The top 5 to-dos before kicking off your e-commerce project

The Economist found that of 15 major industries studied in late 2008, only one - e-commerce - had a sunny outlook for 2009. My analyst (techno, not psycho) tells me that 20% to 30% of firms that do business online will start a major e-commerce project in the next twelve months. Whether it is despite the current economic situation or because of it, many firms have plans for multiple e-commerce projects over the next few years.

A typical e-commerce project has high, obvious financial and branding impacts, which can make you a star if you pull it off. That's the good news.

The other news is that e-commerce projects are nothing if not visible. Your customers, executives, competitors, colleagues, cousins and dental hygienist will all see your work and have an opinion. You are like the manager of the Yankees. The stakes are high.

We've basked in the glory and sifted through the wreckage of a decade's worth of e-commerce projects to bring you this list of five things to help stack the odds in your favour:

1. Have the guts to proclaim specific goals.
   
2. Make the team a Team.
   
3. Go agile - it's not just for IT anymore.
   
4. Involve customers.
   
5. Don't reinvent the wheel.
   

Read the full article here.