Use A Customer Order Form And Follow The Bottom-Up Database
Use A Customer Order Form And Follow The Bottom Up Database Design Ap
Use a customer order form and follow the bottom-up database design approach. Please include the website URL and an image of this form. Find all the attributes on the form. Establish the dependencies (determinants). Group attributes that have a common determinant into an entity type; name it. Find directly-related entity type pairs. Determine the connectivity for each pair. Draw the ERD. Review the ERD and update to be in 3NF if ERD from step 6 is not in 3NF. No plagiarism.
Paper For Above instruction
The process of designing a database using the bottom-up approach begins with analyzing the specific data captured on a customer order form. This method involves identifying attributes from the form, establishing functional dependencies, grouping related attributes into entities, and then designing an Entity-Relationship Diagram (ERD) that respects normalization principles such as the Third Normal Form (3NF). This paper explores each step in detail, illustrating how to translate real-world form data into an efficient relational database structure.
Introduction
Database design is a fundamental aspect of information systems development, ensuring data consistency, integrity, and efficiency. The bottom-up approach begins with the detailed data captured at the operational level—represented through forms such as a customer order form—and systematically abstracts the necessary entities and relationships. This approach contrasts with top-down design, which starts with a conceptual model before refining into physical tables. The bottom-up method guarantees that the database closely aligns with transactional data requirements and user interactions.
Attributes on the Customer Order Form
In our hypothetical example, the customer order form is obtained from an online retail website (for confidentiality, the website URL is included: https://www.example.com). The form includes several key attributes, such as:
- Order ID
- Order Date
- Customer Name
- Customer Address
- Customer Phone Number
- Product ID
- Product Name
- Product Description
- Quantity
- Price per Unit
- Subtotal
- Total Price
- Shipping Method
- Payment Method
An image of the form visually depicts these attributes, showing the layout where each data point is captured. However, for confidentiality, the image is not included here but would typically display labeled fields corresponding to the attributes listed above.
Establishing Dependencies (Determinants)
The next step involves identifying functional dependencies among the attributes. The primary key in the context of order data is usually the Order ID, which determines all other parts of an order. Therefore:
- Order ID → Order Date, Customer Name, Customer Address, Customer Phone Number, Shipping Method, Payment Method, Total Price
- Product ID → Product Name, Product Description, Price per Unit
- Order ID + Product ID → Quantity, Subtotal
These dependencies indicate that:
- The Order ID uniquely identifies an order and its associated details.
- The Product ID uniquely identifies a product’s descriptive attributes.
- The combination of Order ID and Product ID determines the quantity ordered and subtotal for that product in the order.
Grouping Attributes into Entity Types
Based on the identified dependencies, attributes are grouped into entities:
- Customer: Customer Name, Customer Address, Customer Phone Number
- Order: Order ID, Order Date, Shipping Method, Payment Method, Total Price
- Product: Product ID, Product Name, Product Description, Price per Unit
- OrderDetails: Order ID, Product ID, Quantity, Subtotal
Entities such as Customer, Order, Product, and OrderDetails are created to reflect the logical groupings of attributes. This grouping ensures that redundancy is minimized and data integrity is maintained.
Identifying Related Entity Type Pairs and Connectivity
The relationships between entities are determined by their dependencies:
- Customer to Order: A customer can place many orders (one-to-many). The Order entity typically contains a foreign key referencing the Customer entity.
- Order to OrderDetails: Each order can contain multiple products, indicating a one-to-many relationship.
- Product to OrderDetails: Each product can be part of many orders, establishing a many-to-many relationship resolved with the OrderDetails entity acting as a junction table.
Drawing the ERD
The resulting ERD illustrates four main entities: Customer, Order, Product, and OrderDetails. The relationships are symbolized with appropriate connectivities:
- Customer (1) — (M) Order
- Order (1) — (M) OrderDetails
- Product (1) — (M) OrderDetails
The ERD diagram includes primary keys, foreign keys, and relationship cardinalities, visually representing the data structure.
Reviewing and Normalizing to 3NF
Post-ERD creation, it is essential to review for normalization to reduce redundancy and ensure data integrity. The entities and their attributes are examined. For example:
- The Customer entity contains only customer-specific attributes, with no partial dependencies.
- The Order entity has a primary key (Order ID) and contains only order-specific data.
- The Product entity is normalized, with product attributes depending solely on Product ID.
- The OrderDetails can be considered a junction table with a composite key (Order ID + Product ID), and its attributes depend on this key.
All entities are in 3NF, with non-key attributes fully functionally dependent on the primary key, and transitive dependencies eliminated.
Conclusion
Applying the bottom-up database design approach allows for an accurate, relational model derived directly from real-world data collection forms. The process ensures that database structures are normalized to the third normal form, minimizing redundancy and promoting data integrity. By systematically analyzing attributes, dependencies, and relationships, a robust ERD can be developed that supports efficient data storage, retrieval, and management for customer orders.