Magento 2 Certified Solution Specialist - Content Area 1: Ecommerce

1.7 Data Analytics and Testing --- Google Universal Analytics

Probably the most powerful web analytics platform on the internet (free). This platform helps track and correlate much information about visitors on the website and their purchases. • Set of features that change the way data is collected and organized in your Analytics account, so you can get a better understanding of how users interact with your online content.

1.2 Security --- User Data Security Standards: Australia

The Australian data privacy regulations originally stem from the Privacy Act of 1988 (Privacy Act) as well as some added addenda via the Privacy Regulation 2013 and the latest addition for security breach reporting Privacy Amendment (Notifiable Data Breaches) Act 2017. • The new law applies to public and private organisations that are already subject to the Privacy Act - this includes Australian Government agencies (excluding state and local government) and all businesses and not-for-profit organisations with an annual turnover more than $3 million. It aims to incentivise the holders of data to adequately secure or dispose of that information. It also allows individuals whose personal information has been compromised by a breach to take remedial steps to lessen the adverse impact that might arise from the breach. As a result, a number of new measures will be introduced that will require attention

1.2 Security --- User Data Security Standards: USA

Two key federal laws which prevent "unfair and deceptive practices" an make sure children's data is protected properly Fragmented, sector or state-oriented approaches to data privacy in the YS • Key approaches relate mostly to o healthcare companies - HIPAA: Health insurance portability and accountability act) o Financial institutions - Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) - Financial modernization act of 1999 - federal law enacted in the US to control the ways that financial institutions deal with the private information of individuals. 3 sections: Financial Privacy Rule: regulates the collection and disclosure of private financial information. Safeguards Rule: stipulates thefinancial institutions must implement security programs to protect such information; the Pretexting provisions, which prohibit the practice of pretexting (accessing private information using false pretenses) The Act also requires financial institutions to give customers written privacy notices that explain their information-sharing practices. o The state of California has its own separate data protection act: https://iapp.org/news/a/unpacking-the-california-ags-guide-on-caloppa/

1.2 Security --- PA-DSS (Payment Application Data Security Standard) (https://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/PA-DSS-Payment-Application-Data-Security-Standard)

is a set of requirements that are intended to help software vendors develop secure payment applications that support PCI DSS compliance. PA-DSS applies to third-party applications that store, process or transmit payment cardholder data as part of an authorization or settlement. Software applications developed by merchants for in-house use only are exempt from PA-DSS but must comply with PCI DSS.

1.1 Online Merchandising --- Marketing Strategies: Omnichannel

Available in every touchpoint that a customer wants to interact with the brand, including: brick-and-mortar, website, social, phone and more. (https://www.shopify.com/enterprise/omni-channel-vs-multi-channel): (meaning "all" channels) • is a multichannel approach to sales that seeks to provide customers with a seamless shopping experience, whether they're shopping online from a desktop or mobile device, by telephone, or in a brick-and-mortar store. • The omni-channel strategy hinges on the idea that providing a seamless shopping experience in brick-and-mortar stores and through a variety of digital channels not only differentiates retailers from their peers, but also gives them a competitive edge over online-only retailers by leveraging their store assets

1.2 Security --- PA

DSS / PCI-DSS Rules and Practices:-• Every organization that handles credit cards needs to comply with PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard). • Build and maintain a secure network. • Protect cardholder data. • Implement strong access control measures. • Ensure the maintenance of information security policies. Vendors that make and sell payment applications need to meet PA DSS (Payment Application Data Security Standard).

Content Area 1: Ecommerce - Question: What is PA-DSS? When should PA-DSS be applied?

DSS? When should PA-DSS be applied?-• It helps achieve PCI-DSS compliance. • All organizations that handle cardholder data must be PCI-DSS compliant. • PA-DSS is validating compliance of a system or a program. PCI-DSS is the validation of an organization (meaning the people, systems and hardware). • The Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA-DSS) is the global security standard created by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC). PA-DSS was implemented in an effort to provide the definitive data standard for software vendors that develop payment applications. The standard aims to prevent developed payment applications for third parties from storing prohibited secure data including magnetic stripe, CVV2, or PIN. PA-DSS aim is to secure cardholders data, and make online shopping more secure in general. It could be a surprise for you, but PA-DSS is not needed for 85% of online stores, only 15% (or even less) merchants need it. Many big names are not PA-DSS compliant: Yahoo Stores, 3dcart, Volusion, Big Commerce are non-compliant for PA-DSS • In short, if customer enter credit data information on your site, you need PCI-DSS compliance (SSL or a payment gateway/ PayPal or Authorize.net). You need PA-DSS if you are storing credit card data (for subscriptions or payment outside the system). If you are using SaaS you don't need it.

1.1 Online Merchandising --- Quality URL Structure

Don't use numbers or IDs in the structure. Instead, use words. Not too many, but 75 characters or so in the url.

1.1 Online Merchandising --- Search Strategies

Keyword search Entering keywords into the query, without the cruft (and and the) Auto-suggest based on keywords and phrases, smart search engines Guided Navigation relatively expensive up and coming technology

1.6 Omnichannel --- Omnichannel Inventory Management Specs

Means maintaining inventory in multiple locations. This could take into account warehousing, retail locations and possibly drop-shipped inventory quantities. • How to handle out-of-stock merchandise: • Online: can drop-ship from suppliers or distributors. • Retail / brick-and-mortar: endless aisle systems allow customers to order items that are out of stock. This will not eliminate the problem of someone seeing that a product is not available anymore and leaving, but it might help in some situations.

1.2 Security --- Can cardholder data be transmitted or unencrypted?

No, never.

1.2 Security --- Who can see cardholder data?

Only qualified individuals may see unencrypted cardholder data.

