diy cake design web applicationTIERS

PROPOSAL |NATALIA BAGAN | CYNTHIA BAO | ZAINAB HUSAIN | FATIMA REMTULLAH

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Opportunity 1Current Research 2Competitive Analysis 3Direct Competitors 4Product & Features 5The Owners Natalia Bagan 6 Cynthia Bao 7 Zainab Husain 8 Fatima Remtullah 9Market Analysis 10Risk Management & Exclusions 11Solution Platform 12 Marketing 12 Goals 13Technical Requirements 14SWOT Analysis 15Perceptual Map 17Time-line 18References 19

THE OPPORTUNITY

Every season, celebration, or important milestone, people purchase cakes to enjoy these spe-cial moments. With the sprout of custom cakes for anything one could possibly think of, cake designing is becoming a popular trend. From TLC’s popular ‘Cake Boss’ show to ‘Ace of Cakes’ and even cupcake shows, there are endless ideas and possibilities for cake creations. Often times, individuals requiring a cake for their special celebration would have no idea where to begin. From searching surrounding bakeries, to spending sometimes hours choosing a design and even looking on-line beforehand, cake shopping can become a tedious pro-cess.

Due to the rise of all things do-it-yourself (diy), web applications created by retail stores have come out with ring customizations and diy wedding applications. However, these applications are typically created by stores to engage people in their particular products versus a stand alone web application that would offer a variety of possibilities with fewer restrictions.

Sweet Creations sees the opportunity in a similar responsive website that allows users to person-ally customize cakes. This enables any user, young or old, to have fun in designing the look of their own cake for their important celebration. The user will feel proud as the ownership of the design is their own. Imagine an eight year child designing their own Disney birthday cake or a couple celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary designing their own cake together on a accessible web application.

The complete personalization idea is powerful as users will become emotionally attached to their cake and watch the creation process come to reality. This is the pull for the users to engage in the Tiers application. The goal is to empower any user to create their true cake vision for any celebration. The cake web application overall will provide a smoother, easier, happier, and smarter user for their special day.

1

$310 BILLION BY 2015BAKED GOODS INDUSTRY

CURRENT RESEARCH

The cake industry is very diverse in business size and model. It can vary from a ma and pa shop, department store giants like Loblaws and Wal-mart, home businesses to million dollar companies like Cake Boss. There are many avenues available for cake lovers to request a custom made edible creation.

According to market research, the global baked goods industry is expected to reach $310 billion by 2015. This translates into the fact that there are millions of people willing to spend generous amounts of money on cakes. This is a great market segment to tackle and invent a platform for cake consumers which customers can utilize to custom make their own creations.

Custom cake creation is a limited option reserved for boutique type cake shops. These places tend to cost a fortune for the option of consulting with a cake expert and custom creating a cake. Cheaper cake producers such as bakeries located inside Departmental stores and fran-chise chains such as Dairy Queen only offer premade cakes in different themes such as Hallow-een, Birthday or special occasions. They limit the consumers’ creativity and impose their redun-dant and basic cake designs which consumers are forced to choose from. Sweet Creations and the creators of Tiers are taking on the opportunity to make custom cake designs without the help of an over-priced cake expert at a fancy cake boutique. Consumers can now simply take their vision designed on the application and take it to a bake shop to replicate their creation.

2

DIY CAKES BY TIERS

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

Sweet Creations’ Tiers application has a great competitive advantage over their potential competitors. There are few competitors targeting the do-it-yourself cake market. Many of the current websites that attempt the personal customization process are not user friendly, end up being a tedious process to create the cake, and have minimal customization. This was found through testing sites such as Dairy Queen, Baskin Robbins, CakeBiz, and Ferguson Plarre Bake-houses. Aside from just a web based application, Sweet Creations application will be fully responsive, allowing the user to design cakes on any device.

With the responsive web application, it enables the user to be able to research on the go and easily show the cake to family and friends. After showing the baker their own cake design from this application, the user would have the average price of the cake determined by market research, calculated by the application. Therefore the user is automatically more aware of prices so that they can negotiate with various different cake designers in bakeries. Furthermore any additional personalization or expenses can be discussed with the bakery. This way the complete vision will be understood by the baker.

This process is much more efficient for both the customer and the cake shop. The application is directed towards a user oriented experience versus a business oriented experience, as it is a stand alone application not owned or restricted by any particular retailer. Through current market research, Tiers will carve its own niche in the market as a stand alone application as it has not yet been done. Similar successful applications has been seen with wedding rings and dresses, but not with cakes. The application will be able to do more than just customize a wedding cake for a bride, which would cause it to be a one time use applica-tion. It enables any user to design any cake for any purpose such as birthdays, anniversaries, work parties, and so on.

