Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
INFORMATION
SYSTEMS @ WORK
Museums, zoos, and aquaria are wonderful places to visit on the
weekend except for one historic nuisance: the crowds! A visit to
some public places on a Saturday morning often leaves you wait-
ing in line for an hour or more to reach the ticket counter. One of
America's most popular and prestigious aquaria, Georgia Aquari-
um, has beaten this long-standing problem with an online transac-
tion processing system, or TPS.
Billed as the world's largest aquarium, Georgia Aquarium was
a gift to the Atlanta community, the state of Georgia, and the world
from Bernie Marcus, cofounder of The Home Depot, and his wife
Billi. The $320 million facility opened in 2005, offering visitors a look
at the world's largest collection of aquatic animals. The facility
houses the world's largest single aquarium habitat: a whale shark
tank and environment that holds 8 million gallons of water.
When designing information systems for the facility, Beach
Clark, vice president of information technology, knew that the sys-
tems needed to accommodate record numbers of visitors and
transactions. Above all, the aquarium administration wanted to
avoid long lines at ticket counters and exhibits that are all too com-
mon for such businesses. The administration decided to make
strong use of Web-delivered services to shoulder the demands of
transactions and other customer needs.
Using off-the-shelf software customized to meet the aquari-
um's needs, Beach Clark and his team designed a transaction
processing system and a ticketing system unlike any previously
used for this venue. The team modified the shopping cart software
to manage ticket sale transactions and to control the number of
visitors at the aquarium during each hour of operation. Now, when
you purchase a general admissions ticket at georgiaaquarium.org,
you select the date and time you plan to arrive. When a time fills to
capacity, such as 10:00 on a Saturday morning, that time becomes
unavailable online. After purchasing tickets, visitors can print the
tickets at home so upon arrival, they simply present their tickets at
the door and begin the tour.
Aquarium administrators unexpectedly found that, in the first
months of operation, 90 percent of tickets were purchased online,
an unprecedented percentage. Visitors, anticipating large crowds
at the new facility, used the online service to guarantee admission.
While the percentage of tickets purchased online has decreased
over the years, most visitors still purchase and print tickets prior to
arrival.
Advance ticket sales provide the aquarium with a number of
benefits. The biggest benefit is being the first aquarium to claim
“no lines, no waiting.” Also, the aquarium can keep crowd conges-
tion inside the exhibits to a reasonable limit. Advance ticket sales
also mean management can plan ahead and determine how many
staff and other resources to have on hand at any time.
In addition to ticket sales, Georgia Aquarium uses its Web site
for scheduling volunteer work hours. The personnel department
manages nearly 1,000 volunteers online. The Web site has also
processed more than $2 million from over 40,000 donors. Recent-
ly, Georgia Aquarium has started providing audio tours of the facili-
ty for download to iPods from the Web site. Visitors arrive with their
iPods loaded with audio files designed to lead them through the
exhibits.
The automation of transaction processing provides buyers and
sellers with many benefits. The smart implementation of transac-
tion processing systems exhibited by Georgia Aquarium provides
its customers and management with more services than tradition-
al forms of transaction processing could ever offer.
Discussion Questions
1.
How has Georgia Aquarium's Web site provided easier transac-
tions for visitors?
2.
How does Georgia Aquarium's management benefit from its
unique approach to online ticket sales?
Critical Thinking Questions
1.
How might an aquarium, zoo, or museum use technology to
speed transaction processing for patrons who visit but have
not purchased tickets in advance?
2.
How do you think Georgia Aquarium deals with customers that
arrive at an hour when advance tickets have sold to capacity?
Sources:
Computerworld staff, “No lines, no waiting with the Georgia
Aquarium's Web-based reservation and ticketing system,” Computerworld,
August 14, 2007,
www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?
Aquarium Web site,
www.georgiaaquarium.org,
accessed June 29, 2008.
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