1.2 Security --- PCI Standards and Processes

PCI Compliance Checklist: 1. Safeguard cardholder data by implementing and maintaining a firewall. 2. Create custom passwords and other unique security measures rather than using the default setting from your vendor-supplied systems. 3. Safeguard stored cardholder data. 4. Encrypt cardholder data that is transmitted across open, public networks. 5. Anti-virus software needs to implemented and actively updated. 6. Create and sustain secure systems and applications. 7. Keep cardholder access limited by need-to-know. 8. Users with digital access to cardholder data need unique identifiers. 9. Physical access to cardholder data needs to be restricted. 10. Network resources and cardholder data access needs to be logged and reported. 11. Run frequent security systems and processes tests. 12. Address information security throughout your business by creating a policy. ------------------------------------- https://www.hackerguardian.com/what-is-pci-compliance.html • https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/pci-compliance/#what-is-the-pci-dss o 1. Create own firewall configuration policy; develop a configuration test procedure that's designed to protect cardholder data. Ensure that hosting providers have firewalls in place. (build and maintain a secure network) o 2. Not use vendor-supplied defaults for system passwords and other security parameters. Create, maintain and update unique system passwords and not use the ones that the software vendor would have supplied them. (build and maintain a secure network) o 3. Hosting provider should provide multiple layers of defense plus a secure data protection model with a blend of physical and virtual security methods. (protect cardholder data) o 4. If you store cardholder data, ensure transmission of cardholder data across open, public, public networks is always done in an encrypted manner. (as an added seurity measure sensitive authentication data like PIN numbers, card validation code etc should not be stored after authorization. (protect cardholder data) o 5. Use antivirus software and ensure that it's regularly updated. If company depends on an MSP (Managed Service Provider) for hosting data on outsourced servers, then it's to be ensured that the MSP maintains a safe environment and generates audit logs. (ensure and maintain a perfect vulnerability management program) o 6. Ensure PCI DSS compliance, companies should opt or secure systems and applications. Keep on looking for security vulnerabilities and also ensure that their hosting providers monitor and update systems and look for vulnerabilities. (ensure and maintain a perfect vulnerability management program) o 7. restrict access to cardholder data to a limited number of employees. (implement access control measures.) o 8. assign unique IDs to each person who has computer access. They should also ensure that best security practices like password management, authorization, authentication etc are followed strictly. (implement access control measures.) o 9. aiming to get PCI DSS compliance should restrict physical access to cardholder data. In case it's an off-site data center that hosts the data, then the data center provider must make sure that only limited number of people have access to the sensitive information. For PCI compliance, data centers should also do full monitoring, including entry authentication, surveillance etc. (implement access control measures.) o 10. All access to network resources, cardholder data etc should be tracked and monitored. Systems that track user activity and stored archives should be logged by hosting providers; this helps ascertain causes of security breaches, if at all they happen. (implement access control measures.) o 11. Security systems and processes need to be regularly tested. Data hosting provider should monitor and test processes in a company to ensure that customers' cardholder data is secure. (implement access control measures) o 12. Companies should maintain a concrete information security policy, which should include all acceptable uses of technology, all annual risk analysis process, operation security procedures etc. Data hosting providers should do documentation of all such processes (to streamline the information security policy)

1.2 Security --- PCI DSS

Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard

1.1 Online Merchandising --- Marketing Strategies: SEO in ecommerce

Quality URL structure Good Information Architecture Eliminate Duplicate content Sitemap • marketing discipline focused on growing visibility in organic (non-paid) search engine results. SEO encompasses both the technical and creative elements required to improve rankings, drive traffic, and increase awareness in search engines.

1.2 Security --- TLS (SSL) usage in ecommerce (https://www.globalsign.com/en/blog/ssl-vs-tls-difference/)

SSL and TLS are both cryptographic protocols that provide authentication and data encryption between servers, machines and applications operating over a network (e.g. a client connecting to a web server). SSL is the predecessor to TLS. Over the years, new versions of the protocols have been released to address vulnerabilities and support stronger, more secure cipher suites and algorithms.

1.2 Security --- SSL Usage in ecommerce

SSL when transmitting cardholder data is a must. • Preferably use TLS 1.2 but limited due to older browsers that no longer support that. • Browser vendors are pretty much forcing all sites to switch to https.

1.7 Data Analytics and Testing --- A/B Testing

Shows customers the A (original) or B (updated) version. This is good to see what users prefer more: which performs better and achieves more goal completions. • The next step is Multivariate testing. This can pit multiple versions against each other to find a winning combination. • Essentially an experiment where two or more variants for a page are shown to users at random, and statistical analysis is used to determine which variation performs better for a given conversion goal.

1.1 Online Merchandising --- Basic Steps of Setting up a new store

Strategy (90%) Competitive analysis. Who is your competition? What will set you apart? What is your competitive advantage? Technology (10%) Platform selection, hosting, deployment, and maintenance • https://www.rishabhsoft.com/blog/how-to-create-ecommerce-website-in-magento Select the store domain Add the New Store Add a Default Store View Setup the Store URL https://blog.magestore.com/start-an-online-store/ Chose a Domain Name Get Magento Instllation Package and Host Magento Files on Your Server Pick a Magento Template Customize Your Design to Match Your Brand Colors and Fonts Migrate Your Store and Import Products Fill Out Your Store Settings

1.8 Taxes --- Digital VAT

Tax assessed on software as a service sales. • VAT Mini One Stop Shop (MOSS) is an optional scheme that allows you to account for VAT - normally due in multiple EU countries - in just one EU country. • Services covered include: • Website hosting • Supply of software • Access to databases • Downloading apps or music • Online gaming • Distance teaching • MOSS means - don't need to register with tax authorities in every EU country you sell to, instead, you can register for VAT, file VAT returns and make payments in one single place. You must apply the rules of the MOSS scheme to your. Customers in all EU countries that you supply to. • Two schemes running under MOSS: • The union scheme, for businesses established in the EU or with at least one branch based in an EU country • The non-union scheme, for businesses not established in the EU and without any branches based in the EU • Choose an option to see which scheme could work for you.

