Database Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER 3
Identifying the Problem and
Designing the Solution
Every computer system is (or at least should be) the result of solving some type of prob-
lem. Although “Hello World” apps are great, we firmly believe that the best way to learn
any technology is to apply it to a real problem and see how things actually work.
We adhere to that principle throughout this topic. This chapter discusses a very com-
mon problem in most organizations that can be solved technically. You also look at
some of the detailed things you need to consider when designing web-based systems in
general and APEX specifically.
Identifying System Requirements
Almost every company, no matter the size, will at some point need to implement some
sort of help desk. Whether it's an internal one to track employee questions and problems
or an external one to track client issues with commercial software or hardware, the ba-
sics of a help-desk system are fairly standard.
Most help-desk systems are driven by the notion of a
trouble ticket
or
ticket
. This
term is a leftover from the days before computers: most problems were reported over the
phone, and troubleshooters used a physical paper ticket to log a call. The information
contained on that paper ticket included a description of the problem, the person having
the problem, when the problem was logged, and so on. Then, throughout the process of
troubleshooting and, hopefully, solving the problem, the engineers wrote down each step
of the process and included any documentation of the problem they gathered along the
