644
Developing and Delivering Online Courses
courses and electives have to be offered so that a
typical student can graduate within a reasonable
time. Indeed, it is best to list the courses that a
typical student would take in each semester. Ag-
gregating this over all students, who may enter
into the program at different times, one can ar-
rive at the courses that need to be offered each
semester. Depending upon the number of students
in the program, this requirement sets a minimum
frequency and minimum number of sections of
each course. This plan, in turn, determines the
teaching capacity needed. Thus, the number
of courses required to graduate, the number of
students in the program, the time taken by an
average student to graduate, and the planned
schedule for offering the courses determine the
capacity needed. The university should ensure
that the capacity can be made available without
disrupting other programs.
The time to graduate is an important parameter.
To understand its implication, consider a program
w i t h a t o t a l o f 3 2 c r e d i t s (w h i c h i s c o m m o n i n M B A
programs). Suppose the curriculum consists of 16
two-credit courses, which we shall designate as
A1, A2, A3, A4, B1, B2, …., D4. Courses usually
have a prerequisite structure. We will assume a
simple prerequisite structure: A1 is a prerequi-
site for A2; A2 is a prerequisite for A3, A3 is a
prerequisite for A4, B1 is a prerequisite for B2,

…, D3 is a prerequisite for D4. Each course runs
for 8 weeks, and a semester is 16 weeks long.
Suppose a student can handle only one course at
a time, and thus takes two courses per semester,
which are offered one after the other in the same
semester. Consider the case of 25 new students
entering the program every year. When a steady
state is achieved, the scenario that evolves in
terms of courses offered and enrollment in each
course over a period of 1 year may be depicted
DVLQ)LJXUH7KHWDEOHLVUHDGDV¿UVW\HDU
VWXGHQWVHQUROOLQ&RXUVH$LQWKH¿UVWKDOIRIIDOO
semester and in course A2 during the second half,
and so on. After completing Courses A1 through
A4, a student becomes a second-year student and
moves on to B courses.
Notice that the university will have, at any time,
a total of 100 active students, and will need to track
that many students. With the same capacity, the
same curriculum, the same number of students
admitted per year, and the same schedule of course
offerings, now suppose a student can take two
courses at a time. Then the students will need
only 2 years to graduate, and the scenario will
be as shown in Figure 5. This table is read as: 25
¿UVW\HDUVWXGHQWVHQUROOLQFRXUVHV$DQG%LQ
WKH¿UVWKDOIRIWKHIDOOVHPHVWHUFRXUVHV$DQG
B2 in the second half and so on. Notice that now
there are only 50 active students to keep track of.
Encouraging students to take more courses at the

same time can reduce some cost for the university
for the same throughput. (This is indeed a strategy
advocated in operations management to reduce
work-in-process inventory.)
The relationship between various parameters
can be summarized using some equations and
formulas.
Let
C = total credits required for graduation
c = credits that a typical student takes in a year
T = the average time to graduate.
Then T = C/c years.
Let
e = the rate of enrollment in students/year
S = the average number of active students in the
program
Then S = e(C/c) = eT.
Some of these parameters will be useful in
computing certain costs. For example, if a student
information system costs x dollars per student
per year, then the annual cost of the system for a
given program will be xS = xeT = xe(C/c). This
goes to show that as c increases the cost decreases.
Since many other administrative costs also fol-
645
Developing and Delivering Online Courses
low the same pattern, it is safe to say that there
will be cost savings as c increases. It is generally
believed that because online courses avoid com-
muting, students are willing to take more credits

in a year, implying c will be larger and, therefore,
many types of administrative costs will be less
for online courses,
Let
k = average class size for a course.
Then the minimum number of sections of the
course to be offered in a year = e/k.
Let
y = cost per credit of teaching a section of a course
(assumed to be the same for every course).
Then total annual teaching cost = y (e/k) C,
Because the cost is inversely proportional to k,
there is a tendency to increase k. It has there-
fore become a common practice to use k as
one of the measures of quality of education
at an institution. The maller the value of k,
the higher is the perceived quality.
Let
z = tuition fee per credit.
Then the total annual revenue = zSc = zeC. Since
S and c are related, it is better to use the
expression zeC to analyze interrelationships.
Note that z and C are easily controlled by
the university. Because a university may in-
crease one or both of them in its enthusiasm
to increase revenue, the value of zC, which
is the total tuition for the whole program, is
used in rating a program. Higher the value
of zC, more cautious the students will be in
enrolling in the program.

