To: Miss Jennie Enger

From: Ross Melby RMM

RE: Unit 4 Project Proposal: Business Website

For future implementation for Clough Sales

Date: October 22nd, 2010

This memo is a project proposal for the upcoming individual assignment of Unit 3. I will inform you of
my selected project, explain how I will incorporate the expected requirements, and provide detail of how I
plan to complete the following project.

The Proposal
The individual project I selected for Unit 4 is to design and create a full functioning business website for
Clough Sales. Clough Sales is a small owner-operated business that sells a number of different
agricultural products and equipment including: Vermeer, Conklin, and Mycogen seed. This business
owned by David Clough is located by a small town out in the country and may not be known of by all is
potential customers. Creating a website listing the types of products sold by Clough Sales and how to
contact them would make more customers aware of this business and increase sales. In addition to making
aware of, customers would be able to obtain crucial information about the products or business before
calling. This would save valuable time for the business as well as the customer. If further questions were
needed there would be contact information or an option to send a quick email.

Project Summary
Although this is an English project, Clough Sales is an actual operating business and the information on
the website will be completely accurate and contain information obtained directly from the business itself.
This information includes products, pricing, names, numbers, and addresses. The website will include a
home page, an individual page for each brand sold, a business information page, and a photo gallery. All
together this should amount to a total of six individual web pages. Having worked for Clough Sales for
six years I know how to obtain the information for this website as well as know what information
customers are looking for.

Details: Writing
The fulfillment of the writing requirement to the assignment will be fulfilled with various text assorted
throughout the website. There will be seven different pages throughout the website, and all of them will
have mixed text throughout them. The home page will have a personal welcome message about the
business and what its goals are. In addition, each product the business sells will have an associated page
and there will be detailed information including what services and products we offer through the different
products and equipment sold. General pricing for some of the products will be included on the website.
The other text that will be on the website will include links, directions, and headings that will help the
user easily navigate and quickly determine what information is being presented to them.
Details: Visual or Technological Components
This project will be is a website so the visual and technological components will be obvious. The visual
components for my project will be throughout the entire website. I will create a visually appealingring
standard or theme that will be implemented throughout the entire website. This standard will include a
navigation bar that will include links to navigate throughout the website. This navigation bar will be
included on every page so the user interface of the website will be easy and friendly. Along with this
standard, will be pictures associated with the business and its products. These pictures will be distributed
throughout the website and help users understand the information presented and give them a better
understanding about the products and services the business provides. The technological components of
this project will be developing the website. There are many aspects to developing a website. This includes
finding a suitable Integrated Development Environment (IDE) to design the website in and doing the
internal work such as HTML coding and importing objects such as pictures and an interactive Google
map for the location of the business.

Objectives:
Learning Objectives:
As a Management Information Systems major I am learning the technical aspects of a business and how
to implement things such as software applications and websites. I have little experience in web design and
through this project I hope to expand my skills in implementing websites. These skills are crucial to my
study and will help me at my future job:

 I will learn through research how a successful business website is designed and operated so I may
include such qualities into my own website to create a user-friendly environment.
 I will learn about different IDE’s for websites and find out which one will be the most efficient in
the construction of my website and future websites.
 Since this website project may be turned into a fully functional website. I will learn how to work
hand in hand with the owner (client) to present accurate information needed to project the business
and its image. This is a very good skill to learn since I will be working with future customers in
creating software or websites.
 I will learn better communication skills on how to present visually appealing information quickly
to the various users of the website.

Practical Objectives:
 I will through this project learn about the different stakeholders in a website and learn more about
developing a user-friendly website for future endeavors.
 I will learn communication skills from interacting with the users of the website and using their
feed-back as a basis to creating a well developed website.
 I will hopefully be able to fully implement this website for Clough Sales. We have talked about it
and this project would be the perfect opportunity to start. Through this website more customers
would discover the business and sales would increase.
Methodology:
As a current employee for Clough Sales and going to school for a minor in Management Information
Systems with minor in Computer Science I will have the skills and resources needed to complete a fully
functional website. I will use a majority of skills gained in previous courses to meet the requirements to
finish complete this website.