Content Area 1: Ecommerce - Question: What does the acronym MOSCOW stand for? How is it used?

The MoSCoW Method is an acronym made up of the first letters. The two Os have been added to make the word 'moscow' readable, they don't have any meeting themselves • M - must haves • S - should haves • C - could haves • W - wont or would haves • Method of prioritization technique used in management, business analysis, project management, and software development to reach a common understanding with stakeholders on the important they place on the delivery of each requirement. Also known as MoSCoW prioritization or analysis.

1.2 Security --- PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard)

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a set of security standards designed to ensure that ALL companies that accept, process, store or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment.

Content Area 1: Ecommerce - Question: What are SMART requirements?

The idea behind project management. • Specific: the task must be defined. • Manageable: the task must not be of gargantuan proportions. • Assignable: the task must be able to be given to someone(s). • Relevant: the task must be able to be completed given current bandwidth. • Time-related: the task must be able to be completed within a certain time.

1.6 Omnichannel --- Buy online / ship to store (pick-up-in-store)

The latest trend. This can be an effective means of keeping customers in the store. While it might not save the company any money (as they still often have to ship it), they can expect more people to make purchases while in the store. Walmart has seen this enough that they have offered steep discounts on certain Site-To-Store purchases. • Adds a shipping method that creates win-win situation for both customers and merchants. Customers don't have to pay the shipment fee, while merchants don't have to deal with shipping. Allows customers to buy products online and select their preferred store to pick up orders when checkout

1.1 Online Merchandising --- Word of mouth marketing

The most effective marketing strategy. A customer loves your brand so much that they tell others about it

1.7 Data Analytics and Testing --- Optimization:

The process of continually editing and working with the website to increase sales.

1.1 Online Merchandising --- Duplicate Content

Using rel="canonical" to avoid duplicate content flags. • The canonical tag tells search engines which single URL is the source for that product. • Common within Magento will be a product in multiple categories, resulting in the same product page accessible via several URL paths (one for each category). If you don't tell Google which URL is the "master" (vs. the duplicates), Google will pick one. • Ensuring that those canonical links exist.

1.8 Taxes --- VAT

Value Added Tax Assessed at different times in the production process Sales tax is assessed on the final value of a sale • Value added tax. Normally pay VAT on all goods and services, up to and including the sale to the final consumer. This could also include each stage of a production process, i.e. buying components, assembly, shipping etc.

1.2 Security --- PCI SAQ

self-assessment questionnaire. a detailed piece of information to assess whether you and your website are following best security practices.

1.7 Data Analytics and Testing --- Personalization: (Analytics and testing)

Ways to make the website be unique to a user. This could be things like using the customer's name, showing them products that they are interested in (based on other purchases), or adjusting sales emails to how they have responded to previous emails.

1.4 Laws and Regulations -- Disability Compliance Issues

Websites need to be "handicap accessible" by April 2018 • Disability compliance issues (ADA and its international equivalents) • The importance of "The American Disabilities Act" in the eCommerce and IT vertical has become prevalent and critical with the 2010 amendment of the ADA act. • ADA initially amended in 1990 • ADA Standards for Accessible Design published in September 2010. • All electronic and information technology must be accessible to people with disabilities • A11y refers to the design of products, devices, services or environments for people wo experience disabilities. With responsive designs (rendering on Tablets/Mobiles and other form factors), the need for a11y becomes super critical for people with disabilities. (Accessibility is often abbreviated a the numeronym a11y, where the number 11 refers to the number of letters omitted. ) • ADA compliant https://www.dckap.com/blog/magento-ecommerce-ada-compliance/ • Align to the basic coding standards like having the "ID"s unique, having appropriate naming conventions • Alternate text • Skip to main content • All functionalities should be accessible from keyboard • Captions need to be mentioned for all multimedia files • Explicit error messages • Tables should have app column and row headings and tagged to the appropriate header tags • Link for PDF installer software • Headers to be app tagged to heading tags (h1) rather than just making it bold. • Required form fields should be tagged as required • Documents should have proper titles associated with it • Sitemap to be tagged to all appropriate pages • Fonts used should be available across all platforms • Have an accessibility guide 0 help the persons with disabilities to understand the accessibility features and how to play around with them. • Provide way for visitors to request accessible information or services by posting a tele number or email address on homepage. Establish procedures that ensure a quick response to users with disabilities who are trying to obtain information or services in this way • Enlist disability groups to test your pages for ease of use; use feedback to increase accessibility of website. • US and EU privacy and data protection regulations • See above

1.2 Security --- User Data Security Standards: Europe

Working under the "Data Protection Directive" (applies to all business and sectors.) May 25th 2018, the "General Data Protection Regulation" will take full effect (GDPR will apply to businesses in the UK)c • http://eugdpr.org/the-regulation/ • https://www.pensar.co.uk/blog/prepare-your-business-for-the-gdpr 1. Assemble your GDPR compliance team 2. Review your current IT security policy and data handling procedures 3. Update your Privacy Policy 4. Develop a data breach notification plan

1.1 Online Merchandising --- Cross-selling

selling-• After the customer has added the product to the cart, we do not want to show choices to what they have purchased. Doing so might lead them to reconsider their options. • Cross-selling involves showing the customer complementary products: ones that will make using the original product easier or more satisfying.

