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Cougar Pizza Pies – Database Design

Laura Szymansky

IT-235 Database Design

Southern New Hampshire University

Author Note

This is the Final edit of the Final Project.

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Cougar Pizza Pies – Database Design

Cougar Pizza Pies is requesting that a new database be implemented as they intend to

grow their business. This will allow for a smoother operation of the new direction they have

planned as the new database is to help organize their expected influx of business during the

extended delivery hours.

Objectives

The purpose of the proposed database is to collect and organize both customer and order

data in a manner that allows for the access, management, and analyzation of the information.

Whether it is through simple product control, the ordering system, or employee data – the

database should be easy to navigate making it readily searchable. (Shethna, 2018)

It will be used in multiple instances through out the business, such as for Point of Sale,

marketing outreach, and customer interaction. So, it is imperative that the system be user friendly

without compromise of efficiency. Through this proposed program, the owners of Cougar Pizza

will be able to properly track how their business venture is fairing and know what steps to take

next in order to guarantee success.

Requirements

Not only should the database be organized in a concise and readable manor, it should also

be easily accessible through use and a search query. Availability should not only be confined to

office systems and Point of Sale devices, but also be made available remotely so that employees

on the go (such as delivery workers) have access to the system when needed.

While readability is important, so is editability. The users will need the option to add

comments to the data to allow for personalized service options, or any ideas on how to improve
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upon service in the future. This too should be made available remotely incase a delivery person

comes across an issue while in the field.

Processes and Restrictions

Having correct data is essential for success of the database. Again, this means making

sure that it is fully manageable, so errors can be corrected as soon as possible. To help ensure

this, all employees would need to be trained in its use depending on their level of interaction.

Such as management will need more extensive training, while delivery personal will need

minimal.

Multi-users also brings up the issue of security. Because of this there will need to be

security measures put into place to help provide safety for both customer and business. The

system training would be imperative help ensure the continued security – as well as having

different access levels depending on an employee’s status within the company.

End Results

The main use will be by employees as they go about the daily functions of Cougar Pizza,

from ordering, customer tracking, and delivery. Every point of each order will rely on a stable

and well laid out database, where any flaw can put a hiccup in the system that may cause an error

that could be detrimental, such as a misplaced order or breach of security.

However, the database is also to ensure that the stakeholders have a system that will

allow for easier management of their company. This can be achieved by a database that is easily

translatable via tables and reports to provide feedback periodically, as well as remain open to

searchability as needed.
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Conceptual Design

The Morgan’s have requested a database that suits the needs for their growing Pizza

business. Most importantly they have requested that they be able to track orders by various

options (such as phone number, address, etc.) as well as being able to keep an eye on their sales.

There are a few possibilities for the layout of the entities and attributes so to be

considered. Firstly, there is the option of having Pizza crust and toppings falling under its own

entity (Pizza) if the menu is ever expanded on, rather than having it fall under the Order entities.

However, it would be possible for the original database to have it consolidated. The Order entity

seems to be the largest out of all the options, as it must include pizza order, customer

information’s, employee information, and sales information. When it comes to relationship

possibilities with the other entities, it will have connections with them all. Thus, it makes sense

to have its attributes as simple as possible and allow them to call on the other entities for further

data. Such as having the attribute Customer hold all the phone number, address, and history of

orders rather than each being a separate attribute under Order.

One of the second considerations is to have the employee entity split into two, allowing

for a sub-entity. This is considered because there is data required for both the employee taking

the order, and the employee delivering the pizza. However, this can be simplified as well as little

data is requested for both parts.

After reviewing all these options, it seems to me that, while being more detailed can be

beneficial, that for the beginning of this new business venture, that things remain simple, and

have room to grow as the business does. It is recommended that Pizza remain its own entity,

while the employee entity be consolidated into one, with parts as attributes in the Order entity,

this is to help cut down on redundancy.

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The proposed entities and attributes are as follows:

Pizza Order Customer Employee Sales

Crust Type Order_ID (Pk) Name Employee_ID(PK) Weekly(PK)
Topping Pizza Phone Number(PK) Name Hourly
Customer Street Address Phone Number Day
Instructions City Monthly
Employee name State
Employee_ID ZIP
Sale
Status
Order_date_time
Delivery_date_time

Design Revision

Once all the entities and attributes have been decided, the next thing to consider would be

the relationships and how each entity interacts with each other. This has been done using a Crows

Foot ERD (figure 1) , and then normalized (figure 2) to help revise further.

Finalization

Once design revisions have been made, and the ERD has been finalized, it is easier to see

how the all parts of the database functions in relation to each other. In the case of the proposed

design, no revisions have been made after the normalization process, thud the ERD is not altered,

and Figure 1 is still accurate.

When first considering the requirements that would need to be met for this database, it

was a process of determining importance of each consideration to properly meet the end goals of

the database. This can be seen in the conceptual design, and again in the design revision as it

continued through the process. The database is set up so that all level of employees can use it

easily and it will be usable no matter what an employee’s role is, as well as connecting

employees and customers. Because of the relationships between each entity, this makes it fully

searchable which will allow for the owners of Cougar Pizza to analyze all data as needed.
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Figure 1
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Figure 2
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Citations

Shethna, J. (2018, April 14). 4 Important Roles of Database Management System in Industry.

Retrieved May 24, 2018, from https://www.educba.com/database-management-system/