Project Data & Process Models

In order to build a good Database (or any system), you need to model the data and how it's related, and the processes by which that data moves around. For this assignment, you are to provide detailed Data and Process Models for your team project. It is plausible (but not likely) that some aspects of this assignment might not fit your team project; if this is the case you should have your approach approved by me in advance of the assignment due date.

We will start with the Data Model, also in this class known as an Entity-Relationship Diagram. You are given some sample data models. Indeed, you can use the slides that have ER-Diagrams as a base to start building yours. The only difference between yours and the examples is that you should expand the size of the Entities (just like you'd expand the size of a square or rectangle in Power Point) and include the attributes you think should be in each Entity.

You should bold primary keys, and underline foreign keys in the appropriate tables. If you have a concatenated primary key (this is almost a certainty) you should use bold underline. Relationships should show both the maximum and minimum values for each end of the relationship. While on the topic of relationships, you should also start keeping track of things such as cascade updates or deletes - in other words, if a parent record is deleted, will the child necessarily be also?

You should also create a table or some other appropriate format that includes the metadata for your data. For example, you should specify data type, field names (from attributes in the ER Diagram), length (for text fields), and any formats (e.g. currency). You should also specify whether or not any fields use auto-number as their data type.

For the Process Model, also in this class known as a Data Flow Diagram, you are to provide two things. First, you should provide a context diagram (example and template in Module 2 on Business Processes, Information & Systems). This should provide a descriptive title for your system, and should describe the external parties (either systems or individuals) that interact with your system, and the flows of data between the various elements in this diagram.

For each of the processes you identify for your system, you should be thinking about CRUD, which is an acronym for create, read, update or delete. How will records be created (e.g. in a form)? How will processes that generate output generate that output (e.g. on a report)? How will data be processed to create information that will be output to users (e.g by procedure or queries)?

System Prototype

With your data models completed (for the most part) and the process models done (again for the most part) as well, we now move to creating the actual system prototype. This will involve tables and relationships from your diagrams in Part 2, and as well forms, reports and queries you may need as well (generally defined in your Context and Decomposition DFD's).

You should also start thinking about the actual implementation of controls at this point; for example, who is allowed to create, read, update or delete a record in your data base? How will you enforce this in your system (e.g. by procedure or by password in the database)?

The deliverable is (for those doing a database) to send me a copy of your database along with updated and corrected data/process models from Part 2. Make sure to load some data in your tables and try out some queries, forms and reports (depending on what you're building). If you aren't building a database (some aren't) you should have fairly detailed documentation of what your system is and how it works, and a copy of the application in whatever package you're using.

There has two parts

1.Project Data & Process Models

2. System prototype