1.8 Taxes --- In state/out of state

state and out-of-state taxing-• In-state: selling from one state in the US (such as KS) to someone in the same state. • Out-of-state: selling from one state in the US (such as KS) to someone outside of the state, such as MO.

Content Area 1: Ecommerce - Question: What is the process for getting a site certified as PCI compliant?

• Determine merchant level. • This determines whether a SAQ will work or if you have to have an on-site assessor. • Determine the SAQ. • Complete the SAQ. (SAQ= self assessment questionnaire)

1.8 Taxes --- Cross-border taxes

border taxing:-Selling from one country to another • If business is based in the EU, you have different VAT obligations depending where you buy from or sell to, and if you are trading in goods or services. • If selling a product to an EU-VAT registered business operating in another EU country, you don't charge VAT on that sale. If the same product is sod to the final consumer within the EU, you may need to cart VAT at the rate applicable in their country.

1.1 Online Merchandising --- Sitemap

helps search engines find the pages on your website

1.6 Omnichannel --- Magento Order Management

https://magento.com/sites/default/files8/2018-11/Magento-Order-Management-Infosheet.pdf • Magento Order Management - flexible, affordable, Saas solution that delivers a full omnichannel experience to customers wherever they shop. • Easily extend your commerce platform to better manage inventory and sell to and fulfill orders from any channel. • Helps increase sales, reduce costs, improve customer service and accelerate time to market. • Features and Benefits • Seamless order management • Order & event management • Intelligent orchestration & routing • 1 to multiple channels and devices • Pre-sale, backorders, and returns • Partial shipment and order splitting • Carrier tracking link • Global Inventory and Sourcing • Intelligent sourcing engine • Multi-source inventory view • Inventory aggregation by channel • Real-time adjustments ensuring stock accuracy • Safety stock management • Single interface to view global inventory • Better Store fulfillment and Omnichannel experiences • Ship from store • Ship to store • Buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS) • Endless aisle of inventory • Mobile POS extends clienteling • Pick, pack and ship from store • Centralized customer service • Order details/status/cancellations • Modify shipping address • Automated refunds • Easily modi • Better business intelligence • (https://www.magestore.com/order-fulfillment-management) • Design to make order fulfillment correct and fast • Create new orders, manage all orders and track order fulfillment process in only 5 simple steps • Streamline 5 standard steps for the fastest processing "Verify - Fullfill - Pick - Pack - Deliver" • Verify - verify upon receiving an order & print Picking list • Pick - Pick items in warehouse, scan barcodes to check • Pack - Pack items, scan barcodes again, print & add packing slips • Ship - Ship items/ Transfer items to shipping third party • In-line order editing & Touchscreen supported allow staffs to save time working on each step of order processing. • Multi-warehouse fulfillment made easy & correctly • API integration with all Magento supported supping carriers • Overview • 1. Manage Order Fulfillment with ease - • Verify order (optional): sales staff can confirm and edit customer's shipping & billing address • Check available stock: separate orders into 2 groups whether all ordered items are available in stock or not. • Pick items: print picking list for multiple orders at once, scan barcode to verify picked items • Pack items: able to create multiple packages for an order, scan barcode again, print & add packing slips • Deliver packages: displas shipping information and tracking number provided by carrier • 1.1 Assign staff roles in Order Processing • Faster to complete order processing when you have staff specialized in each step of the flow. Enhances accuracy and security throughout the whole order processing flow • 1.2 Scan barcode to speed up order processing • With barcode scanner, you can improve the speed and accuracy of the Magento order processing automation. (2 step barcode scanning) Scan the first time to ensure you've picked right items, scan second time in packing to double-check. Saves time and potential costs.

1.2 Security --- User Data Security Standards: Cananda

https://www.servercloudcanada.com/2017/10/privacy-law-canada/ PIPEDA, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, protects consumer data across the country. Canadian provinces have additional regulations that sectors must follow. PIPEDA holds private organizations accountable for protecting information during transit and outsourcing. While information can cross borders, the Canadian business remains liable for any problems.

1.1 Online Merchandising --- Email Marketing

the use of email to continue brand awareness. This remains as one of the most effective means of communication • is the act of sending a commercial message, typically to a group of people, using email. In its broadest sense, every email sent to a potential or current customer could be considered email marketing. It usually involves using email to send advertisements, request business, or solicit sales or donations, and is meant to build loyalty, trust, or brand awareness. Marketing emails can be sent to a purchased lead list or a current customer database. The term usually refers to sending email messages with the purpose of enhancing a merchant's relationship with current or previous customers, encouraging customer loyalty and repeat business, acquiring new customers or convincing current customers to purchase something immediately, and sharing third-party ads.

1.1 Online Merchandising --- Social Marketing

the use of social media to spread the word about your company and interact with customers

1.1 Online Merchandising --- Marketing Strategies: Affiliate Marketing

using incentives such as cashback and other rewards to encourage people to recommend your brand • type of performance-based marketing in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought by the affiliate's own marketing efforts. • A marketing arrangement by which an online retailer pays commission to an external website for traffic or sales generated from its referrals

1.5 System Development --- Waterfall

working toward a once-in-a-long time release schedule. • Waterfall: follows sequential, linear process and is the most popular version of the systems development cycle (SDLC) for software engineering and IT projects. • The team cant go back to a previous stage without starting the whole process from the beginning. And, before team can move to next stage, requirements may need to be reviewed and approved by the customer. • Stages of Waterfall • Requirements, Design, Implementation, Verification, Maintenance

Content Area 1: Ecommerce - Question: What is a "canonical link element"?