Figure 4. The scenario where an average student takes 4 years to graduate
Total 100 students Fall Semester Spring Semester
25 I year Students A1 A2 A3 A4
25 II year Students B1 B2 B3 B4
25 III year Students C1 C2 C3 C4
25 IV year Students D1 D2 D3 D4
Figure 5. The scenario where an average student takes 2 years to graduate
Total 50 students Fall Semester Spring Semester
25 I year Students
A1
B1
A2
B2
A3
B3
A4
B4
25 II year Students
C1
D1
C2
D2
C3
D3
C4
D4
646
Developing and Delivering Online Courses
Revenues from tuition fees and government
grants are to be compared against the costs. The

costs include the cost of instructors, technical
staff, academic and administrative overhead,
technical overhead, and curriculum development
FRVWV,WLVGLI¿FXOWWRJLYHDQ\JXLGHOLQHVDERXW
these costs because they vary widely depending
on the type of university. A cost that is unique to
online courses is the cost of course development.
Even this cost can vary widely. Boettcher (2002)
provides an estimate that it can vary anywhere
from $92,000 to $368,000! The school should
carefully estimate its costs. Needless to say, a
comparison of total revenues and total costs is
QHFHVVDU\ IRU ¿QDQFLDO FRQWURO DQG VXFFHVV RI
the program.
Course Development
The process of developing courses is extensive
DQGLWKDVJUHDWLQÀXHQFHRQWKHTXDOLW\RIWKH
curriculum. It therefore has to be controlled well,
and will require a lot of effort.
7KH ¿UVW VWHS LQ GHYHORSLQJ D FRXUVH LV WR
train the developers. (It is assumed that the uni-
versity has already designed the content of the
whole curriculum and the individual courses,
as described under the sections on curriculum
planning and curriculum control. It is also as-
sumed that the technical support has been hired,
as described in the section on technical support.)
Training will require assistance from technicians
as well as content specialists. Technical training
requires the developers to learn the essentials

about the software that is going to be used for
creating course Web sites. Types of technology
necessary to deliver online courses are listed
by Folkers (2005). Currently, commonly used
software is Desire2Learn or D2L. Additionally,
the developers also learn some pedagogical and
technical aspects of developing online courses.
For instance, the developers need to know the
strengths and weaknesses of online courses (most
of which are discussed later in this chapter). They
need to know what type of technical feature, such
as quiz or discussion, is suitable for different top-
ics. Some technical features are discussed later
in the chapter.
While scheduling the development of a course,
it may be noted that at least one semester’s time
is necessary to develop one course by a trained
developer combined with an experienced tech-
nician. A conservative approach is to combine
one summer and the following semester as the
scheduled to time to develop a course.
The course development schedule and the
¿UVWWLPH FRXUVHRIIHULQJ VFKHGXOH VKRXOG EH
FRRUGLQDWHG SURSHUO\ 6SHFL¿FDOO\ WKH\ VKRXOG
EHFRRUGLQDWHGLQVXFKDZD\WKDWWKH¿UVWFRKRUW
of students is able to take the courses as planned
and graduate as planned. This constraint can put
some strain both on the university and the students
when it comes to electives. The university may
be forced to develop many elective courses in a

short time, and many students may be forced to
take an elective course just because it is the only
one being offered.
When a course is developed, the usual practice
is the university pays the developer a contracted
amount of remuneration and the course becomes
the property of the university. The university can
then use either the developer or any other instructor
to teach the course. This raises some important
issues. A developer may not be willing to share the
course material with another instructor interested
in teaching the course. On the other hand, the
potential instructor, who is not the developer, may
not like to teach the course designed by another
person. Another issue is the maintenance of course
content. After a course is developed, any changes
in the content must be consistent with preserving
integrity of the content. One way to deal with this
LVVXHLVWRKDYHD³IDFXOW\LQFKDUJH´IRUHDFK
course, who may be the developer. This person
has the authority over changes to the content.
Sometimes, content change becomes mandatory,
as in the case when the textbook goes to a new
edition. In any case, a course should be updated
647
Developing and Delivering Online Courses
at least once in 5 years. In reality, most courses
are updated once in 3 years. The university has
to be aware of these issues and make them clear
to the faculty.