 I will first interview Dave Clough the owner of Clough Sales and determine what information
should be included in the information presented on the web pages.
 I will then research various agricultural dealership websites and determine the clearest and most
effective way to present the information.
 I will first design every page on paper including the text, pictures, and hot links to the other pages.
 I will research IDE’s offered by the school and other free sources on the internet. I will determine
which one is most beneficial for my project.
 I will then develop a website for Clough Sales according to the research and information I
obtained in the previous steps.
 Once the website is completed I will present it to Mr. Clough and see if he thinks it properly
projects the image of the business, is easily navigated, and all the information is accurate and
displayed in a visually appearing manner.
 I will ask also ask previous customers to try the website and get feed-back from their experience
 Once I receive all the feedback I will re-edit the website, first according to the owner’s revisions
and then make it more accessible, if needed, by the customers’ feedback.

Timeline:
The following timeline table outlines the anticipated chronology of the steps necessary to incorporate the
previously mentioned methodology:

TASKS WEEKS
*Week 1 = 10/25 – 10/29, Wk 2 = 11/1 – 11/5,
Wk 3 = 11/8 – 11/12, Wk 4 = 11/15 – 11/19, Week 5 = 11/22 1 2 3 4 5
– 11/26 Project due – December 3rd.
1. Project proposal turned in to Miss Enger (due 10/22). *
2. Interview Mr. Clough to receive accurate information *
3. Research Various Business Websites for design Ideas *
4. Design rough draft of website on paper * *
5. Research and find appropriate IDE to develop website *
6. Project progress report to Miss Enger (due 11/24). *
7. Create website using (IDE) *
8. Get feed-back from Mr. Clough and various users about *
usability of web site
9. Make final revisions to the website from the user-feedback *
Evaluation:
Miss Enger will evaluate the progress and final product of this project using the grading rubric as set forth
in the English 320 Unit 34 Project outline and directions. I will evaluate the success of my project by the
functionality of the website. The primary reason besides a grade for this project is that it will benefit
Clough Sale’s with their business. The overall success of this website would be to increase sales by
increasing customer’s knowledge of the business and the products we sell. I know measuring this would
be impossible for the amount of time provided for this project so I have created a rubric on how my
project should reflect my grade.

Item Max Score Comments

Points
Website has 7 fully 15
functional pages to them

A standard design and 20

navigation pane is
maintained throughout the
7 pages
All the text uses correct 10
grammar and spelling

The visual components 15

that accessorize the text
are visually appealing and
add clarity
The website is easily 20
navigated and is user-
friendly.
The website answers 20
the customers
questions or provides
information how to
answer them
Total Score 100
 Reading References

Anderson, Paul. Technical Communication: A reader-centered approach. 7th. Boston: Wadsworth,

Cengage Learning, 2011. Print.

The textbook gives many examples about reader centered approaches to writing and also a small section

on websites.

Deitel, Paul and Harvey. Visual Basic 2010 - How to Program. Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson

Education, 2010. 443-483. Print.

This book is from a previous course I took and will help me with the coding of the website to make it

more appealing and user friendly

"Mycogen Seeds." Dow AgroSciences, 2010. Web. 22 Oct 2010.

<http://www.mycogen.com/sitepages/default.aspx>.

This website includes the different types of seed Mycogen sells along with general pricing and product

information

Niederst, Jennifer. Learning Web Design - A Beginners Guide to Html Graphics and Beyond. 2nd Ed.

New York, New York: O'Reilly & Associates, Inc. , 2003. Print.

This book has crucial information to HTML coding which will be used to implement graphics in the

website.

Rosenau, Gaylen. "RosenauEquipment." Rosenau Equipment. TechLink, N.D. Web. 22 Oct 2010.

<http://www.rosenauequipment.com/>.

This is a website of a successful dealership located in our area. I will use this as an example of how to

arrange the data on my web page.

"Vermeer Agricultural Line." Vermeer. TVermeer CorporationchLink, 2010. Web. 22 Oct 2010.

<http://www2.vermeer.com/vermeer/industries/agriculture>.

Vermeer is the main product we sell and this is the product website that will give me information to

provide on my website

Other Sources

David Clough, Owner and Manger of Clough Sales