Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Note
Interviewing is a skill that you can learn with some amount of patience, diligence,
and practice. There are a variety of approaches and techniques you can use to con-
ductaninterview,andtherearenumerousacademicpapers,articles,and topics that
have been written on the subject. An in-depth discussion of this topic is beyond
the scope of this topic, but I've included several techniques and guidelines in this
chapter that will help you conduct your interviews efficiently and effectively.
Interviewsareimportantbecausetheyprovideavaluablecommunicationlinkbetweenyou
(the developer) and the people for whom you're designing the database, help ensure the
success ofyourdesignefforts,andprovidecritical information thatcanaffectthedesignof
the database structure. As you're working with table relationships, for example, you might
find it difficult to determine the type of participation and degree of participation for a spe-
cific relationship. The only way for you to determine the proper values for these relation-
shipcharacteristicsistoconductaninterviewwiththeappropriatepeopleinyourorganiza-
tion.Youcanthenusetheinformationyougatheredduringtheinterviewtosettherelation-
ship characteristics. You can use an interview as an information-gathering tool to gain new
insights from participants regarding part of the database or to clarify facts that you don't
understand. Note that you must always conduct each of the interviews incorporated within
this design process, regardless of the type of database you're designing or the number of
people involved. You will inevitably miss some piece of important information when you
neglect or omit any of the interviews, and this could adversely affect the final structure of
your database.
Note
Throughout the remaining chapters, I use open-ended questions for all interviews
that are part of the concept or technique under discussion. You can use these ques-
tions as a guide for formulating your own questions for a given interview.
Always establish guidelines for your interviews before you conduct them. This will help
ensurethatyouconductyourinterviewsinaconsistentmannerandthattheyarealways(or
usually) successful. Here are some guidelines you can establish for the participants and for
yourself.