Overall, Sweet Creations new application hopes to achieve expertise, customization, and continuous improvement in features to win top-of-mind of our customers, prior to the market becoming saturated with similar applications.

3

DIRECT COMPETITORS

Tiers is a resurgence of all the existing and limiting cake building platforms provided by cake pro-ducers. These platforms do not give consumers full control over the creation of their cakes; they produce redundant and non-original designs. Most importantly, these build-your-own cake options are limited to being produced by the cake producer that made the platforms. Tiers is a unique web application that is independent from cake producers where consumers can con-sult multiple cake makers before making a decision. Due to such facts, Tiers has the advantage of not facing direct competition. However, there are other existing platforms that need to be considered.

Ferguson Plarre Bake HousesAn Australian bakehouse is a family owned business. They are famous for their birthday and wedding cakes and desserts. On their website, they have an option for create your own cake which can be ordered online to the bakery.

Baker DaysThis is an online only cake creation website. Users can create their own cakes mainly by upload-ing a picture, writing messages and choosing from a wide array of themes. This company deliv-ers anywhere in The United Kingdom.

Build a CakeThis is also an online cake company available exclusively in England and Ireland. The experi-ence of building your own cake is represented by feeling like the consumer is actually in the cake shop. It begins with ringing the bell and entering the bakery. This gives an interactive expe-rience of building your own cake. The options however, are limited to a few sizes, fillings and sprinkles.

Wedding Cake App This is an android application by Keila Mulero. This application costs $2.22 and it allows the user to custom build cakes. According to user reviews, this application has very limited options and it does not deliver enough customization to validate the cost.

Cake Maker This is a web application that allows user to visualize their own wedding cake. They can only choose from three themes of either grooms, fun and funky, or platinum. Once these options are chosen, then users are proceeded to choose from patterns, decoration and toppers. The users then have the option to download, e-mail to friend or post to Facebook. This application is limit-ing to the user because of the themes. The only outcome of the application is that the user can share their cake creation with friends. It is similar to a game one would play while waiting at the doctor’s office. The differentiation point between this application and Tiers, is that Tiers provides the users with an estimated total cost for the cake and a map of vendors within a specified location.

4

PRODUCTS & FEATURES

The Tiers application will allow the user to sign up and use the services free of charge. The user will be able to customize a cake, view a gallery, and save their creation in the cake box which is identical to a shopping cart, without the check out feature. This application allows for complete cake customization. The user will select the shape of the cake from a variety of options, the number of tiers, the batter, the icing colour, the theme, and the decor on the cake.

After each selection of the cake, an estimated price will be derived for each custom selec-tion and totaled for the final cake. If the customer would like to save the cake and come back later to complete it, they may do so. A print feature is included as well to allow for greater usability.

Tiers is a step by step intuitive web application where the options are click-able or drag and dropped.

5

THE OWNERS

NataliaBagan

Digital Media DesignerUser Experience EnthusiastCrafty Creator

BIOGRAPHY

Natalia Bagan has a strong background and knowledge in print design, web design, interactive media, and project management. With a Bachelor of Technology in Graphic Communications Man-agement, a Graduate degree in Interactive Media Management, and web design experience with Desire2Learn, she has the technical foundation to understand the requirements and procedures of creating a successful web application. She has an endless strong desire to continuously learn and improve interactive media applications as it stands today.

Previous experience includes, composing an eBook business plan and prototype, designing development ready files for corporate intra-net sites, and designing e-learning sites.

Her contribution to the team will be multidisci-plinary such as front-end development, graphic design, user interface design, and project man-agement.

6

THE OWNERS

CynthiaBao

Database WizardWeb Application EvangelistFoodie

BIOGRAPHY

Cynthia Bao graduated from the Faculty of Science at McMaster University. By taking math, computer science, and commerce courses, she has a strong academic programming back-ground, knowledge in e-marketing, human resource, and finance. She also has a few years of experience as a small business management. She intends to bring all her skills together and is prepared herself well to tackle her next career goal with a graduate degree in Interactive Media Management. She has a great understanding in regards to how modern technology changes the global market and our personal lives all over the world. She believes that there is a high potential of success with a responsive web application like the Tiers cake design application.

7

THE OWNERS

ZainabHusain

Designer/Developer HybridUX Guru-Wanna Be Fisher-woman

BIOGRAPHY

Zainab is currently pursuing a Post-Graduate Diplo-ma in Interactive Media Management at Sheridan College. She is also a University of Toronto alumnus majoring in Communication, Culture and Informa-tion Technology. She has an educational back-ground in e-commerce, marketing, design thinking, ux design and human resources management. In other words she is a jack of all trades.

