Database Design

S511 Session 3, IU-SLIS 1

 Outline
 Database Design: Intro

 Database Lifecycle
► Planning & Analysis
► Database Design
► Implementation
► Maintenance

 Designer’s View

S511 Session 3, IU-SLIS 2

 Database?: From Data …
 Simple dumping of data on the storage medium provides little value.
CUSTOMER
id name address country pay due
100 J. Rodney 12 High Rd., Leeds UK 33.75
523 E. Hoover 52 Ln. Muncie, IN USA 0
800 M. Old Box. 9, Miami, FL USA 12.50

PRODUCT
product_id title cost sale price
123-19-20 Joy of Living 12.50 19.25
169-15-34 Learning Judo 20.00 25.00
354-90-33 Your Dream Home 18.25 24.25

SALE
id zone product_id quantity total price
100 UK 123-19-20 2 38.50
523 USMW 354-90-33 1 24.25
100 UK 169-15-34 1 25.00
800 USSE 123-19-20 1 19.25

S511 Session 3, IU-SLIS 3

 Database: Towards Information
 The goal is not just storage of data, but ultimately the extraction of
information to support decision making by key people and groups in the
organization.
► Data  Information (e.g. reports, tabulations, graphs)  Decisions

Sales of Titles in the UK Zone

-- Summarized fact or information --
50

40  In the UK ZONE, Joy of Living had a sale of $38.50,

Total Sales ($)

30 and Learning Judo had a sale of $25.

20
10  UK ZONE had the total sale of $63.50, USMW had
0 $24.25, and USSE had $19.25.
Joy of Living Learning Judo
Titles

SALE by Zone
Title UK USMW USSE total
Joy of Living 38.50 19.25 57.75
Learning Judo 25.00 25.00
Your Dream Home 24.25 24.25
63.50 24.25 19.25 107.00

S511 Session 3, IU-SLIS 4

Database: … for Decision Making

(DBMS)

Database Systems: Design, Implementation, & Management: Rob & Coronel

S511 Session 3, IU-SLIS 5

 Database Design: Intro
 Database
► Part of an information system
► Carefully designed and constructed repository of facts
 Information System
► Provides data collection, storage, and retrieval
► Composed of people, hardware, software, database(s), procedures, and
application programs
• applications transform data into information (e.g., report, tabulation, graphic display)
 Database Design
► Foundation of a successful information system
► Should promote
• data integrity
• prevent data redundancies & anomalies
► Must yield a database that
• is efficient in its provision of data access.
• serves the needs of the information system.

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Data Redundancy

S511 Session 3, IU-SLIS 7

 Data Anomaly
 Update Anomalies
- data inconsistencies resulting from “islands of information” problem
 Insertion Anomalies
- creation of bogus record when adding new data (e.g. new agent)
 Deletion Anomalies
- unintended deletion of related data (e.g. agent data when deleting customer)

S511 Session 3, IU-SLIS 8

 Database Development
 System Construction
► System Analysis
• establish the need and extent of an information system
► System Development
• design & implement the information system

 Database Construction
► Planning & Analysis
► Database Development
• Design
 create complete, normalized, and integrated database models
 establish data management processes
• Implementation
 create storage structure
 load data into database
 provide for data management activities
– data entry/update, report generation, search

• Maintenance
 (corrective & adaptive) modification, upgrade, backup & recovery

S511 Session 3, IU-SLIS 9

 Database Lifecycle: Phase 1
 Planning & Analysis

► Discover
• Company Objectives
• Operations & Structure
 what they are
 how they function
 how they interact
• Information Flow

► Identify
• Problems & Constraints

► Define
• Database Specifications
Database Systems: Design, Implementation, & Management: Rob & Coronel
• objectives
• scope
• boundaries

S511 Session 3, IU-SLIS 10

 Database Lifecycle: Planning & Analysis
1. Analyze Company Situation
► What is organization’s general operating environment & its mission?
• what are operational components, how do they function & interact?
• design must satisfy the operational demands created by the organization’s mission
► What is organization’s structure?
• who controls what and who reports to whom?
• design involves defining information flows, queries, reports, etc.

2. Define Problems & Constraints

► What are the problems to be solved?
► What are the constraints that limit the database design?
• e.g. time, budget, personnel, etc.

3. Define Objectives
► Database should be designed to help solve the major problems.
• examine the problem space for possible database solutions.

