Data Design of a System for Silent Cycles - Report Example

work question in term of report in database field Introduction This paper provides an investigation, analysis and data design of a system for Silent Cycles. It is a report structured paper that provides the best methods for collecting all the relevant requirements for such a data management system, the mapping of the relevant data and data flows needed to support the system. Silent Cycles has limited database administration to enable them communicate within its 5 branches. They have acknowledged that communication and data sharing between the branches is becoming an ever-growing challenge. They require experts to assist develop an updated system for them to manage administration, sales, stock, SC club members, competitions, service scheduling, promotions and other administration matters. The reason for this report is to provide update approaches that Silent Cycles require. The report is comprises of the following sections requirements collection techniques, database security issues, context level diagram, analysis and design: use technique of Normalisation, and finally a critical discussion of the database system. Requirements Collection Techniques Silent Cycles has been in operation unfortunately their existing database system does not adequately serve them currently. Requirements gathering techniques are meant to collect information from managers, employees, system administrators and customers so as to assess the best strategies (Dennis, Wixom & Roth, 2009). The purpose of doing this is to understand what suppose to be done as the process involves building systems for others, not for experts. Gather data through interviews, documentation, observation, surveys/questionnaires, and immersion. These techniques necessitate that data is systematize or presented in a way end users can understand. This can be done through notes, brainstorming, cards, and computer tools then presented as lists, outlines, matrices, narratives, network and flow charts. Three key apparatus in considering how individuals work comprise activities, artefacts and relations. Not just computer system oriented but investigation of related systems and objects in the setting that people may employ in office environment including papers, whiteboards, phone calling and others. Focus on observable behaviours (Dennis, Wixom & Roth, 2009); what are the steps, methods, objects, practices used? Learn what people do, the reason they do it, the manner they do it, the time they execute it, with what instrument or individuals they do it. The new application / UI may transform some of this, particularly the manner. Comprehending how can direct to deeper insights and knowledge. The utilization of the Internet has also turned out to be a valuable instrument to capture, gather, and share data from diverse sources. It gives many capabilities, comprising the capability to relocate data statistics electronically. The DDLC (Database Design Life Cycle) discusses diverse design methodologies, each methodology depending heavily on the requirements collection process. The process of collecting requirements is broken into the following three stages1) Establishing business requirements 2) Establishing system requirements 3) Performing requirements analysis (Lightstone, Teorey & Nadeau, 2007). Business requirements concern the tasks performed by persons within an association. Business desires deal with how the business functions at present, as well as how the Silent Cycles plans to function or conduct industry in a future. System necessities cannot be determined without the survival of business needs because business needs are used to institute the needs for an information structure. If a fresh system is being premeditated, the requirements for the organization are based exclusively on the business necessities that have been defined in accordance to the needs of the conclusion user. If a scheme is being customized or redesigned, the desires for the system are oriented on business necessitates, the requirements of the old organization, the necessities of the operation and end user, and proposed mechanisms for deficiencies in the old system. Requirements investigation is the procedure of analyzing the system and business requirements that have been developed. It is a sort of assessment of the work that happened during the information gathering (analysis phase). The challenges that are possible concern the time constraints and lack of corporation from all employees and staffs. To manage this collection technique suitable is survey through questionnaires, telephone interview, system observation to get the flaws and have a rough idea of what updates are required. Database security issues Upgrading Silent Cycles system may lead to data migration issues that may lead to exposure of some private data that should not be availed to public. SQL injection and buffer spill over are database issues that have been analyzed for many years, yet they are common attack vectors in challenging database systems, even when workarounds and patches exist (Clarke, 2012). Security constraints are regulations which allocate security levels to the information. They can be employed either as derivation rules, integrity rules, or as schema rules like data dependencies. If used as integrity rules, then data must be content by the statistics in the multilevel database (International Conference on Database Security & Jajodia, 1999). If employed as derivation rules, they are used to the statistics during query procedures. If utilized as data dependencies, they ought to be fulfilled by the schema of the multilevel system. In case of SQL injection issues, one possibility is employing an automated web system vulnerability scanner, like IBMs AppScan, HPs WebInspect or Cenzics Hailstorm (Clarke, 2012). These applications all provide easy, automated manners to analyze the web applications for possible SQL Injection vulnerabilities. To counter the challenges during update process of Silent Cycles database system, update processor application will be used. An MLS/DBMS gives assurance that all data and items in a database have a safety level connected with them and that people are allowed to use only the data which they are authorised. In addition, it provides a strategy for inputting multilevel data but depends on the client to login at the stage at which the information is to be inputted (Clarke, 2012). The Update Processor will give a system that can operate as a standalone instrument with a MLSDBMS to give assurance that statistics is precisely labelled as it is inputted into the database. This can considerably enhance and make simpler the capability of an MLS/DBMS to guarantee that data inputted via bulk data loads and mass data upgrades are precisely labelled. Another important use for this application is in function with a Query processor, which functions during query processing (Kambayashi & International Conference on Conceptual Modeling, 1999). Normalisation is another approach that would be used to ensure issues are minimized. Context Level Diagram The Context Diagram displays the application under deliberation as a single high-level procedure and then reveals the association that the application has with other exterior entities such as systems, external data stores, organizational groups and others. A DFD (Data-Flow Diagram) is a graphical apparition of the transferring data through a data system (Singh 2007). These models were created for systems design and analysis.  