff should have prior knowledge of working with a PC.
Database Administrator: Should have knowledge of database design and implementation. Web
development skills necessary. Knowledge of SQL and prior work experience is a must, no
exceptions.
Web Developer: Should have knowledge of ASP, HTML, JAVA scripting, E-Commerce.
Should also have familiarity with CGI and PERL and Visual Studio would be a plus.
Network Engineer: Should have prior work experience in setup and installation of software and
hardware. Networking skills are a must.
Technical Writer: Should be professional with prior experience.
Trainer: Must be professional in order to give sufficient training.
The only on the job training should be for general bookstore employees. Any other field requires
prior experience due to the fragility of the system. The rate of pay is sufficient for professional
people that could be obtained by temporary contracting with individual companies. Taking the
opportunity to pay for professionals is more adequate than hiring non-professionals who damage
the system. All personnel should have tolerance for dealing with minor system problems in the
beginning experimental stages.
RISK FACTORS
1. Inability to secure an investment.
Probability:
Moderate.
Consequences: Severe.
Resolution:
We are going to persuade potential investors very vigorously. We can keep project in the
prototype stage for another year after it is build. If we won’t be able to attract private investors,
we can try obtaining loan from commercial bank. Potential investors could be NuvoMedia
company, ODU, private people, banks. In case we don’t get funding at all, we will be forced to
abandon that project.
2. Unwillingness of publishers/authors to participate.
Probability:
Light.
Consequences: Severe.
Resolution:
Publishers already realize that electronic publishing is the future. There are many
competing publishing companies that will try to get ahead in this game. We will also try to
bypass publishers and work directly with authors. If we don’t get any book titles we still can use
our device for lecture notes, periodicals and other literature titles.
3. Unwillingness of students to utilize our product.
Probability:
Light.
Consequences: Severe.
Resolution:
Our surveys demonstrate that there is a marketplace for our product among students.
Constant reduction in price will also make our product more attractive. If students won’t use it,
we will target commercial companies and general public.
4. Book store refuses to cooperate.
Probability:
Light.
Consequences: Light.
Resolution:
It will be convenient to use existing infrastructure of the bookstore, but not necessary.
We can maintain our own retail location.
5. Technology innovations.
Probability:
Light.
Consequences: Moderate.
Resolution:
In case laptops drastically fall in price or palm pilots increase their capabilities people
might switch to them. It is unlikely for several reasons:
a. eBooks have built in security and publishers trust them because of that.
b. They are much cheaper.
c. They are easier to use.
If it does happen, we hope to stay in the picture by providing services for those devices as well.
6. NuvoMedia Company goes out of business.
Probability:
Light.
Consequences: Light.
Resolution:
That company currently is very stable and growing. Our design is hardware independent
as much as possible. We will have contingency plan and switch to another reader (Softbook,
EveryBook)
7. We encounter competition on our market.
Probability:
Moderate.
Consequences: Moderate.
Resolution:
It is possible that another company will try to undertake the same venture. If that
company has greater financial and technical capabilities they can present us with serious
challenge. In order to secure our market we will try to sign a monopoly agreement with ODU and
other universities in the early stages of our project.
8. We run out of budget/out of time.
Probability:
Moderate.
Consequences: Moderate.
Resolution:
Many projects encounter that problem. We will try to estimate our budget very carefully.
If we will run out of money we will persuade other finance sources.
9. ODU doesn’t approve our product for the student use.
Probability:
Light.
Consequences: Severe.
Resolution:
We are going to work on the agreement with ODU in early stages of our project. We
don’t see any reason why ODU would object it, but if it does happen we will target other
educational markets.
10. Health effects.
Probability:
Light.
Consequences: Light.
Resolution:
New study could reveal that electronic devices present health risks. It is unlikely because
a lot of studies were done in that direction. Quality of the electronic texts constantly improves.
Even if it does happen, students don’t seem to be greatly influenced by the potential health risks.
TEST EVALUATION
General: We will conduct two parts of testing: software/hardware testing and product
evaluation. Our marketing manager will be responsible for both types of testing.
During product implementation we are going to follow software development process and life
cycle scheme. All the stages of the development will be subject to peer reviews, walkthroughs
and formal reviews.
1. Units testing requirements.
Each module will have to be reviewed and unit tested before it could be turned over to the
testing team for formal testing.
2. Implementing changes and life cycle management.
We are going to implement our development process. There will three separate teams:
development, testing, and implementation. Each team will be responsible for producing its
documentation. Initial software design documented will be altered each time we will make
functional changes.
3. Formal testing.
Testing team will include 2-3 people others than involved in the software development.
Testing team manager will be involved in design review and walkthroughs. Testing team
manager will be responsible for test plans and quality assurance as well. Every module
will have to be formally tested before it’s turnover to the implementation team.
3.1 Software testing.
Software will be tested according to test plan devised by testing team manager. All
the found errors and problems will be documented in the test report. Developer will
be responsible to provide resolution for each item on the test report. All the test
reports will be stored in the database for the future reference.
3.2 Stress testing.
Stress testing will attempt to test our system and software limitations. Multiple users
will be logged in into the system. Users will be opening multiple sessions. There are
will be simultaneous software downloads. Ultimately we will try to uncover system
crash conditions.
3.3 Functional testing.
Plan for functional testing will be designed based on craters specified by our
marketing group. There are will be a document specifying what functionality is
build into the product. Each one of the items will be tested and verified by the
testing team.
3.4 Hardware testing.
There are will be limited hardware testing mostly as a part of the stress testing.
4. Product evaluation.
In order to increase quality of our final product we plan to conduct several evaluations.
First one will be done as part of the prototype presentation/evaluation. After prototype will
be ready, we are going to set it up at some ODU location. Students will be able to evaluate
demo of that product and enter their comments into the computer system. There are will be
one week of that initial evaluation. Afterwards our team will discuss comments and
suggestions and if necessary implement changes for investor’s presentation. That initial
evaluation will give us a chance to present our potential investors with a better product and
more credible market data.
Next phase of the product evaluation will be conducted with a final product. Participant
will be one CS class. It needs to be coordinated with a CS faculty and students will be
offered some kind of incentive to participate. Our marketing team will later work out exact
details. We will try to target wide spectrum of different students (different age, different
GPA’s, different majors). The students will be offered several evaluation forms that they will
have to fill out throughout semester. Forms will be designed by our marketing department
and will included questions on how long it took to get accustomed with the device, what was
overall satisfaction, etc.
All the functional changes that we might undertake as a result of those evaluations will
have to go through implementation process. It will have to be reviewed, formally tested,
documented and turned over to the implementation group.
CONCLUSION:
Future outlook: Many changes will take place in the near future to accommodate the rapid rate
of growth of technology. These changes will call for similar procedures and ongoing testing.
The acceptance of the system by the public should be drastically influenced by the marketing
strategies. Changes will take place very gradually.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
1: http://www.emarketer.com/estats/110499_intecon.html
2: http://www.rocket-ebook.com/News/011099.html
3: http://www.rocket-ebook.com/Products/index.html
4: The Virginia Pilot
5: PC Connections
6: Egghead.com
7: Computer Shopper
8: Microsoft.com
9: Ecost.com
10: www.dell.com, www. compaq.com, www.gateway.com
11: www.Apartments.com
12: Office max, Office Depot
13: Local phone services (AT&T, Bell Atlantic)