• <link rel="canonical" href="http://example.com/wordpress/seoplugin/"> • https://yoast.com/rel-canonical/ • This link tag tells search engines what is the original page. This is helpful to clean up duplicate content. Each of those duplicates should then point back to one page, and the page authority will be focused on that one spot. • HTML element that helps webmasters prevent duplicate content issues in search engine optimization by specifying the "canonical" or "preferred" version of a webpage. • Way of telling search engines that a specific URL represents the master copy of a page. Using the canonical tag prevents problems caused by identical or "duplicate" content appearing on multiple URLs.

1.5 System Development --- How are Agile and Scrum Similar or Different?

• Agile is a complete software development cycle. Usually focuses on smaller increments. • Scrum is based around a sprint (a set period of time for work to get done). Commitments are made to ensure that the work is completed.

Content Area 1: Ecommerce - Question: What are the main characteristics of Agile and Waterfall development methodologies?

• Agile is iterative; Waterfall is a longer period of work with less opportunities for feedback. • Waterfall was more beneficial in the days of software distribution on CD-ROM. You needed to completely finalize the software before shipping it as delivering bugs to customers was a very bad thing. Also, it needed to have plenty of upgrades for the user to feel it was worthwhile to purchase and upgrade. • Agile fits better with other delivery means (automatic). • Because one can deploy often, it gives much faster feedback, and the product doesn't have to be polished. Instead of one release a year, you can release weekly or even daily.

1.5 System Development --- Agile

• Agile: incremental, iterative approach. Instead of in-depth planning at the beginning of project. • Agile Manifesto: • 1. Highest priority - satisfy customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software • 2. Changing requirements - even late in development. Agile process harness change for the customer's competitive advantage • 3. Deliver working software frequently • 4. Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project. • 5. Build projects around motivated individuals. • 6. Most efficient and effective method of conveying info to and within a development team is fact-to-face conversation. • 7. Working software is the primary measure of progress • 8. Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely. • 9. Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility • 10. Simplicity - art of maximizing amount f work not done • 11. Best architectures, requirements and designs emerge from self-organizing teams. • 12. At regular intervals, team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly. • Agile Development Cycle • 1. Requirements, 2. Plan, 3. Design, 4. Develop, 5. Release, 6. Track & Monitor.

1.4 Laws and Regulations -- Privacy Policies by State

• California and Nevada require a privacy policy. • Pennsylvania and Nebraska say it's wrong to make false or misleading statements in a privacy policy.

1.6 Omnichannel --- Complex inventory management

• Complex inventory management - https://docs.magento.com/m2/ee/user_guide/catalog/inventory.html • Global store or product level. • When the Manage Stock option is enabled, Magento Inventory Management automatically tracks product quantities available for the site through configured stocks and sources. Every feature and option begins tracking and reporting when enabled, without additional configuration. • As customers shop, you receive exact, updated information for available stock per sales channel and source. • By default, inventory management is enabled by default when installing or upgrading Magento. Depending on business needs. • Your business runs and inventory updates at the speed of sales. As customers shop, you receive exact, updated information for available stock per sales channel and source. Available salable quantities update per stock when customers add products to cart and complete purchases and when and you manage orders, create shipments, and issue refunds. Arrivals of new or transferred stock update to your sources, immediately available for online sales. Backorders complete up to specified thresholds without infinite orders or additional configurations. And you enter and complete partial or full shipments across one or more sources with recommendations, giving you complete control over order fulfillment and on-hand inventory.

Content Area 1: Ecommerce - Question: What are best practices for protecting ecommerce user data?

• Don't store cardholder or other sensitive data. It is good to see the "saved credit card" option gone with Magento 2. • Be careful with who handles cardholder data • Use strong hashing for passwords. This is another benefit of Magento 2. • Use https on the website to protect cardholder and other data

Content Area 1: Ecommerce - Question: What are the best usability practices when building an online catalog and checkout system?

• Don't stray too much from what the user considers the norm. This can vary per demographic or age group. • Keep things simple: • < 5 choices • Clear calls to action (such as Add to Cart or Checkout) • Enough whitespace to set apart important elements. • Keep the cart link obvious, don't assume that the customer will always go straight to checkout. • Ensure the user has context for where they are on the website.

1.8 Taxes --- US and EU tax regulations - EU

• EU: • Levy set at 3 % and could raise up to 5 billion a year for Europe's coffers from the likes of Google, FB, Apple • Brussels hope the 3% levy can establish some temporary rules for digital taxation while international bodies such as the OECD work on longer-term ideas about how to revamp tax on digital earnings. • Decided by national government, along with how the collected taxes are spent • Oversee national tax rules in some areas • Free flow of goods, services and capital around the EU (in the single market) • Businesses in one country don't have an unfair advantage over competitors in another • Taxes don't discriminate against consumers, workers, or businesses from other EU countries

1.5 System Development --- Basic terms and core constituents of system development life cycles:

• Identify Current Problems: understanding problems. Customers often do this on their own, although it is good to get a second opinion. • Plan: developing a roadmap for getting the problem solved. • Design: architecting the solution: what pieces need to be built. • Build: writing the code to solve this problem. • Test: assigning to QA to ensures that everything works as expected. • Deploy: deploying the update. • Maintain: starting the cycle over again. • Used to model or provide a framework for technical and non-technical activities to deliver a quality system which meets or exceeds a business's expectations or manage decision-making progression. Following are the 7 phases of SDLC: • 1. Planning, 2. Systems Analysis & Requirements, 3. Systems Design, 4. Development, 5. Integration & Testing, 6. Implementation, 7. Operations & Maintenance • 1. Initiation, 2. Systems Concept Development, 3. Planning, 4. Requirements Analysis, 5. Design, 6. Development, 7. Integration and Test, 8. Implementation, 9. Operations and Maintenance, 10. Disposition. • 1. Planning, 2. Analysis, 3. Design, 4. Implementation, 5. Testing & Integration, 6. Maintenance • 1. Analysis, 2. Planning, 3. Design, 4. Development, 5. Testing, 6. Deployment, 7. Maintenance, 8. Evaluation, 9. Disposal