To ensure good quality of a course, a good
practice is to have at least two faculty members
involved in developing a core course. The reason
is to have some kind of peer review. The team
of developers can inspect each other’s work and
offer constructive criticism. As in any academic
product, peer review is the key to quality. Also,
h a v i n g mo r e t h a n o n e fa c u l t y m e m b e r i n vo lv e d i n
WKHGHYHORSPHQWRIDFRXUVHRIIHUVWKHÀH[LELOLW\
in scheduling.
For an elective course, whenever possible,
more than one faculty member should be used to
develop the course. Often this may not be possible,
because only one faculty member may have the
expertise in the specialized area. In such cases,
the university may have an additional constraint
to deal with while scheduling courses.
What is Expected of the Faculty
The faculty developing online courses need to
develop lectures using multimedia technology,
systems facilitating online discussions and as-
signments, exams and projects appropriate for
online mode of delivery. As online courses are
inherently asynchronous in nature, it is important
for a faculty delivering an online course to post
alert messages regularly. It is a useful practice to
urge students to access the course regularly and
frequently. It is important to communicate with
WKHVWXGHQWVWKDWDOWKRXJKWKH\KDYHWKHÀH[LELOLW\
to learn the material at any convenient time, the

VWXGHQWVKDYHWRGRLWZLWKLQWKHVSHFL¿HGGHDGOLQH
in order to keep up with the pace of class.
Even though the online mode of delivery pro-
YLGHVDIDFXOW\WKHÀH[LELOLW\WRLQWHUDFWZLWKVWX-
dents at any convenient time, a common practice
is to set a reasonable time limit within which they
can expect responses to their questions. Similar
practice should be adopted by the faculty regarding
grading and returning of grades, and providing
timely feedback to the students. It is useful to
communicate such policies to the students very
early in the course so that students have realistic
expectations on receiving feedback.
Group exercises could include assignments
such as discussions on topic areas and research
projects. Group exercises have a different dynam-
ics in online courses. As the students do not have
opportunity to interact with other students as read-
ily as in an on-site mode of delivery, the faculty
may have to form initial groups of students based
RQSUR¿OHLQIRUPDWLRQRIWKHVWXGHQWV6WXGHQW
inputs/preferences can be taken into consideration
in forming groups. Students may have clear pref-
erences of group members, as they may have had
the opportunity to develop working relationships
with some of the students while participating in
other online courses in the program.
Participation in group-discussion assignments
VKRX OGEHZLW KL QDFOHDUO\V SHFL¿HG WL PHZLQGRZ
Real-time discussions tend to be problematic if

the students are dispersed in different geographic
locations. A faculty should monitor discussions
periodically and provide feedback and guidance
to make discussions meaningful.
A faculty needs to develop assignments and
exams for the course and make them available
DWVSHFL¿HGWLPHVWKURXJKDVWDQGDUGL]HGPRGH
of technology. The technology should facilitate
DGPLQLVWHULQJRIWKHH[DPDWDVSHFL¿HGWLPH,Q
addition, the technology should allow students to
be able to complete their assignments and exams
and submit them effectively. Finally, given the
time and distance constraints on online delivery,
the faculty has to take special care to maintain
integrity of exams and assignments.
What is Expected of the Students
In addition to the commonly required computer
technology in education, students in an online
course need to have easy access to Internet tech-
nologies. Students need to access the course Web
648
Developing and Delivering Online Courses
site regularly and complete all course activities as
required. Students have to pay special attention
to observing deadlines, as deadlines have a dif-
fere nt nat u re i n online c ou rses when compared t o
traditional onsite courses. For example, deadlines
in an online course may not necessarily fall on
a periodic basis similar to onsite courses, where
deadlines commonly fall on a particular day(s)