Zainab is a technology enthusiast who loves to solve design problems, apply her creative thinking to Web Development and enjoy seeking opportu-nities to invent and innovate. She is excited to contribute her drive, talent and energy to forward thinking companies dealing with web and mobile development.

8

THE OWNERS

FatimaRemtullah

Digital DesignerTechnology Enthusiast Cake Monster

BIOGRAPHY

Fatima Remtullah is a digital designer and inter-active developer. After graduating from the University of Waterloo, she embarked on my journey into Web Design, followed by Interactive Media at Sheridan College.

Fatima has always been attracted to technology and the impact it can make. Her specialization in Business and Technology sparked her interest to further discover how user experience can impact individuals and society as a whole.

Fatima’s portfolio ranges from corporate brand-ing to work in the fashion industry. Her current focus is on creating customization platforms that involve interactivity for the users. She hopes to inspire others by creating tools to empower users to create and see their visions come to life.

9

MARKET ANALYSIS

The diy cake design web application is targeting consumers in the baking industry. This industry is based on not only the manufacturing of bakery products but also the process to create the end product. Sweet Creations knows the value in the growth in this particular sector and sees the rewards.

In 2015 the baked goods industry is expected to reach over $310 billion(Global Bakery and Pastry Industry, 2014). The annual growth rate in the baking market was 3.3% during 2006-2011. (Consumer Trends Bakery Products in Canada, 2013). With the growing baking industry in combination with skyrocketing diy growth, Sweet Creations encompasses two top trends today. In the article ‘DIY Goes Digital’, it stakes that Google searches are up 24% for the term diy (DIY Goes Digital, 2014). The food and drink category is the largest share of popular pins on Pinterest followed by diy and crafts. YouTube alone returns over 1.5 million videos with the search “diy”.

It is clear that the market is ready for the Tiers application and is sure to make a dent in the current trends and future growth in the industry. There are more diy websites being launched and an increase in non-traditional factory bakeries. The exciting news for customers is now these trends are accessible and users can start to enjoy their new experience online. There-fore, as an emerging market, the Tiers application is more likely to share a piece of the pie immediately and prosper in the future.

10

GROWTH RATEYEAR OVER YEAR

3.3%

Risk Management & Exclusions

RISKSThere are several major risks that may take place from the start of the application to when the application is launched and live in the public. The impacts may vary from the following aspects: • financial loss • stakeholder faith impacted and lasts • events of fine, fraud or legal action • system crash with loss of data (each of these aspects may have different causes)

For the possibility of financial loss, this may be due to the unpredictable high cost during product development and maintenance costs exceeding the product profit. This problem is controllable by estimating all costs beforehand by calculating all possible employee wages, time management, R&D costs, etc. Then compare all costs to the future profit we desire to get. Limiting the time cost in order to have a capital gain.

For the stakeholders faith impacted, this may be caused by the growth of the competitive cake-design-app market. In order to limit the impact of this risk, our application must have unshakable status in the market by having significant features and the most user-friendly interface.

There may also be events of fine, fraud or legal action, because in future expansion, Tiers would like to introduce popular themes and Disney characters into the customer cake design procedure. Therefore, due diligence in reviewing the copyright law is a must.

The risk of application crashing may have a huge impact as well. If the customers have regis-tered and saved a cake plan we need to direct it into a database in order for the customers to retrieve it and to be able to make edits. Therefore, database maintenance and testing is essential in creating Tiers.

EXCLUSIONS • The Tiers application will not include development in an asset management system • The Tiers application will not be including any administration feature • The Tiers application will not be tested and be guaranteed on any operating system/browser combination not mentioned in this proposal

11

SOLUTION

PLATFORMSThe Tiers application will be a web based application. It will be compliant with Windows and OS operating systems and the latest version of browsers including Safari (S8), Google Chrome (C39), Firefox (FF33) and IE (IE11).

The web application will be using HTML, CSS, PHP, SQL, and Javascript frameworks.

MARKETINGFor marketing platforms to increase and engage users, the Tiers will use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. These four chosen social media platforms are ideal for social inte-gration which parallels the nature of the cake application. On Instagram users will use custom hashtag’s to share images of their cake creations. The web application will have it’s own pinterest page where users can follow, pin cake designs, and get inspired. The web application on Facebook will be used for promotions, competitions, and general communi-cation. On Twitter, Tiers will have it’s own page where users can follow and be a part of con-tests.