1.3 User Experience --- Usability principles and issues in ecommerce

• Interface must be easy and quick to understand. • Best is that it doesn't deviate too much from other websites /industry leaders such as Amazon. • Usability principles and issues in ecommerce 1. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) defines the two as follows: (https://www.invespcro.com/blog/7-guidelines-for-ecommerce-usability/) • Usability: the effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction with which specified users achieve specified goals in particular environments. • User Experience: a person's perceptions and responses that result from the use or anticipated use of a product, system or service. 2. Issues in ecommerce? (https://www.visiture.com/blog/ecommerce-site-ux-issues-killing-your-conversions/) • Dysfunctional search bar https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/10/5/17879072/ecommerce-ux-design-problems • Scrolling isn't intuitive for everyone • Videos on product pages can be great, as long as they don't autoplay • No moving carousels • No clear message when visitors land on site • No mobile optimization • Too many choices • Not having enough products or guidance on homepage • Not offering recommendations • Slow website speed

Content Area 1: Ecommerce - Question: How can you set up a product catalog for best search results, taking into account issues of duplicate content, meta content, meta title, keyword search terms in product description, attribute weight, and so on?

• Key is to think about what people are looking for and use those words. It is far more involved than this, as talking to customers, research in Google Analytics, and watching results over time will make the difference. • Duplicate content is bad. Thus, the rel="canonical" meta tag is very important to tell Google what is the "master" page. Magento by default brings in this issue with products: products are viewable just under the root domain (https://example.com/product-name) and also viewable under each category (https://example.com/category-name/product-name). Ensuring that the rel="canonical" is on will make that tag point to the product under the root domain. • Meta content (meta description?): is a shortened description that is often used by Google under the title of the page (the title tag). This is very important that there aren't duplicate descriptions as these can be customized to increase a customer's likelihood of clicking your url. • Keyword search terms in product description: again, what are people searching for to land on your product? These words need to be included in the product description. Not as a "keyword list" at the end (which Google won't like), but included in human readable sentences and thoughts that make sense. • In the baked-in catalog search, the attribute weight determines how likely Magento will return a match from that attribute. a. When setting up a product catalog you should focus on: i. A search engine friendly URL slug without html (use keywords that you want to rank for in the url slug) ii. Populate a proper Page Title, Meta Description with 155 characters that us shopping/action related terms like "Buy" "shop" "explore" etc. iii. Attribute weight in SOLR search, to improve the relevancy score of search results based on product attributes, assign a larger weight to those attributes. iv. Duplicate content, if you simply copy and paste product descriptions you will rank poorly for onpage content and be flagged for duplicate content in your search rankings. b. Duplicate content - ensure that each product will have a unique description and there is only a single path to the same product c. Meta content - ensure that this is populated an crawlable d. Meta title - again, make sure that his is populated and make this field indexable in search e. Keyword search terms - Google and other search engines have sworn off the Keyword field but you can fill it in if it makes you feel better. f. Attribute weight - when SOLR is used, make sure that the weights are accurately assigned an that the most relevant fields across the catalog have the greatest weight. i. To weight the search results, set Search Weight to a number from 1 to 5 under Storefront Properties.

1.3 User Experience --- Building a good user experience in ecommerce — best practices

• Maximum of 5 options • Important to give the user context of their position on the website • Clear header navigation (with possible drop-down menus) • Breadcrumbs • Good detail in footer 1. Make sure homepage is informative: description of business (who you area & specialize in), branding and corporate identity elements, website search bar, best selling products or current deals and discounts, links to core product categories and website pages, customer testimonials and reviews, call-to-action buttons, contacts and links to social media profiles. (overall no overburden with information) 2. Simplify the customer journey at all stages • Minimize # of clicks (especially relevant to the checkout process) • Show product recommendations (display similar or alternative products save time spent for customer searching on own.) • Enable registration via social networks • Turn process into a one-click operation 3. Media Content Quality • Pixel perfect images, replace low-quality images, original illustrations and icons to make content more vivid and fresh to stand out form competitors • Video marketing 4. Implementing Gamification elements • Memorable experience to users. Motivate visitors to start interactive with your website in the first place, hang out there regularly. https://magento.com/blog/best-practices/ecommerce-conversion-rate-optimization-2019-best-practices https://www.ecommerceceo.com/ecommerce-user-experience/ 1. Smarter payment processing • 2019 will see an even greater increase in the number of payment options • Frictionless payments that put shoppers in the driver's seat when it comes to choosing how they'll pay • Payment options that extend beyond traditional models, such as digital wallets, cryptocurrency, and smart payment buttons - expected to gain reater market share in the year ahead. • Quick payment methods like PayPal, Google Pay, Apply Pay etc. are replacing lengthy credit card and billing forms - significantly increasing conversion rates. • Simplification of checkout shown to shown to have significant impacts on revenue in recent checkout optimization experiments conducted as part of the Mobile Optimization Initiative. • Smart payment processing solutions that deliver convenience and security 2. Personalized shopping experience solutions • Augmented and virtual reality - no longer willing to passively buy - want to test drive before they buy online. • Artificial Intelligence - incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) technologies as a way to heighten the consumer experience. Help brands answer questions in real time, assist with product selection, and more - leads to improved personalized service and conversions • Upgrade platform capabilities - keep platform up-to-date. Ensure your ecommerce platform is current so you can leverage the latest functionality to improve conversions. (such as Smart Payment Buttons, quic checkout processes, and built-in customer segmentation and personalization.) 3. Voice Commerce • 85% of respondents were persuaded to buy based on virtual assistance's voice - 50% of searches will be voice-based by 2020. • Grab hold of voice trend will likely see a boost in their conversions. • Develop store's presences in voice apps • Implement a voice SEO strategy • Identify which items are most popular for voice commerce usrs • Enable voice-app purchasing in your store

Content Area 1: Ecommerce - Question: What is the difference between omnichannel and multichannel retailing?