of the week throughout the semester.
7KHWLPHDQGORFDWLRQÀH[LELOLW\LQWKHOHDUQ-
ing process in an online course adds a level of
complexity in managing group projects. Students
have to make special efforts to work successfully
LQJURXSV&RQÀLFWVPD\EHDORWKDUGHUWRPDQ-
age in an online environment compared to onsite
classes. Finally, students have to make a special
effort to preserve the integrity of assignments and
exams. This is especially important if the online
courses do not require students to take their exams
in a supervised environment.
A weakness of online education is that cheating
can be easier online than F2F. (This point is elabo-
rated later in the next section.) Many universities
require the students to sign an honor code.
Strengths and Weaknesses of Online
Courses
There are many strengths and weaknesses of
online courses. Demirdjian (2002) provides a
GHWDLOHGGHVFULSWLRQRIEHQH¿WVDQGGLVDGYDQWDJHV
of online education. In this section, we provide
a brief description of strengths and weaknesses
from the standpoint of faculty and students.
Strengths
/HWXV¿UVWORRNDWWKHVWUHQJWKVIURPWKHVWDQG-
point of the instructors of online courses. The
asynchronous nature of the delivery provides
VLJQL¿FDQWÀH[LELOLW\SUHSDUDWLRQDQGGHOLYHU\
of the courses. The instructor has the ability to

modify the course content, and carry out course
activities, such as grading or monitoring discus-
sions, at any time from anywhere.
Curriculum control is easier with online than
onsite courses, because the course content is
very visible, and there is a complete record of
what happened during the previous offering of a
course. The instructor can study this record and
SODQPRGL¿FDWLRQVWRWKHFRQWHQWRUWKHFRQGXFW
RIWKHFRXUVHYHU\HI¿FLHQWO\2QVLWHFRXUVHVGR
not have a record, and a mistake can recur easily.
Continuous improvement is thus much easier with
online courses than onsite courses.
It is easy to enforce deadlines in online courses.
Exams can be made available only during a par-
ticular time window. The online folders into which
students submit their assignments and tests can
be made to appear or disappear at predetermined
times. A time stamp is automatically made on
every submission.
It is easy to track student participation in online
courses. The instructor can select and view all
the online activities of a particular student. The
system can provide statistics such as how often
a student logged on to the course Web site and
how long he/she stayed online. Overall statistics,
such as which day of the week the students are
most active, can also be obtained, Such data can
not only help with grading, but also can provide
DEDVLVIRUFRXUVHPRGL¿FDWLRQV

The quality of discussion can be enhanced
VLJQL¿FDQWO\LQRQOLQHFRXUVHV,QDQRQOLQHGLVFXV-
sion, a student has more time to organize his/her
thoughts, compose his/her messages, and post
them at his/her convenience. It is also seen that
this improves the writing skills of the students.
In onsite classes, a student has only a limited
amount of time to voice his/her opinion. At times,
especially in the case of business managers, it is
indeed desirable that a person is able to respond
to a question on the spot. If such a skill is deemed
necessary in an online class discussion, the format
of the discussion can be changed from the usual
bulletin board to online chat.
649
Developing and Delivering Online Courses
It is easy to have a guest lecture or a guest
instructor in an online course. The guest can be
anywhere physically and can communicate asyn-
chronously. In other words, the guest is neither
time bound nor place bound. A prominent guest
FDQEHLQYLWHGWRDFODVVDWVLJQL¿FDQWO\UHGXFHG
cost. If the guest agrees, the guest lecture can be
repeated in the next offering of the course at no
additional cost.
Next, let us look at the strengths of online
courses from the standpoint of the students. The
DV\QFKURQRXVQDWXUHRIWKHFRXUVHSURYLGHVÀH[-
ibility and convenience to the students. Onsite
classes tend to be rigid in the sense that students