4. Define Scope and Boundaries

► Consider factors that force the design into a specific mold
► Scope defines the extent of design.
• data structures, type & number of entities, size of database
► Boundaries
• imposed by (resource) constraint, existing hardware/software
S511 Session 3, IU-SLIS 11
 Database Lifecycle: Phase 2
 Database Design
Two Views of Data
► Create Database Model
• To support company operations and
objectives
• To meet system requirements
• To meet user requirements
► Focus on Data Requirements
• Data structure
• Data access
• Data to info. transformation
► Subphases
• Conceptual Design
• DBMS software selection
• Logical Design
• Physical Design
Database Systems: Design, Implementation, & Management: Rob & Coronel

S511 Session 3, IU-SLIS 12

 DB Design: Conceptual Design
 Create a conceptual model

► i.e., Abstract data structure that represent real-world items.

► Need to understand how business works and what role data plays
► Software and hardware independent

 Minimal Data Rule:

► “All that is needed is there, and all that is there is needed.”
► Make sure that all data needed are in the model, and that all data in the model are
needed.

 Conceptual Design Steps

► Data Analysis & Requirements

► E-R Modeling & Normalization

► Data Model Verification

S511 Session 3, IU-SLIS 13
 Conceptual Design: Data Analysis & Requirements
 Discover the data that can be transformed into desired information
► Information Need
• What kind of information is needed?
 what output (queries & reports) must be generated by the system?
► User Characteristics
• Who will use the information?
• How will information be used?
► Information Source
• Where is the information to be found?
• How is the information to be extracted?
► Information Constitution
• What data elements are needed to produce the information?
• What are the data attributes and relationships?
• What data transformations are to be used to produce the information?
 Develop a thorough understanding of the company’s data
► Flow, uses, characteristics
• Data Flow Diagram
 Data sources
► Interviews, direct observation
► Business Rules
• Narrative description of policy & procedures

S511 Session 3, IU-SLIS 14

 Conceptual Design: E-R Modeling
 E-R Modeling steps
1. Identify, analyze, and refine the business rule
2. Identify the main entities
3. Define the relationships among entities
4. Define attributes, primary keys, and foreign keys for each entity
5. Create an initial E-R diagram
6. Normalize the entities
• process for evaluating & designing good table structures
 reduce data redundancies & help eliminate data anomalies

7. Verify the model & modify the E-R diagram iteratively

► Data Dictionary
• Defines all objects (entities, attributes, relations, etc.)
• Used in tandem with the normalization process
 to help eliminate data anomalies & redundancy problems

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 Conceptual Design: E-R Model Verification
 E-R model is verified against proposed system processes.
► Corroboration that intended processes can be supported by the database model
► Careful reevaluation of the entities and detailed examination of attributes
► Verification of business transactions as well as system and user requirements
 May reveal additional entity and attribute details.

 Verification process is iterative.

1. identify ER model’s central entity
2. identify modules/subsystems & components
3. identify transaction requirements
• update/insert/delete/query/report
• user interface
4. verify all processes against ER model
5. make necessary changes
6. repeat steps 2 through 5

Database Systems: Design, Implementation, & Management: Rob & Coronel

S511 Session 3, IU-SLIS 16

 DB Design: DBMS Selection
 What are the advantages & disadvantages?
► Cost
• purchase, maintenance, operational, training, etc.

► Features & Tools

• ease-of-use, performance, DB administration, etc.
• application development tools

► DB model
• hierarchical, RDB, Object-oriented, etc.

► Portability
• platform, O/S, SQL

► Hardware requirement
• processor, RAM

S511 Session 3, IU-SLIS 17

 DB Design: Logical & Physical Design
 Logical Design
► Translate conceptual design into internal model that maps objects in model to
specific DBMS constructs
• From software independent to software dependent
► Detailed & functional descriptions of system components
• Specify system processes and I/O.
• e.g., table design, attribute definitions, access restrictions

 Physical Design
► Select the data storage and data access characteristics of the database
• More important in older hierarchical and network models
• Becomes more complex when data are distributed at different locations
► Can affect the database performance
• e.g. storage media, buffer size, etc.
► Designers favor software that hides physical details

S511 Session 3, IU-SLIS 18

 Database Lifecycle: Phase 3 & 4
 Implementation
► Create the database
• Tables, forms, queries, reports
• Programming: SQL, VBA
• Security provisions: password, access rights, data encryption
► Fine-tune
• Repeated testing, debugging and evaluation

 Maintenance
► Preventative maintenance
• To prevent and prepare for problem situations (e.g. backup)
► Corrective maintenance
• To address database system error (e.g. recovery)
► Adaptive maintenance
• To adapt to the external changes (e.g. database update, enhancement)
► General maintenance
• Security audits, system-usage analysis

S511 Session 3, IU-SLIS 19

 Database Design Strategies
 Top-down vs. Bottom-up
► Top-down design (e.g., E-R modeling)
1. Identify entities/data sets.
2. Define attributes/data elements for each entity.
► Bottom-up design (e.g., normalization)
1. Identify attributes.
2. Group them together to define entities.