• Multichannel means that each channel of interacting with a company is siloed. There is little organization and universal strategy. Seems to be mostly an anti-pattern. • Omnichannel is where all lines of access to the company are coordinated. Similar teams. The goal is to reduce the friction across the experiences and make it as seamless as possible. • Key difference is how the customer experience is joined up across those channels. • Multi-channel retailing is the practice of selling products to customers through more than one distribution channel (e.g, in-store and online). The customer experience can be and is often different between the two channels. An example would be if a company features an eCommerce store and a brick and mortar store. At times the only similarity in selling in both places is that the name on the door is the same and the logo is similar. • Omni-channel retailers seek to provide a consistent (as possible) customer experience while retailing through any number of distribution channels simultaneously. Retailers achieve the "omni-channel" designation by having. Single view of the customer and product. An example is using a single database from which data is aggregated from multiple selling segments. This usually means avoids having multiple customer, product, promotion, pricing, content, etc. databases from consistency and reporting of that single view. Customers are tracked simultaneously across all channels. Lastly, omni-channel retailers work to execute seamless marking and branding campaigns for a constant experience. An example of that is you buy an eCommerce gift card you use it igitally, but that unique code could potentially be used in-store.

1.3 User Experience --- Navigation best practices

• Navigation best practices 1. Create a menu page instead of a drop-down menu • Suggest opting for a top menu with up to 7 choice on the homepage. Visitor clicks on a top navigation item, should be redirected to a menu page that lists all the available product options within the given category. 2. Utilize short and simple category labels • Allow customers to identify the category they are interested in while keeping the navigation menu clean and neat. 3. Enable easy search • Optimized site search - positive effect on the overall site usage, improving conversion rates and contributing to customer satisfaction. • Enabling search bar throughout all the website pages and implementing the search autocomplete functionality to display possible product options based on what a user types in. 4. Provide filtering and sorting options • Highly important feature as it helps customers narrow down their choices and find the required item quicker • Revise products and divide them into simple categories for filtering depending on their type. • i.e. for clothing use size, color, occasion, brand, price range, discounts, etc. • Sorting - let customers put products in the order that is more convenient for the. (Prices from low to high, customer ratings are some examples)

Content Area 1: Ecommerce - Question: What are typical omnichannel challenges? How to allow a customer to switch channels seamslessly?

• Personalization of the experience to the customer depending on what channel they are a part of. • Real-time inventory tracking. • Difficulties managing inventory from multiple locations • New consumer expectations (time, location, convenience, choice), Increased costs, returns and distribution disruption, a light at the end of the omnichannel tunnel • Lack of inventory Visibility and metrics, poor visibility into inventory in transit, segmented supply chain processes, unreliable order fulfillment processes, finding the right transportation, reverse logistics, manual processes, overlooking physical transformation, implementing PL strategy. • Personalization of the experience to the customer depending on what channel they are a part of. • Real-time inventory tracking. • Difficulties managing inventory from multiple locations

1.5 System Development --- Best practices in testing

• Rely only on a controlled security environment for testing • Carry tests throughout the software development cycle • Break tests in small fractions • Write tests for maximum coverage • Carry regression tests • Programmers should not write tests • Note and report all tests • Clean the test code prior to final release of software product • Isolate the application from developers • Customize testing (ex. A module in an app running on a smartphone has different use cases than the tablet environment, so write the test accordingly.) • Accumulated Skilled Testers (functional and automated testers, performance testing, skills on LoadRunner, JMeter and UFT, HP ALM, Selenium (open-source tools for advanced testing) • Build a Target operating model for testing - define testing processes, methods, tools, RACI matrix and communications for testing project. Helps in the successful entry of any new team member to work toward the common objectives. • Have a mix of in-house and offshore teams 1. Keep an eye on the bigger picture (aka user experience) 2. Ask questions 3. Practice good test management and reporting 4. Recognize testing isn't an island (don't create silos between devs, testers, product owners.) 5. Adopt a technical mindset - best testers follow up collaborating with developers by adopting a more technical mindset. 6. Build creditability with business stakeholders - gain stakeholders' trust and get them to view you as an expert 7. Always keep learning (software testing changes and evolves)

Content Area 1: Ecommerce - Question: What are the requirements of the EU "cookie law"?

• Required after May 2011 (though, to my understanding, it is very poorly enforced). • It requires that a website give customers the option to opt out of cookies being set on their computer. • Requires that a website: • tells visitors that the website uses cookies. • explains what the cookies do • gets their approval for storing cookies on their computer. • (exceptions do apply)

1.5 System Development --- SCRUM

• SCRUM: subset of Agile - iterative software development model used to manage complex software and product development. Fixed length iterations, called sprints lasting one or two weeks long. End of each sprint, stakeholders and team members meet to plan next steps. • Scrum follows a set of roles, responsibilities, and meetings that never change. For example, Scrum calls for four ceremonies that provide structure to each sprint: sprint planning, daily stand-up, sprint demo, and sprint retrospective. Team will use visual artifacts like task boards or burndown chats to show progress and receive incremental feedback. • Jeff Sutherland create Scrum process 1993 • Specific roles in Scrum • Project Owner, Scrum Master, Scrum Team • Steps in Scrum Process • Product Backlog, Spring Planning, Backlog refinement/grooming, Daily Scrum meetings, Sprint review meeting, Sprint retrospective meeting. • Scrum project tools and artifacts • Scrum board, user stories, burndown chart, large-scale scrum, Timeboxing, Icebox, Scrum vs RUP, Lean vs Scrum

Content Area 1: Ecommerce - Question: When is TLS (SSL) required when transacting data online?