The success of these marketing applications can easily be gathered by the number of people and likes in the facebook group, the number of retweets and followers on twitter, the number of pins on pinterest, and the number of shared images on instagram. The purpose of these advertising mediums is to host insightful information, updates, and to generally commu-nicate with the target audience. Visibility is crucial on major social media platforms especial-ly since it is an application that is socially driven. It will increase market awareness and poten-tial users. Furthermore, the more the users are engaged with the company and application, the greater the interest and spread of positive feedback. To manage social media market-ing, a management service can be used like Hootsuite to efficiently manage all activity on the sites and to gather valuable analytics.

Sweet Creations will also market themselves separately from the Tiers web application. As business platforms, they will use Linkedin, Facebook, and their personal website. The purpose of positioning themselves as a business and an individual application creator is to drive people to these platforms to see what else they have created. The website for Sweet Cre-ations allows users to be inspired with images of the web application and specifically the custom cakes that can be created. With a look book tool, promotional deals, and branding, the customer will be persuaded to try to web application for themselves.

12

SOLUTIONGOALSTiers empowers the users to combine their creativity and diy personality. With todays econo-my, there is limited time and resources for the average consumer to produce and control their own end product. By creating the Tiers application, Sweet Creations puts the power in the users hands to create their vision and get external businesses in their community to create the end product. The initial goal of this application is to create a simple, user friendly application that enables the user to completely customize a cake with an approximate cost calculator. Within one year of launching the application, it is expected to reach 1000 successful users. A successful user is one who creates and finalizes a cake. After the application has been launched and in the market for its initial trial period, probably about a quarter, work towards additional features will be started. By the end of the first year, more personalization features will be added.

Tiers is a user-centered designed application focused on meeting the prospective users needs. To achieve web application usability, usability goals are set as a current standard and will be built upon moving forward. Currently, it is expected that the common user on average will spend five to seven minutes building and modifying cakes. Any less, than the application is not meeting the users needs. Any more time, than the application is not robust enough and may be taking too long to learn.

The solution for the Tiers website design must also be: simple, familiar, consistent, provide guidance, provide feedback, and have an intuitive architecture. Following these usability goals, ensure the visitors of Tiers are meeting their goals, and they are getting to the content efficiently. Thus, meeting the users goals means a successful application.

13

USERSIN THE FIRST YEAR

1000

Technical Requirements

There are many technical requirements and limitations that occur when creating a web application. Sweet Creations thrives in creating a user friendly and technically robust system that works across various platforms and browsers. In saying this it is required for the web appli-cation to work on Windows and OS with the latest versions of Safari (S8), Google Chrome (C39), Firefox (FF33) and IE (IE11). A fluid grid site will be developed where users can adjust their browser screen knowing that the site will adjust to their preference and size. With such a heavy reliance on the database Sweet Creations needs to make sure the technical require-ments in the database can handle large amounts of information stored without slowing down the user process. They don’t want the experience to be slow and clunky but are limit-ed controlling the users network speed and connection to the internet.

Browsers all parse information differently, therefore there is no such thing as pixel perfect design. Sweet Creations will design and develop for screen resolutions instead. It will be ensured to have a fluid grid for responsive screen sizes. Sweet Creations also does not have control over the network speed of the users but do have control over how much information is transferred and the transfer rate. Thus it is important to create a lean application. Since the application uses geolocation some technical limitations may be possible where the user has set their location or if it is enabled.

There is also a different set of limitations for those users using the web application on a mobile device. Androids vs iPhones have their own screen sizes, resolutions, and capabilities such as saving images. In addition, Sweet Creations will ensure the server capabilities are met with security, traffic and speed. To meet all the requirements and strategic growth, analytics such as Google analytics to track strengths and weaknesses will be used.

14

DESIGNRESPONSIVE

SWOT ANALYSISSTRENGTHSSince the custom do-it-yourself cakes are a recently growing sector in the baking industry, there are not many unique businesses geared towards this niche market yet. In doing market research it shows that though there are custom cake companies they are not positioned the same as Sweet Creations, creating an opportunity in the segment gap for a completely unique market. We target directly to the diy consumer who wants a trendy customized cake that can be uniquely theirs among the mundane cakes currently available. The diy trend has gone digital, growing strong with platforms such a Pinterest, Tumblr and YouTube. Consumers are now wanting to do-it-themselves on anything possible. Sweet Creations allows the diy creativity without the hassle of actually making the cake. Sweet Creations, provides a blank cake canvas with various shapes, sizes colours, and decorations to create a truly customized statement cake. Current competitors cannot match the wide range of options and flexibility we offer our users. It is a truly personalized experienced. The interface is easy to use creating a user-friendly experience where customers want to keep on creating and enjoy the entire process.