cannot continue with the program if they are
required to change locations of their workplace.
Online programs allow the students to move to
different locations and still continue with the
program. Many MBA students tend to travel on
their job more often than other students. Thus,
online courses are particularly suitable for MBA
students.
Although a course may have set tasks for ev-
ery week, within a week the students have a lot
of freedom. They can read or listen to a lecture
DQ\ QXPEHU RI WLPHV EHFDXVH WKH OHFWXUH ¿OH
is available online. In the F2F mode, students
get only one chance to listen to a lecture in the
FODVVURRP$QRQOLQHDXGLR¿OHFDQEHVWRSSHG
DQGVWDUWHGRUHYHQ³UHZRXQG´DQGUHSOD\HGDQ\
number of times.
6WXGHQWVZLOO¿QGFODVVURRPGLVFXVVLRQVPRUH
effecting online than F2F. In the F2F mode, stu-
dents do not get enough time to think about the
question and organize their thoughts. At the end
of the class they might think of things that they
should have said during the discussion. In an
RQOLQHGLVFXVVLRQVWXGHQWVJHWVXI¿FLHQWWLPHWR
assemble their thoughts and post them. They also
get good practice in writing effectively.
Administrators also gain several advantages.
They can review, at any time during the course or
at the end of the course, how well it is progress-
ing, or progressed, by reviewing all that has hap-

pened—discussions, quizzes, exercises, home-
work, and exams—during the course. Reviews
RI))FRXUVHVLQWKLVPXFKGHWDLODUHGLI¿FXOW
at best. Administrators can maintain uniformity
of course content, irrespective of who is teaching
the course, by maintaining the course content the
same in all offerings of the course.
Weaknesses
Online courses have several inherent weaknesses.
The most serious is the issue of preventing aca-
GHPLFGLVKRQHVW\RIWKHVWXGHQWV,WLVGLI¿FXOWWR
check against cheating in exams and assignments.
To mitigate this problem, some schools require the
VWXGHQWVWRWDNHDWOHDVWWKH¿QDOH[DPDWDWHVW
site so that the test can be proctored. However, this
defeats the purpose of not having to be place and
WLPHERXQG6RPHVWXGHQWVPD\¿QGLWGLI¿FXOW
to go to the test site at an appointed time. In the
case of assignments, because there will be too
many of them in a course, it is not possible to ask
the students to go to a site at an appointed time
to complete an assignment. As mentioned in the
previous section, some schools ask the students to
sign an honor code to take care of this issue.
A special kind of cheating is the availability of
paper mills that sell term papers on any subject,
for a fee. Instructors should actively guard against
such cheating practices. Austin and Brown (2002)
present a set of resources available to locate paper
mills. Also, turnitin.com is a popular Web site for

instructors in this regard.
Online courses also result in reduced per-
sonal contact with other students and faculty in
the course. A common complaint is that online
education is dehumanizing. The asynchronous
nature of the course delivery is the source of
many strengths, and strangely, it is also a source
RIRQHSDU WLFXOD UZHDN QHVV,WP DNHVLWG LI ¿FX OWWR
enforce timely participation of students through
timely intervention. It is easier to persuade and
650
Developing and Delivering Online Courses
counsel a student in F2F courses than in online
courses. As a result, the attrition rate in online
programs is generally greater than those in F2F
programs.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
Online education has emerged as the most success-
ful form of distance education. It frees students
from being place and time bound. It is estimated
that, currently, there are more than 125,000 stu-
dents enrolled in online MBA programs alone.
Online education is thus a major form of e-busi-
ness. This chapter provides some guidelines on
starting an online degree program. Though not
exhaustive, these guidelines cover most of the
important aspects of online programs.
The chapter covered several aspects of online
program development, starting with how conso-
nance with the mission is important. Under cur-

riculum planning and curriculum control, several
useful guidelines have been provided. Next, the
importance of assurance of learning was pointed
out. In the case of MBA program, some aspects of
AACSB accreditation requirements were pointed
out. These guidelines are transferable to other
programs as well.
The tasks of technical support were explained,
both during course development and course offer-
ing. The need for marketing plans, and the costs
involved, were noted. In the case of scheduling
of course offerings, several parameters that affect
the program administration were highlighted.
Useful guidelines for course development were
suggested.
The attention then turned to faculty and stu-
dent expectations, and strengths and weaknesses
of online courses. Numerous strengths and some
weaknesses of online mode of delivery were de-
scribed. It is hoped that this coverage is helpful
to those who are planning the development of an
o n l i n e p r o g r a m . I t s h o u l d a l s o b e n o t e d t h a t o n l i n e
education is advancing in scope and technology
rapidly, and one should be in constant touch with
the latest developments to keep oneself current.
REFERENCES
Austin, M., & Brown, L. (2002). Internet pla-
giarism: Developing strategies to curb student
academic dishonesty. In L. Foster, B. Bower, &
L. Watson (Eds.), Distance education: Teaching

