Developing a Purpose Built App for Taxi Booking: A Project Charter

This paper evaluates the case of a taxi company seeking to offer better services to replace the manual system in which users make calls and reserve taxis, especially in light of increased in call volumes and the need to have a better system. The paper begins by developing a project charter, before recommending the feasibility of using an existing system/ application and customizing it versus a purpose built application. The business process models in the context of AS-IS and To-BE are then discussed as is the business process re-engineering.

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Enterprise Resource Planning
Name
Date

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Introduction
Faced with a choice between a manual system and one based on Information technology
such as using an application, it would be logical to use an application, possibly one with online
capabilities (Cohn, 2014). However, there is always a choice between developing an application
from scratch, and using available ones that can be customized to meet the specific needs of the
organization. Aspects like cost and time to market become factors of consideration in this case
(Rundle, 2017). This paper evaluates the case of a taxi company seeking to offer better services
to replace the manual system in which users make calls and reserve taxis, especially in light of
increased in call volumes and the need to have a better system. The paper begins by developing a
project charter, before recommending the feasibility of using an existing system/ application and
customizing it versus a purpose built application. The business process models in the context of
AS-IS and To-BE are then discussed as is the business process re-engineering. The advantages to
the business in using such applications (app) is then discussed, followed by a description of the
features of the recommended app and a diagram showing how human and technological
components are linked. The costs are outlined, as is the implementation, integration, and testing
plan. The criteria for success is then discussed and a plan for evaluation
Charter
Title Recommendations of whether to customize and use an existing app or
develop a purpose built one for taxi booking
Scope Due to increased calls and the need for better customer services, the taxi
hailing company seeks to use an app to expedite the service, have a better
customer experience, and improve services.
Objectives Evaluate whether to customize and use an existing app or develop a
purpose built one
Discuss the business process modeling and business re-engineering process
Evaluate the advantages of the app and features of the desired app
Illustration of how the human and technological components are linked
Cost structure

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Implementation, integration and evaluation plan
Project
Organization
Executive
Sponsor
Taxi Hailing Company CEO
Business Sponsor Taxi Hailing Company Business Development Manager
Project manager [Author]
User
Representatives
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Technical Lead Mr. X
Project team Bond, James, Money-penny
Project Roles The executive sponsor facilitates and approves the project.
The business sponsor will ensure the app meets the organizations; business
needs
Project manager develops project plan, communication plan, stakeholder
management plan, and ensures project objectives are met within the triple
constraints
Tracking is done using MS Project software
Change Control Project manager can approve changes not exceeding $ 5000 but anything
above must be approved by Executive Sponsor
Approvals
CEO
Business
Development
Manager
Information
Systems/ IT
Manager
Finance manager

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Charter developed following the Project Management Body of Knowledge guidelines and
nature of the project (Estrella, 2012)
Use Existing App or a Purpose Built One
Existing (or white label apps) are those built by a specialist (or even open source ones)
and can be used by any party, such as this company and can be customized and branded for its
use. The developer then charges a fee, such as development and a monthly maintenance fee. This
model has its advantages including a short time to market, low initial investment, plenty of
customization, and maintenance post release. Purpose built apps are those developed in house
either by in-house staff or hired experts, specifically for the organization, which then owns all its
rights (Welder, 2016). Advantages of this model are that it is built specifically for the client, can
be scaled easily, integration can be built in easily with other company IT resources, and the firm
will get high level support and maintenance. The security features can be customized and
enhanced based on a robust threat and risk assessment in the context of the taxi hailing company,
although costs and time to market can be high (Thomas, 2014). Based on this short evaluation,
the purpose built app is the recommended solution. This is informed by security needs, the need
for future scalability, and integration with other existing IT resources for the company. These are
going to be important factors for the company, especially security because the app will feature
payment portals and also store user data that can be sensitive. Further, the app should integrate
with existing IT systems of the taxi hailing company, including its existing ERP system,
databases, and network resources, including in the cloud. The company may want to scale,
change, or add a lot of features to the app depending on demand, and even use it as a customer
service portal linked to its social networking sites. Based on these reasons, it is recommended
that the firm develops a purpose built app for its taxi hailing service.
Business Process Modeling (BPM)
The processes of the organization in ordering for, and securing a taxi are discussed based
on the present (as-is) model and the desired future model (to-be): the BPM is developed to create

