Design Document And Revised Gantt Chart Or Project Plan

Design Document and Revised Gantt Chart or Project Plan

This assignment consists of two (2) sections: a design document and a revised Gantt chart or project plan. You must submit both sections as separate files, labeled accordingly. The design document requires creating a database schema, including tables, fields, relationships, views, indexes, normalization to third normal form (3NF), and supporting diagrams such as an Entity-Relationship (E-R) diagram and a Data Flow Diagram (DFD). You should also explain the rationale behind your designs, create sample queries, and illustrate user interface layouts. The project plan involves updating the Gantt chart or project timeline based on previous deliverables, utilizing project management tools like Microsoft Project or open-source alternatives to detail project tasks and scheduling.

Paper For Above instruction

In today's data-driven business environment, designing an effective relational database is fundamental for ensuring seamless data flow and supporting organizational processes. This paper presents a comprehensive database design aligned with the business's operational needs, followed by an updated project management plan that reflects the project’s current status and planning. The integration of database schema development, normalization, diagrammatic representations, and project scheduling exemplifies best practices in systems analysis and design.

Database Schema Design and Rationale

The core of the database design involves developing a schema that accurately represents the key entities and relationships within the organization. For a retail business, the principal tables include Customers, Products, Orders, and Employees. The Customers table contains customer IDs, names, contact information, and addresses. The Products table features product IDs, descriptions, prices, and stock levels. Orders link customers to purchased items and detail order dates, quantities, and total costs, utilizing foreign keys to associate with Customers and Products. Employees manage operational tasks, with a corresponding EmployeeID in the Orders or related tables.

Primary keys uniquely identify each record, ensuring data integrity. Foreign keys establish referential integrity by linking related records, with cascading updates and deletes supported to maintain consistency. For instance, if a customer is deleted, associated orders are handled according to business rules, such as archiving or cascading deletions. Referential integrity is crucial for preventing orphaned records and ensuring data accuracy across related tables.

Normalization to Third Normal Form (3NF)

The database tables are normalized to 3NF to eliminate redundancy and improve data consistency. For example, the Customer table is separated from the Orders table to prevent duplication of customer information. The process involved decomposing larger tables into smaller, more focused entities, ensuring that non-key attributes depend solely on primary keys. This structure reduces anomalies during data insertion, update, or deletion, thereby enhancing database reliability.

Entity-Relationship Diagram (E-R Diagram)

Using diagramming tools such as Microsoft Visio, an E-R diagram visually models the entities and their relationships. The diagram depicts Customer, Product, Order, and Employee entities, with relationships such as "places" between Customer and Order, "contains" between Order and Product, and "assigned to" between Employee and Order. The primary keys and foreign keys are annotated, illustrating how referential integrity is maintained. The rationale for the diagram’s structure emphasizes capturing the core business processes and ensuring logical data connectivity.

Data Flow Diagram (DFD) and Rationale

The DFD illustrates how data moves within the system, from data entry by sales staff to processing and storage. Level 0 represents the high-level system, showing external entities like Customers and Employees interacting with processes such as Order Entry and Inventory Management. Level 1 decomposes these processes further, detailing data flows like customer orders, product updates, and report generation. The diagram underscores the importance of clearly delineating data movements to identify efficiencies and potential bottlenecks. This visualization supports requirements analysis and system design, ensuring data integrity and process automation.

Sample Queries Supporting Organizational Reporting

Two sample SQL queries demonstrate how to generate useful reports. The first query retrieves total sales by product category over a specified period, aiding inventory and sales analysis:

SELECT p.Category, SUM(o.Quantity * p.Price) AS TotalSales
FROM Orders o
JOIN Products p ON o.ProductID = p.ProductID
WHERE o.OrderDate BETWEEN '2023-01-01' AND '2023-12-31'
GROUP BY p.Category;

The second query compiles customer purchase histories, highlighted by customer names and total amount spent:

SELECT c.CustomerName, SUM(o.Quantity * p.Price) AS TotalSpent
FROM Customers c
JOIN Orders o ON c.CustomerID = o.CustomerID
JOIN Products p ON o.ProductID = p.ProductID
GROUP BY c.CustomerName
ORDER BY TotalSpent DESC;

User Interface Layouts

The database system employs user-friendly interfaces for data entry and report viewing. The first layout is a Customer Data Entry Form, designed with fields for name, contact details, and address, facilitating quick data updates. The second layout is a Sales Dashboard, which displays key metrics such as total sales, order volume, and top-selling products, presented in charts and tables for managerial decision-making. These layouts prioritize usability, clarity, and efficiency, supporting organizational workflows.

Conclusion

This comprehensive approach to database design, comprising schema development, normalization, diagrammatic representations, and interface design, provides a robust foundation for organizational data management. The integration of well-structured data models and effective project planning ensures that the business can leverage its data assets optimally while facilitating ongoing system development and enhancements.

References

• Elmasri, R., & Navathe, S. B. (2015). Fundamentals of Database Systems (7th ed.). Addison-Wesley.