and learning in higher education (pp. 258-267).
Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing.
Blake, C., Gibson, J. W., & Blackwell, C. W.
(2005). What you need to know about the web.
SuperVision, 66(9), 3-7.
Bloom, B. S. (1984). Taxonomy of educational
objectives. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Boettcher, J. (2002). How much does it cost to put
a course online? It all depends. In L. Foster, B.
Bower, & L. Watson, (Eds.), Distance education:
Teaching and learning in higher education (pp.
258-267). Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing.
Bryant, S. M., Kahle, J. B., & Schafer, B. A. (2005).
Distance education: A review of the contemporary
literature. Issues in Accounting Education, 20,
(3), 255-272.
Crawford, K. (2005). A degree of respect for online
MBAs Web-based programs lack Ivy prestige,
but they can boost aspiring executives’ fortunes.
Business 2.0, 6(11), 102-103.
Demirdjian, Z. S. (2002). The virtual university:
Is it a panacea or a Pandora’s box? Journal of
American Academy of Business, 1(2), 172-178.
Folkers D. A. (2005). Competing in the mar-
ketspace: Incorporating online education into
higher education - An organizational perspective.
Information Resources Management Journal ,
18(1), 61-77.
Gronlund, N. E. (2005). Assessment of student
achievement. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc.

651
Developing and Delivering Online Courses
+RO V D SSO H &  : / H H  3R V W $    ' H¿ Q L QJ
and promoting e-learning success: An information
systems perspective. Decision Sciences Journal
of Innovative Education, I, (1), 67-85.
Marks, R. B., Sibley, S. D., & Arbaugh, J. B.
(2005). A structural equation model of predictors
for effective online learning. Journal of Manage-
ment Education, 29, (4), 531-563.
Palomba, C. A., & Banta, T. (1999). Assessment
essentials: Planning, implementing, and improv-
ing sssessment in higher rducation. New York:
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Suskie, L. (2004). Assessing student learning: A
common sense guide. Boston: Anker Publishing
Company, Inc.
Walvoord, B. E. (2004). Assessment clear and
simple: A practical guide for institutions, depart-
ments, and general education. New York: John
Wiley & Sons, Inc.
This work was previously published in E-Business Process Management: Technologies and Solutions, edited by J. Sounder-
pandan and T. Sinha, pp. 231-249, copyright 2007 by IGI Publishing (an imprint of IGI Global).
652
Copyright © 2009, IGI Global, distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.
Chapter 2.20
Developing an Online Fleet
Management Service:
AlertDriving.com
Ron Craig

Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada
Detlev Nitsch
Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This case illustrates the new generation of e-
business ventures made possible by the Internet
and enabling information and communication
technologies. AlertDriving is a recent Canadian
start-up, which has moved through the microbusi-
ness to the small business stage, and aims for
continued growth. First-to-market with a Web-
EDVHGGULYHUWUDLQLQJDQGÀHHWULVNPDQDJHPHQW
service, the business combines e-learning, risk
management, and e-business. Their new approach
replaces traditional methods of classroom and
behind-the-wheel driver training and paper-based
ÀHHWPDQDJHPHQWV\VWHPV*URZWKKDVEURXJKW
ERWKRSSRU WX QLWLHVDQGFKDOOHQJHVWRWKH¿UPDQG
its two entrepreneurs/brothers. In particular, they
face important decisions concerning continuing
WRJURZUHYHQXHDQGSUR¿W
ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND
Incorporated in 2001 by the Martin brothers
(Gerry and Rob), AlertDriving’s roots went back
almost two decades. Gerry was a mid-1980s busi-
ness graduate from Wilfrid Laurier University
in Waterloo, Ontario. During his undergraduate
days, he noticed the increasing interest in all-
terrain vehicles and started importing more ag-
gressive off-road tires for them. This was a small,

