1004 INT Information Systems Week 11 Databases as

1004 INT Information Systems Week 11 Databases as Business Tools

Week 11 Learning Objectives • Understanding – How to create input forms to improve data quality; – The power of queries are used to create information; and how reports are generated • Achieve a high level perspective of the course and relevance of learning outcomes • Mental preparation for weeks 12 & 13 and the design document final “exam”

Last Week in Perspective • Understand how business entities are uniquely defined • Understand the relationships between business entities • Understand how relational databases are used to store data and used to create business information • How to use MS Access – creating tables & relationships (related to tutorial exercises)

Week 11 Activities • Workshop (Access): Creating input forms; how queries are used to create information; and how reports are generated • Discussion and summary of the course and desired learning outcomes • Q&A: Discussion of weeks 12 & 13 and the design document final “exam”

Quiz 1 – Input forms • How does an input form provide data quality for database software? • It allows checks to be created so that only valid input is accepted • Where are the data checks actually defined? • In the “data dictionary” section for each field definition in the Design View

Quiz 2 – Queries • What is the name of the type of query generation tool used in MSAccess? • Query-by-example • How else might a query be created? • Entered directly in SQL • Are tables and queries different or the same? Explain. • A query creates a new table with data from other tables that meet the query conditions

Quiz 3 - Reports • What are two database items that can be used as a source for reports? • Tables & Queries • How do queries and reports work together? • Standardised queries can be used as a source for management reports

What you should take away today • (Information) How input forms, queries and reports are powerful tools for managing and leveraging business data • How each of these tools are implemented and used in MSAccess • What to complete in week 12 labs • Steps to complete the final “exam” in week 13 labs

The semester in summary • Project-based experiential learning • Completing a web-based information system for the assessment of your project • Understanding detail of network operation by using low-level network software to create and maintain a website on a remote host • Learning that accuracy matters when dealing with computers and their languages (e. g. HTML)

• Understanding how humans are designed so that effective, functional interfaces can be designed for Web communication • Experiencing ways that spreadsheets can be used as a data management tool • Understanding how physical and logical layout of an organization affect information system design • Understanding the basics of network design

• Key concepts for information system design – scalability, redundancy, accessibility, and interoperability • Understand the use of DFDs as a business analysis tool • Understanding who and what the “entities” are in organizations and business • Understanding the use of ERDs as a business modelling tool and how they become the basis for database design

• Experiencing how a database can be used to manage business data and create management information for a project business • Experiencing real tools and real tasks that are used in SMEs today • Role-playing as a System’s Analyst to understand the steps in IS design • Understanding (experiencing) the steps in the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

• Reflective practice to help you understand how you learn most effectively • Now put it all together in the IS design document “exam”

Week 12: Complete project requirements Week 12: Complete minute test Week 12: Work through Design Template

Week 13: Check for link to “test” (Monday) Week 13: Go to normal lab • Hand in minute test (name, student #) • Demonstrate a working link to an (unfinished) “exam” document to the tutor • Finish document and test link to it on Dwarf by Sunday 5 pm

Thank you all for working so hard Good luck with your studies Steve