Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Make sure you clearly mark the folders containing the samples you've gathered during
your analysis. The small amounts of time you invest to organize your materials pay big di-
vidends when you use those materials during a complex phase of the design process.
Looking at How Information Is Presented
The second step in the analysis process involves reviewing the various ways in which the
organizationpresentsitsdataasinformation.Duringthisprocess,you'llreviewitems,such
as handwritten documents, computer printouts, screen presentations, and web pages.
Here are three of the most popular presentation methods that you'll encounter during this
process.
1.
Reports:
A report is any document (handwritten, typed, or computer-generated)
used to arrange and present data in such a way that it is meaningful to the person
or people viewing it. Although using a word processor, spreadsheet, or other soft-
ware program is the standard method of generating a report, you'll still find some
reports written by hand.
2.
Screen presentations
(a.k.a. slide shows):
This type of presentation incorporates a
series of screens that discuss various topics in an organized manner. It is generally
created with a program, such as Microsoft PowerPoint or Corel Presentations, and
executed on a computer, although it can also be composed of a series of plastic
sheets that are displayed on a screen by an overhead projector. (For our purposes,
we'll assume that you're reviewing a computer-based screen presentation.)
pages on their web sites. A web page is used in much the same manner as a report,
and, indeed, it is really nothing more than a different
type
of report.
Begin this step by identifying and reviewing each report the organization generates from
thedatabase, regardlessofwhethertheorganization producesthereportbyhandorwithan
application program. Gather samples of the reports and assemble them in a folder as you
did with the items in the previous step. Overall, this task is easier to perform in this step
than it was in the previous step because people in the organization are typically familiar
with the reports they use. Copies of the reports are usually readily available, and most re-
portscanbereprintedifnecessary.
Figure6.4
showsanexampleofareportwrittenbyhand
and a report generated from a word processing program.