SUR¿WDEOHVLGHOLQHIRUKLPXQWLOWKHJURZWKLQRII
URDGYHKLFOHVOHGODUJHU¿UPVDQGUHWDLOHUVWRHQWHU
the business. Following graduation he took a sales
and marketing position with Procter and Gamble
(a large multinational engaged in the manufacture
and marketing of various consumer products).
Procter and Gamble had a rigorous training and
development program, in which Gerry thrived.
His brother, Rob, had his eyes set on a National
653
Developing an Online Fleet Management Service
Hockey League professional career, having been
drafted by the Ottawa 67s (a Major Junior A
team). However, injuries forced him to leave ice
hockey, and he founded a property development
and renovation business in Toronto. A few years
later, Gerry left Procter and Gamble to join his
EURWKHUDQGWKH\UDQWKLVEXVLQHVVSUR¿WDEO\IRU
several years. With Gerry’s sales background and
the brothers’ entrepreneurial aspirations, they saw
an opportunity in the motivational and sales tape
area. Sonic Sales Aids was launched to develop and
distribute a series of such tapes for sales person-
nel. Their customers preferred these lesson tapes
WREH¿OOHGRQRQHVLGHRQO\DQG*HUU\FDPHXS
with the idea of putting driving tips on the other
VLGH(YHQWXDOO\WKHEURWKHUVEHFDPHGLVVDWLV¿HG
ZLWKWKHUHDOHVWDWHEXVLQHVV:KLOHSUR¿WDEOHLW
required unrelenting hard work, and there was
little opportunity to build a bigger business. And

DOWKRXJK6RQLFZDVSUR¿WDEOHLWVHUYHGDQLFKH
market with little growth potential.
With this background, the brothers started
DV\VWHPDWLFVHDUFKIRU³VRPHWKLQJEHWWHU´²D
venture that would satisfy their entrepreneurial
aspirations and personal goals. Gerry and Rob
VWDUWHGSXWWLQJDVLGHWLPHHYHU\ZHHNHQGWRGH¿QH
their search criteria, to consider potential busi-
QHVVHVDQG¿QDOO\WRH[DPLQHWKHPRVWSURPLVLQJ
possibilities in greater detail. It was a disciplined
approach, taking some three years before they
put together the concept for AlertDriving. Gerry
remembered those years:
One of the key things for us was the fact that
we saw all of our past business experiences as
stepping stones or building blocks that would
help us be successful – we sensed right from the
beginning that it was vital to incorporate what
we’d learned from past successes and failures into
our new venture. Each experience has taught us
something about what it takes to be a successful
entrepreneur.
1
It was the emergence of streaming video
technology that caught their attention. They saw
the potential for developing much better driver
training aids, delivering the system over the In-
ternet at a vastly reduced cost to in-car or in-class
training, and giving participants the opportunity
to choose the time and place of training. It was as

if a light had gone off in Gerry’s head.
This was going to be revolutionary. Rob imme-
diately went out and bought the hardware and
software, which we set up in his apartment. It
FRVWXVDERXW7KHQZHKDGWR¿JXUHRXW
how to use it.
Neither brother had much of an IT background,
but they quickly found someone who was inter-
ested in working with them on such new and
H[FLWLQJWHFKQRORJ\'XULQJWKHLU¿UVW\HDURI
operation, a crude prototype was developed and
tested locally. True to their sales background,
WKH\VLPSO\³FROGFDOOHG´DIHZEXVLQHVVHVDQG
found seven willing to look at their prototype and
provide comment. Based on this feedback, they
felt they had a winner. It would take much more
HIIRUWDQGFRVWWRGHYHORSWKH¿QDOSURGXFWEXW
WKLVZDVGH¿QLWHO\VRPHWKLQJWKDW¿UPVZRXOG
seriously consider purchasing. The brothers
decided they would sink their personal savings
into the venture.
An immediate concern was whether to go
solely with their original idea of online driver
WUDLQLQJDULÀHDSSURDFKRUKHGJHWKHLUEHWZLWK
several other online training programs (a shotgun
approach). The brothers felt they needed to focus
on what they knew best and were concerned
WKDWWKHLUOLPLWHGUHVRXUFHVZHUHLQVXI¿FLHQWWR
tackle other training areas. Yet trusted advisers,
with much more business experience than they

had, counseled them to consider a range of of-
ferings. For example, there were proven markets
for training in hazardous material handling and