But like many investigation instruments they have been arranged for other functions.  For instance, they may also be leveraged to detain and communicate the communications and flow of data among business procedures (Childe, 1997). Silent Cycle’s Context Level Diagram Order Payments Ad Slots Inventory Manage Supp contracts service schedule and monitoring Delivery Schedules SC Club member register Work terms staff content Analysis and Design In this section, client invoice provided is analyzed in accordance to technique of Normalisation of data tables (Date, 2012). Normalization is the procedure of arranging data in a database. This comprises creating tables and maintaining relationships among those tables in accordance to rules intended both to safeguard the data and to make the file more elastic by minimizing redundancy and incompatible dependency (Rob, Coronel & Morris, 2013). It is necessary to acknowledge the following three concepts: 1. No repeating groups or component of elements 2. No partial dependencies on a concatenated key 3. No dependencies on non-key attributes (Rob, Coronel & Morris, 2013). Un-normalized table Invoice No Date Cust. No Cust. Name Cust. Address Cust. City Cust. State Item ID Item description Item QTY Item Price Discount order Total Price 405 2/1/2014 1001 SamCooper 100 Points Portsmouth  PO155HK B100 Ladies 26inc Raleigh 1 850 85 765               ST-SP RX Helmet 1  32.00 3.2 28.8               CC-02 CC cycle glasses 2 18   36 NF1 (First Normal Form): no repeating elements or groups of elements At this instance repeating data are eliminated to get NF1. Complete the data to give it primary keys for easy identification (Date, 2012). Order_ID Order_Date Customer_ID Customer_ Name Customer_ Address Customer_ City Customer_ State Item_ID Item_description Item_QTY Item_Price Discount Order_Total_Price 405 2/1/2014 1001 SamCooper 100 Points Portsmouth  PO155HK B100 Ladies 26inc Raleigh 1 850 85 765 405 2/1/2014 1001 SamCooper 100 Points Portsmouth  PO155HK ST-SP RX Helmet 1  32.00 3.2 28.8 405 2/1/2014 1001 SamCooper 100 Points Portsmouth  PO155HK CC-02 CC cycle glasses 2 18   36 Order_ID and Item_ID form the primary data for this table thus it is possible to concatenate items that fall in respective primary keys (Date, 2012). NF1 order table structure Order_ID Order_Date Customer_ID Customer_ Name Customer_ Address Customer_ City Customer_ State Item_ID Item_description Item_QTY Item_Price Discount Order_Total_Price NF2 (Second Normal Form): No partial dependencies on a concatenated Key NF2 assesses if a column can exist without one or other section of concatenated primary key. In a positive response the columns fails NF2 concepts. In the table above (Date, 2012): Order_id recognizes the invoice that this entity comes from. Item_id is the inventory items exclusive identifier. This leads to separation of the order list to assess concatenation rule Orders Order_ID Order_Date Customer_ID Customer_ Name Customer_ Address Customer_ City Customer_ State Further concatenation leads to Items Item_ID Item_description Item_Price NF3 (Third Normal Form): No Dependencies on Non-Key Attributes This involves elimination of data not dependent on Key thus what is derived from the data is as follows Customer_ID Customer_ Name Customer_ Address Customer_ City Customer_ State Normalization advantages and disadvantages Advantages: 1. there is no redundancy that is caused by saving same data many times in different or same tables. 2. The system limits the update anomalies and thereby experts do not have any loss of information or incompetent data update process (Lee & Bieker, 2009). 3. There is a well organized database where the entire the tables are inter-related sustaining integrity and reliability of data. 4. The entire data are stored proficiently since there is no redundancy. 5. The whole database system remains reliable over time as the file grows with minimal redundancy and much sturdiness (Lee & Bieker, 2009). Disadvantages: 1. keeping more tables is a little messier. 2. Correlated queries over numerous tables get complicated (Lee & Bieker, 2009). In conclusion, the advantages of normalization will present Silent Cycles with more elaborate data management system suitable for organizing sales matters, stock Management, service scheduling, managing suppliers and staff management issues. References Childe, S. J. (1997). An introduction to computer aided production management. London [u.a.: Chapman & Hall. Clarke, J. (2012). SQL injection attacks and defense. Waltham, MA: Elsevier. Date, C. J. (2012). Database design and relational theory: Normals forms and all that jazz. Sebastopol, Calif: OReilly Media. Dennis, A., Wixom, B. H., & Roth, R. M. (2009). Systems analysis and design. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. IFIP TC11/WG 11.3 International Conference on Database Security, & Jajodia, S. (1999). Database security XII: Status and prospects : IFIP TC11 WG11.3 Twelfth International Working Conference on Database Security, July 15-17, 1998, Chalkidiki, Greece. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers. Kambayashi, Y., & International Conference on Conceptual Modeling. (1999). Advances in database technologies: ER 98 Workshops on Data Warehousing and Data Mining, Mobile Data Access, and Collaborative Work Support and Spatio-Temporal Data Management, Singapore, November 19-20, 1998 : proceedings. New York: Springer. Lee, M., & Bieker, G. (2009). Mastering SQL server 2008. Indianapolis, Ind: Wiley Pub. Lightstone, S., Teorey, T. J., & Nadeau, T. (2007). Physical database design: The database professionals guide to exploiting indexes, views, storage, and more. Amsterdam: Morgan Kaufmann/Elsevier. Rob, P., Coronel, C., & Morris, S. (2013). Database systems: Design, implementation, and management. Singh, S. R. (2007). Information system management. New Delhi: APH Publishing. Read More