• SSL is required for any time credit card information is transferred from a customer's computer. • However, browsers are making SSL required. For example, a message now appears when you log into a website (entering in your password), and you are not on an SSL connection. • SSL isn't fully required (because within Magento you can submit orders without tan SSL or transact orders offline) all the time, SSL is ideally used when sending sensitive information over the network. This could be customer data, shipping/payment information and credit card numbers, expiration and CVV number. Images, scripts and the normal shopping process catalog, products, homepage) do not need to be secure

Content Area 1: Ecommerce - Question: What "social merchandising" techniques and tools are used in ecommerce?

• The features or tools that encourage people to interact with your website. • Could be a wishlist or sharing buttons. • This also would include tailoring related products or suggestions to that person. • Reviews are means of attracting social proof, which is very effective in both generating more content for a website as well as encouraging other customers to purchase. • 1. Wishlist, Sharing features on PDP • Extension for sharing with Facebook and other social media platforms • 2. Original concept was the display of ratings, likes, comments and purchases from either a social network or a broader community • This can involve onsite ratings and reviews • Currently the trend is moving towards matching customer interests

1.3 User Experience --- Good information architecture

• This describes how your website is constructed. • What are the paths to the categories? How do they relate to the products? Is there any correlation? What about breadcrumbs? How do you expect people to flow through your website? • Are there well-organized sections of content?

1.8 Taxes --- US and EU tax regulations - US

• US: • Separate federal, state, and local governments with taxes imposed at each levels • Taxes levied on income, payroll, property, sales, capital gains, dividends, imports, estates, and gifts, as well as various fees. • In 2010, taxes collected by federal, state, and municipal governments amounted to 24.8% of GDP. In the OECD, only Chile and Mexico are taxed less as a share of their GDP. • Payroll taxes - imposed by federal and all state governments. Include Social Security and Medicare taxes imposed ono both. Employers and employees, at a combined rate of 15.3% • Property taxes - imposed by local governments and many special purpose authorities based on the fair market value of property. School and other authorities are often separately governed and impose separate taxes - ranging from 0.2% to 1.9% of a property's value depending on the state. • Sales taxes - imposed by most states and some localities on the price at retail sale of many goods and some services. Vary widely from 0% to 16% • Estate and gift taxes - are imposed by the federal and some state governments on the transfer of property inheritance, by will, or by lifetime donation.

1.1 Online Merchandising --- Upselling

• Visible on a product page. • This tells customers of more expensive or (hopefully) alternative choices to what they are looking at. This provides awareness of other options on your website.

1.6 Omnichannel --- Drop ship

• When the manufacturer or another company ships the product. This can reduce warehousing needs but will significantly eat into profits 1. You sell an item on your Magento store front. 2. You email the order and shipping information to usually a supplier, wholesaler, or a manufacturer (whom you have an established relationship with) who has that inventory on-hand 3. Your vendor then picks, packs, and ships the order to your customer. - Vendor is invisible to your customer - Customer will receive item as if it was shipped directly from store - Advantages of drop shipping 1. Not keeping inventory on-hand 2. Low overhead costs 3. Sell what you want 4. Expand your reach 5. Launch your business right away - Disadvantages 1. Low margins 2. Picking right vendor 3. Unreliable vendors 4. Multiple vendors 5. Shipping costs - Magento Drop Shipping Solutions 1. Manually Drop ship If just starting off, only processing a handful of orders a day. Probably can gey by just drop shipping order manually. Meaning, when order comes in, fire off an email to the vendor or place orders yourself through the website. 2. Magento Drop shipping extensions When looking for a Magento drop shipping extensions, aspects to consider • Price: don't pay for more than what the extension is worth • Integrations: If you're selling on other sales channels like Amazon and eBay, does the extension integrate those orders too? Best to automate across all sales channels • Popularity/Customer feedback: experience with technology. Point to a good extensions and steer away from horrible one. • Splitting orders: if using multiple vendors, important to consider. Make sure extension can intelligently fulfill different parts of the same order from diff vendors. 3. Multichannel Platform Drop Shipping Solution Best for larger, more serious, retailers If selling through multiple channels, either through your Magento webstore(s) and marketplaces or a mix of online and offline channels, you're going to need to integrate all end-points (including ERP/Account systems) to drop ship successfully. Automate drop shipping process, not matter what channel the order comes from Correctly transfer order and shipping/tracking data from Magento webstore (and marketplaces) back to your back-end systems Multichannel platform can handle complex selling environment - and makes selling easier Ideal platform should allow you to work from centralized location for all orders. Look for one that allows you to create business rules for order splitting, set vendor preferences and updates inventory levels across channels A multichannel management solution makes it possible for you to quickly adapt to your evolving selling environment. You can easily add and delete suppliers when needed. Decide last minute to drop ship incoming order Better managed inventory levels so you don't oversell Easily process orders differently depending on if you drop ship them Better manage product information to create richer, more accurate product listings.

1.1 Online Merchandising --- Marketing Strategies: Multichannel Marketing

• non-integrated touch points. A customer cannot switch channels through the buying process • each touch point is siloed ("many" channels): • while less integrated, allows customers to purchase natively wherever they prefer to browse and shop.