Technical Paper Assignment: Database Administrator for Department Store

The Strayer Oracle Server may be used to test and compile the SQL Queries developed for this assignment. Your instructor will provide you with login credentials to a Strayer University maintained Oracle server.

Imagine that you have been hired as the database administrator for a local department store. The department store has recently expanded by opening five stores within your local region. They have also launched a series of marketing campaigns to attract new customers and increase sales. For your hired role, you will be responsible for creating and maintaining an enterprise-wide database system that will hold the sales and inventory data for the organization. The designed database will help operations in supporting its new business marketing strategy. Using the concepts presented throughout the course, you will develop a plan to create this database and establish a design that aligns with the product sales initiatives of the organization.

Write a twelve to fifteen page paper in which you:

1. Identify the potential sales and department store transactions that can be stored within the database.

2. Design a database solution and the potential business rules that could be used to house the sales transactions of the department store.

3. Evaluate all relationships of each entity within your database solution using the Crow's Foot notation. Include all data elements, entities, relationships (such as 1:M, 1:1, M:N), and cardinalities for the department store database in your diagram. Note: The graphically depicted solution is not included in the required page length.

4. Research the Internet for best practices of how retail stores use databases for retaining customers and increasing sales and complete the following:

a. Justify how Big Data tools could be used for forecasting sales and inventory of the department store.

b. Propose two SQL Stored Procedures that use SQL functions to help sales associates perform explanatory or predictive analytics.

c. Give your opinion on which of the two ways you proposed in Question four b provide greater value to expanding their business within the region.

d. Provide a copy of your working SQL code as part of the paper.

5. Research the Internet for database vendors that provide cloud computing services and complete the following:

a. Estimate the types of costs involved or the pricing structure required when implementing a cloud-hosted solution for a database.

b. Analyze security considerations and pricing of the different cloud implementation types.

c. Rank the cloud services options of Software as a Service, Platform as a Service and Infrastructure as a Service in terms of functionality, mobility, and ability to provide distributed transaction concurrency. Compare how these cloud-based services fit within an environment where users are mobile. Determine the technical provisions that would be required to ensure data integrity.

6. Evaluate whether the use of a distributed DBMS structure is appropriate and identify the optimization techniques that should be factored in to enhance the operations of the database in your design.

7. Provide at least two examples of how lost updates and uncommitted data may occur, keeping in mind that five stores will be generating transactions.

8. Determine the concurrency control factors that can be used to ensure valid execution of transactions within the current multiuser environment.

9. Research the Internet for backup and restoration recovery solutions and database security threats that could be applicable to the department store. Upon your research, complete the following:

a. Suggest at least two options that could be made available to provide disaster management functions for the database system within the retail environment.

b. Assess the types of security threats that may exist when managing the department store database and suggest measure(s) that can be performed to minimize these threats that are particular to retail.

10. Use at least six quality resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and similar Websites do not qualify as quality resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.

• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the professor's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

• Include charts or diagrams created in any chart or drawing tool with which you are familiar. The completed diagrams / charts must be imported into the Word document before the paper is submitted.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Compose conceptual data modeling techniques that capture information requirements.

• Prepare database design documents using the data definition, data manipulation, and data control language components of the SQL language.

• Describe the basic mechanisms for accessing relational databases from various types of application development environments.

• Use technology and information resources to research issues in the strategic implications and management of database systems.

• Write clearly and concisely about topics related to the strategic planning for database systems using proper writing mechanics and technical style conventions.