Database Reference
In-Depth Information
counting work is done by a third-party company, the new system will not
need to handle any financials beyond the details of the orders and pur-
chases the company makes. For the rest of this topic, we focus on the
process of building and implementing this new database. Along the way we
look at some application integration points, but our focus is on the database
design.
The first thing you must do after you have all the requirements is to com-
pile them into a usable set of information. Step 1 is to determine which of
the data you've received is useful and which isn't. This can be tricky, and
often it depends on the scope of the project. If you're building a new data-
base and designing a new application for your customer, you may find a lot
more data that is useful, but not to the database design. For example, cus-
tomers may tell you that the current system needs more fields from which
data can be cut and pasted. Although this is helpful data, it's something that
the application architects and developers need to know about, and not
something that concerns a database designer.
Hopefully, on joint projects, everyone with a role in the project can get
together and sort through the requirements together and separate the
good from the bad and the ugly. We focus on the information that you, as
the database designer, really need to do your job. The rest of the data can
be set aside or possibly given to a different team.
Identifying Useful Information
What makes information useful to a database designer? In short, it's any-
thing and everything that tells you about data, how data relates to other
data, or how data is used. This may sound a little oversimplified, but it is
often overlooked. You need to consider any piece of data that could end up
in the database. This means that you can leave no stone unturned. Also,
you may end up with additional requirements from application developers,
or even your own requirements, such as those that will ensure referential
integrity. These too are important pieces of information that you will
receive.
Here are examples of useful information you may receive:
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