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Chapter 6

Chapter 6. Fact-finding Transparencies. Chapter 6 - Objectives. When fact-finding techniques are used in the database system development lifecycle. The types of facts collected throughout the database system development lifecycle.

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Chapter 6

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  1. Chapter 6 Fact-finding Transparencies © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  2. Chapter 6 - Objectives • When fact-finding techniques are used in the database system development lifecycle. • The types of facts collected throughout the database system development lifecycle. • The types of documentation produced throughout the database system development lifecycle. © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  3. Chapter 6 - Objectives • The most commonly used fact-finding techniques. • How to use each fact-finding technique and the advantages and disadvantages of each. • About a video rental company called StayHome. • How to use fact-finding techniques in the early stages of the database system development lifecycle. © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  4. Fact-finding • The formal process of using techniques such as interviews and questionnaires to collect facts about systems, requirements, and preferences. © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  5. When are fact-finding techniques used? • Many occasions for fact-finding during the database system development lifecycle. • Particularly crucial to the early stages of the lifecycle, including the database planning, system definition, and requirements collection and analysis stages. © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  6. What facts are collected? © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  7. Fact-finding techniques • A database developer normally uses several fact-finding techniques during a single database project, including: • Examining documentation • Interviewing • Observing the business in operation • Research • Questionnaires © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  8. Examining documentation • Examining documents, forms, reports, and files associated with the current system, is a good way to quickly gain some understanding of the system. © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  9. Examples of documentation to examine © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  10. Interviewing • Interviewing is the most commonly used, and normally most useful, fact-finding technique. • Objectives include: • finding out and/or checking facts • generating user interest and/or feelings of involvement, • identifying requirements and/or gathering ideas and opinions. © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  11. Advantages / disadvantages of interviewing © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  12. Interviewing • There are two types of interviews: unstructured and structured. • Unstructured interviews are conducted with only a general objective in mind and with few, if any, specific questions. • In structured interviews,the interviewer has a specific set of questions to ask the interviewee. © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  13. Interviewing • There are two types of questions: open-ended and closed. • Open-ended questions allow the interviewee to respond in any way that seems appropriate. • Closed-ended questions restrict answers to either specific choices or short, direct responses. © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  14. Observing the business in operation • One of the most effective techniques. • Can either participate in, or watch a person perform activities to learn about the system. © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  15. Advantages / disadvantages of observation © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  16. Research • Useful to research the application and problem. • Computer trade journals, reference books, and the Internet are good sources of information. • May find how others have solved similar problems, plus you can learn whether or not software packages exist to solve your problem. © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  17. Advantages / disadvantages of research © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  18. Questionnaires • Can conduct surveys through questionnaires. • Questionnaires are special-purpose documents that allow you to gather facts from a large number of people while maintaining some control over their responses. © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  19. Advantages / disadvantages of questionnaires © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  20. Questionnaires • There are two formats for questionnaires: free-format and fixed-format. • Free-format questionnaires offer the respondent greater freedom in providing answers. • Fixed-format questionnaires contain questions that require specific responses from individuals. © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  21. The StayHome case study • This case study describes a company called StayHome, which rents out videos to its members. The first branch of StayHome was established in 1982 in Seattle but the company has now grown and has many branches throughout the United States. © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  22. StayHome staff registration form © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  23. Page of report listing members of staff © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  24. Page of report listing videos © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  25. StayHome member registration form © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  26. Page of report listing members © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  27. StayHome video rental form © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  28. StayHome case study – database planning • Define mission statement for the database project. • Defines the major aims of the database system. • Clarifies purpose of database and provides clearer path towards the efficient and effective creation of the required database system. © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  29. StayHome case study – database planning • Define mission objectives. • Each mission objective identifies a particular task that the database must support. • Additional information specifies, in general terms, the work to be done, the resources with which to do it, and the money to pay for it all. © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  30. Mission statement for StayHome database system © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  31. Mission objectives for StayHome database system © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  32. StayHome case study – system definition • Define scope and boundary of database system and its major user views. • A user view represents requirements to be supported by a database system as defined by a particular job role (such as Manager or Assistant) or business application area (such as video rentals or stock control). © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  33. Boundary for the StayHome database system © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  34. User views for StayHome database system © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  35. StayHome case study – requirements collection and analysis • Gather more details on user views to create users’ requirements specification, which describes data to be held in database and how data is to be used. © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  36. StayHome case study – requirements collection and analysis • Collect general requirements for the system to create - systems specification - describes features to be included in new database system such as networking, shared access, performance, and security requirements. © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  37. StayHome case study – requirements collection and analysis • Decide how to manage project where database system has more than one user view. • There are three approaches to dealing with multiple user views, namely: • centralized approach • view integration approach • combination of both approaches © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

  38. StayHome user views and data © Pearson Education Limited, 2004

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