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ChaPter 11 • Designing effeCtive outPut 297

4. What is the purpose of the output? What user and organizational tasks are supported?
5. What is the speed with which output is needed?
6. How frequently will the output be accessed?
7. How long will (or must) the output be stored?
8. Under what special regulations is the output produced, stored, and distributed?
9. What are the initial and ongoing costs of maintenance and supplies?
10. What are the human and environmental requirements (accessibility, noise absorption, con-
trolled temperature, space for equipment, cabling, and proximity to Wi-Fi transmitters or
access points—that is, hot spots) for output technologies?
Increasingly, organizations are taking up green IT initiatives as part of sustainability efforts.
These initiatives may limit the quantity of paper reports that are printed or may discourage
employees from printing out copies of email messages by adding a green IT notification to the
bottom of each corporate email message. Examining each output factor separately will allow
you to see the interrelationships and how they may be traded off for one another in a particular
system.
Who Will Use (see) The oUTpUT? Discovering who will use the output is important because
job requirements help dictate what output method is appropriate. For example, when district
managers must be away from their desks for extended periods, they need printed output that
can travel with them or technology that can access appropriate websites and databases as they
visit the managers in their region. Screen output or interactive Web documents are excellent for
people such as truck dispatchers who are deskbound for long periods.
External recipients of output (clients and customers, vendors and suppliers, shareholders,
and regulatory agencies) and users within the business will require different output. Clients,
vendors, and suppliers can be part of several extranets, which are networks of computers built
by the organization, providing applications, processing, and information to users on the network.
Examine the website shown in Figure 11.3 for an ecommerce company called Merchants
Bay. The Web designer is attuned to the intended users of the wholesale gift site. The ecom-
merce company’s website is powered by a patented negotiating algorithm in which users submit
bids (for 1 item or 400) on an array of merchandise. The company’s strategy is based on the
president’s personal experience with flea markets and the observation that people are powerfully
attracted to bargaining for a deal.
The website intentionally invokes a cluttered feel, similar to what one gets walking through
a flea market. The site is intended for customers who would frequent flea markets in person:
They are known to be collectors, gregarious and curious by nature. The website is a profusion

Figure 11.3
When designing a website, it is
important to choose a metaphor
that can be used throughout the site.
This example from Merchants Bay
(www.merchantsbay.com) employs
a nautical theme. (Screenshot of
Merchant Bay website. Copyright
© 2000 by Merchants Bay LLC.
Reprinted with permission of Troy
Pappas.)