 Centralized vs. Decentralized

► Centralized design
• small number of objects and procedures
• single design process
► Decentralized design
• large number of entities with complex relations and operations
• multiple parallel design of subsystems & aggregation

S511 Session 3, IU-SLIS 20

DB Lifecycle: Designer’s Perspective

Planning

Maintenance Analysis

Design is a never-ending process...

conceptual
Implementation design

S511 Session 3, IU-SLIS 21

 DB Design: Step 1. Planning
Database
Business Plan Information Database Plan Development
or Org. Goals Needs Projects

 Strategic Planning
► Objectives:
• Understand the business model
 Organizational goal
 Product and information flow
• Assess the information need
• Put together an initial database plan

► Activities:
• Take stock of what is in place
• Interacts with users at all levels
 end-user, managers, support staff

S511 Session 3, IU-SLIS 22

 Product & Info Flow in Organization
 DB designer must establish the product & info flow in the organization.

Business Office:
Book Purchasing Store
Inventory Management

Warehouse

Publishers Customers

Barney & Nimble Inc.

S511 Session 3, IU-SLIS 23

 Product & Info Flow in Organization
 Product & Information flow varies from organization to organization.
► Warehouse and inventory can use information about orders going out to publishers.
► Online department needs to have information on inventory.
► Online department can also use information about pending orders.

Book Purchasing Warehouse Maintenance Online Presence

& & &
Collection Management Inventory Sales

Publishers
& Fulfillment Customers
Distribution Centers

Amazing.com
S511 Session 3, IU-SLIS 24
 Centralized Information Flow
Periodic Amazing
Management Sales & Acquisition
Report Group
invoice &
other data queries
electronic record
payments screens

Publishers Consumers
shipping inventory
info update

Warehouse

S511 Session 3, IU-SLIS 25

 DB Design: Step 2. Analysis
 Requirement Analysis

► Examination of existing database environment

• What hardware and software are available?
• What files/records are in use?
• What is under development?

► From Information Need to Database Requirement

• What type of information is desired?
• What can database system do to satisfy the information need?
• Why design it? What would it improve?

► Feasibility Analysis
• Technological
• Operational
• Economical

S511 Session 3, IU-SLIS 26

 DB Design: Feasibility Analysis
 Technological Feasibility
► What hardware, software, and additional resources would be needed?
► What is available in-house? What has to be purchased?
► How will the new system be integrated?

 Operational Feasibility
► Who will design the system?
► Who will maintain the system?
► Who will do training or help-desk support?
► Can the available personnel provide the time? New personnel necessary?

 Economic Feasibility
► Expected cost of the overall project ($)?
• Software, hardware, application development, staff-time
• Hidden cost (unforeseen)
► Other costs
• What is the competition/comparable unit doing?
• Would data sharing among departments lead to additional expenses?
► Benefits
• How soon expected?

S511 Session 3, IU-SLIS 27

 DB Design: Step 3. Design
 Conceptual Design
► Map organizational & user needs to a conceptual model
► Data Modeling
• Relational tables, attributes, & constraints
► Event Table
• list of events that will occur within the database system
► Use Cases
• description of how users will interact with the system
► User interfaces

Conceptual Relational Relational

Data Model Data Model DBMS
E-R modeling Schema & Normalization

S511 Session 3, IU-SLIS 28

 Data Modeling
 What is Data Modeling?
► A model is a representation of reality that retains only carefully selected
essential details.
► Logical organization of data for optimum information extraction and data
manipulation

 Why Model?
► To understand and identify essential data elements
► To produce a representation that can be transformed into a schema

 How?
► Data modeling involves
• identifying entities, attributes, and relationships

S511 Session 3, IU-SLIS 29

 Data Modeling: Bank Example

N
ID# Checking Balance
Account
M Has Chkg-Acct
Customer
M Has Sav-Acct

Savings Balance
Account
N
Person Institution

Birthday Gender Org. Type # Employee

S511 Session 3, IU-SLIS 30

 Lab: Group Project (ongoing)
1. Form a Project Group.

2. Identify a potential project.

3. Discuss the database plan and consider its merit and feasibility.
► What is the purpose of the database?
Why is it needed? What should it do?
► Who are the users and what are their information needs?
► What are the questions that the system should answer?
► What input data is available to the database?
► What kind of information should be stored in the database?

4. Study the client organization and the end-users

► Information Flow
► User Requirements (e.g. database tasks, queries, interface)

5. Define a database plan

► Enumerate the tasks it will perform and questions it will answer

6. Construct the conceptual model of the database

► Write out the business rules
► Identify the entities, attributes, relationships

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