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a clear understanding of the taxi hailing process at present and when the app will be in use
(Fleischmann, Rass & Singer, 2013).
BPM As-Is
The BPM as-is is shown below where a customer makes a call and request for a ride. The
administration team receives the call and then reviews it; knowing the location, and possibly
time needed and amount to pay. The car/ garage division then either allocates the car, where
transportation is offered and payment received; this is a successful request. Alternatively, the
request may be rejected and review done by administration, meaning the request is rejected and
unsuccessful

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Source: Author illustration

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BPM To-Be
Source: Author Illustration

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Business process Re-Engineering (BPR)
The business process of booking taxi rides for the company will change drastically; one,
there will be no need for a large administrative department with people to receive calls, inquire
about cars from the garage and negotiate with client on prices. Further, a large garage or car
holding area with employed drivers will be removed or reduced. The customer will have
complete control, using a ‘self service’ model to get taxis. The system will automate processes
for the company, removing manual systems such as fare discussions, manual allocation of cars
and drivers, and having to use a call logging system to manage customer requests.
Advantages
Reduced operational costs,enhanced customer experience as they can hail a ride from any
location and don't need to make a call, flexibility in managing the business, increased efficiency,
and improved safety for drivers. Customers will benefit from reduced costs compared to
traditional yellow cabs or the black limousine. These will reduce costs, enhance efficiency,
automate tasks, and enable managers to have a top level single shot view of company
performance, when the system is integrated into the financial system, of where demand is
coming from, revenues, and trends, and make suitable decisions. Its profitability will improve
due to increased efficiency (Barrett & Baldry, 2009)
Recommended App Features
The App should work with most if not all major mobile operating systems including
Android, Mac OS, and Windows and work across multiple devices including desktop and laptop
computers. The App should be available for free downloading and have automatic updates. It
should have a small footprint to ensure it does not slow down or freeze and that users do not
have to upgrade their devices regularly to use it. It needs to synchronize with all user devices, so
that, for instance, a user can book a ride from a mobile device, a laptop, desktop, or tablet device.
The App should have a registration system that inks with the customers’ and drivers’
identification details for security. Further, it ought to work with cashless payment systems

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including credit cards, NFC, and mobile wallets. The App should be user friendly, with few
processes to get a transaction complete, with predictive location features so users do not have to
type all letters for a location. It should have Geo fencing and Geo location features with a real
time map fro tracking drivers. It needs to have an automated charge calculator based on distance
covered. It should have capabilities for scaling, such as adding mobile parking management
systems in the future for ease of parking space location.
Linking of Human and Technological Components
This is shown below; the App ecosystem with cloud capability is the main point of
interaction between the company, drivers, and customers, with the application installed in their
devices and data processed, managed, and stored in cloud based servers

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Source:
Author
illustration
Outline of
Costs

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Implementation, Integration, and testing Plan
The software will be tested extensively at each iteration; the Agile method of SCRUM
will be used in its development. Testing will be done at each iteration and any bugs detected.
After the final lab testing is done, the system will be tested in a real life situation and any issues
noted and corrected. Integration will then be done with existing systems and tested to be working
okay, before a ‘live test’ is done using the cloud platform, and any issues identified and resolved.
Live testing will run for a week, and if smooth, then existing data will be migrated into the App.
Testing will be done a further one week before the beta version is released for real life live
testing with selected users. Feedback will be obtained and any improvements made before a
commercial version is released. Performance will be monitored and continuous improvements
undertaken through maintenance contracts.

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Criteria for Success and Evaluation Plan
The success criteria are based on the project objectives and deliverables, as well as the
performance of the App. Evaluation is done by analyzing the success criteria metrics with
expectations gauges against actual performance: for instance if the budget was exceeded or
underutilized (Howsawi, Eager, Bagia & Niebecker, 2014). The success criteria and evaluation
plan is shown below

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References
Barrett, P., & Baldry, D. (2009). Facilities Management (p. 179). New York, NY: John Wiley &
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you-should-build-custom-software-over-canned-solutions/#6fb4dcdac371
Estrella, J. (2012). PMP--practice makes perfect (1st ed., p. 170). Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.
Fleischmann, A., Rass, S., & Singer, R. (2013). S-BPM illustrated (1st ed., pp. 1, 24). Berlin:
Springer.
Howsawi, E., Eager, D., Bagia, R., & Niebecker, K. (2014). The four-level project success
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http://dx.doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.5130/.v1i0.3865
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off-the-shelf-software-cheaper-than-bespoke
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