WEAKNESSESWith any new company, a weakness is establishing brand awareness among already recog-nized brands in the same competitive genre. We are creating a customer base from scratch to catch the people who are interested in our services.

Although Tiers offers a candy store variety of personalization options, it is not possible to simply have every design possibility on the application. We are aware that users may be disappoint-ed that their exact idea may not be met, but a close second is possible. Being aware of this weakness means knowing how to enhance features within these restrictions.

OPPORTUNITIESWith such a variety of cakes users can create, the opportunities are endless to grow within the app as well as additional apps to complement. Within the COMPANY NAME we plan on cre-ating a social platform where users can collaborate on a cake, chat and communicate within their group. We will also implement an inspiration board where users can share their creations within the app itself, creating a cake loving community.

15

SWOT ANALYSISSweet Creations, is a corporation that cam grow into owning many customized applications that range in category allowing for cross promotion. Sweet Creations loves the customization aspect of the application, keeping with this theme they are able to create a custom wed-ding dress app. When users of Tiers choose the, “wedding” theme a pop-in window message will appear asking, “Planning a Wedding? Customize your Wedding Dress Today! <link to site>”. This will create opportunities for users to create with a breadth of apps.

Some of the future application ideas include customized invitations, customized ring designs, social wall where guests attending your party can upload pictures and share among other guests, custom wedding, tux and bridesmaid dresses, event planning app, as well as fitness goal and motivator. Moving towards technical opportunities - having a website they are limiting the consumer base to people sitting at a desktop computer. There is a market for those people who prefer to use a tablet and mobile device as their primary platform. Creating an app that allows the same results of the website allows for customization on the go.

THREATSNew applications are realized everyday. What was once a unique idea can become main-stream overnight. With a lot of competition in the cake market, having a presence on many platforms is extremely important. The is a chance of them releasing a customized section on their existing site to compete with the market. This would decrease our target market share of potential users. Sweet Creations needs to insure they are always improving Tiers for the best user experience. Trends come and go and it is hard to predict the next big thing. Currently the diy and baking phenomenon is on a rise but a new trend could easily emerge that becomes a bigger sensa-tion. The key is to stay relevant and make Sweet Creations a unique experience that contin-ues to evolve.

Due to the nature of the interactive technology industry that the Tiers application is part of, it will always have constant threats, and a potential for the application to break. Constant browser updates, changing HTML5 specifications, and security issues all need to be carefully monitored and corrected immediately to avoid application downtime.

Considering Tiers is an application that will not be used every single day by users, it is import-ant to realize that the market demand will be very sporadic. The fact is, users do not need to make cakes everyday, or perhaps will make use of the application once or twice and the hype of it would have diminished. Therefore, as the application grows it needs to create a constant need in the consumers mind that they need to have the Tiers application to have the best cake experience possible.

16

PERCEPTUAL MAP

User Experience (Excellent)

Baker Days

Build-A-Cake

Cake Maker

Wedding Cake App

Ferguson

User Experience (Poor)

Variety of Features (Insufficient)Variety of Features (Many)

17

TIME LINE18TIERS PROJECT WORKBACK SCHEDULE

September October November December

Deliverables Duration W4 W5 W1 W2 W3 W4 W1 W2 W3 W4 W1 W2

Kickoff

Brainstorming 1 Week

Project Analysis 1 Week

Scope, Strategy, Purpose, Goals 2 Week

Design Phase

UX/UI Sketches 2 Weeks

Branding 2 Weeks

Mock Up 1 Week

Interaction Design 2 Weeks

Design Review 1 Day

Development Phase

Initial HTMl/CSS Templates 2 Weeks

Tables 1 Week

Interactive Development 2 Weeks

Testing

Cross-Browser/Device Testing 10 Days

User Testing 10 Days

Bug FIxing 10 Days

Maintenance

Bug Fixing (Note: Future work)

REFERENCES19http://www.pinterest.com/pin/20477373278852559/

http://blog.ebayclassifieds.com/2011/08/08/weddings-freakin-expensive-infographic/

http://www.discoveryfinance.com/average-annual-after-tax-household-income.html

http://www.bakingassoccanada.com/index.aspx#

http://www.reportlinker.com/ci02034/Bakery-and-Pastry.html

http://www.ats-sea.agr.gc.ca/can/6333-eng.htm

http://www.askingsmarterquestions.com/diy-goes-digital/

http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2344068/4-Statitics-About-Pinterest-Users-You-Need-to-Know-Study

http://www.reportlinker.com/ci02034/Bakery-and-Pastry.html