Assignment 1: MIT7033 Data Management

1. Discuss the roles of the following personnel in database environment.

a. Data Administrator

i. Data Administrator is responsible for the management of the data resource,

including database planning; development and maintenance of standards,
policies and procedures; and conceptual/logical database design.

ii. The Data Administrator consults with and advises senior managers, ensuring
that the direction of database development will ultimately support corporate
objectives.

iii. Data administrators ensure that large amounts of information are efficiently
and effectively managed stored in computer databases.

iv. Data administrators ensure that information is easy to access and can be
managed effectively in order to save time and money for the company.

v. The Data Administrator supports the Data Manager by managing records,

tracking action items, and providing process-related reports.

b. Database Administrator (DBA)

i. Responsible for the physical realization of the database, including physical

database design and implementation, security and integrity control,
maintenance of the operational system, and ensuring satisfactory performance
of the application for users.

ii. The role of the DBA is more technically oriented than the role of the DA

iii. Requiring detailed knowledge of the target DBMS and the system
environment.

iv. Responsible for the performance, integrity and security of a database. They
will also be involved in the planning and development of the database, as
well as troubleshooting any issues on behalf of the users.

v. DBA use specialized software to store and organize data. The role may
include capacity planning, installation, configuration, database design,
migration, performance monitoring, security, troubleshooting, as well as
backup and data recovery.

c. Logical Database Designer

i. Logical database designer is concerned with identifying the data (entities and
attributes)

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 Assignment 1: MIT7033 Data Management

ii. The relationship between the data, and the constraints on the data that is to be
stored in the database.

iii. The Logical Database Designer must have a thorough and complete
understanding of the organization’s data and any constraint on this data.

iv. Logical database design: ensuring, via normalisation procedures and the
definition of integrity rules, that the stored database will be non-redundant
and properly connected;

v. The major role of logical database design is to transform the combined,

reconciled data specifications into basic or atomic elements following the
well-established rules for well structures data specifications. With a complete
logical database design in place an analyst begins to specify the logic of the
particular computer programs and queries needed to maintain and report the
database content.

vi. Two stages of logical database designer:-

a. Conceptual database design, which is independent of implementation

details such as, the target DBMS, application programs, programming
languages or any other physical considerations.

b. Logical database design, which targets a specific data model, such as

relational, network, hierarchical or object-oriented.

d. Physical Database Designer

i. Mapping the logical database design into a set of tables and integrity
constraints.

ii. Selecting specific storage structures and access methods for the data to
achieve good performance

iii. Designing any security measures required on the data

iv. Translates the logical data model into a set of SQL statements that define the
database. For relational database systems, it is relatively easy to translate
from a logical data model into a physical database. Rules for translation:
Entities become tables in the physical database.

e. Application developer

i. Application Developer is responsible in building an application system,

website or mobile apps. The application is developed base on what has been
requested by the customer in addition with some added value or suggestion to
produce better function for the customer.

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ii. Application developer responsible in providing the required functionality for

the end-users. They work from a specification produced by system analyst.

iii. The programme may be written in third-generation or fourth-generation

programming language. i.e C++, JAVA, ORACLE, HTML, PHYTON,
MYSQL

f. End-users

i. The end-users are the clients of the database, which has been designed and
implemented and is being maintained to serve their information needs.

ii. Two types of end-users classification:-

a. Naïve users – unaware of the DBMS. They access the database

through specially written application programs that attempt to make
the operation as simple as possible. They invoke database operations
by entering simple commands or choosing options from a menu. This
means they do not need to know anything about the database or the
DBMS.

b. Sophisticated users – at the other end of the spectrum, the

sophisticated end-user is familiar with the structure of the database
and the facilities offered by the DBMS. Sophisticated end-users may
use a high-level query such as SQL to perform the required
operations. Some sophisticated end-users may even write application
programs for their own use.

2. Interview some users of database system. Which DBMS feature do they find most useful and
why? Which DBMS facilities do they find least useful and why? What do these users perceive
to be the advantages and disadvantages of the DBMS?

a. Puan Mazni Jakeri, IT Officer of Perak State Secretary Office

i. Most useful – MySQLi
Why – it’s free. Using HTML language which is easy and most of the
developer knows HTML Language. There are many frameworks that is
HTML friendly that can be used to develop a program. i.e; kometsoft,
ksplatform, joomla, PHP and many more.

ii. Least useful – Oracle

Why – highly cost. Only capable in Oracle platform such as Oracle
JDeveloper, Toad and many more. It uses Java as their programming
language.

3. Study the DreamHome case study presented in Section 11.4 and Appendix A.

a. In what ways would DBMS help this organisation?

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i. Easy report generation capabilities for staff - Staff members can easily
generate the reports they need using the declarative query facilities of SQL.

ii. Data sharing - The database will store information used by human resources,
contracts and leasing, and the sales office. Rather than scattering the data
across these different departments, or even worse, across the different
branches, the database will store this information in one centralized
repository and allow users from different departments to access information
that might normally be stored in a different department.

iii. Data integrity and control of data redundancy - If each of DreamHome's three
different departments independently stored the data they needed, there would
be a good chance that data would be duplicated, such as the sales office and
the leasing office duplicating information about clients and property owners.
Often times duplicated information leads to data inconsistency, such as when
one office updates some renter information and fails to notify the other office
to update its information on the renter, or when the two offices simply record
the data differently, such as spelling a renter's name differently. By storing
the data in a centralized DBMS, there is less data redundancy, and hence less
chance for data inconsistency.

iv. Decreased maintenance costs - DreamHome is probably not a huge company

and hence it would be burdensome to support a large data processing team to
maintain the data and write software to prepare reports for users. If
DreamHome uses a DBMS, it only needs to maintain a small IT staff to
manage the DBMS.

b. What do you think are the main objects that need to be represented in the database?
The main DBMS objects:
i. Branches
ii. Staff
iii. Managers
iv. Properties
v. Private property owners
vi. Business property owners
vii. Clients (renters)
viii. Leases
ix. Newspapers

c. What relationship do you think exist between these main objects?

i. Branch has staff: This is a 1-to-many relationship since one branch has many
staff members, but each staff member belongs to only one branch.

ii. Staff manages Branch: This is a 1-to-1/0 relationship because a staff member
may manage 0 or 1 branch.

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iii. Staff supervises Staff: This is a recursive relationship and is 1-to-many, since
one supervisor may manage multiple staff members, but each staff member is
supervised by only one manager.

iv. Staff, Branch, Clients have a registers relationship: This is a tertiary

relationship in which a staff member registers a client at a branch. Each staff
and branch may have multiple clients, but a client is registered with a single
staff member and branch, so in some sense it is 1-to-many from client to
staff/branch.

v. PropertyForRent leasedBy Lease: The multiplicity of this relationship

depends on whether we keep old leases, whether a group of tenants that
occupy the same property sign individual leases or one lease, etc. Hence it
could be a 1-to-1/0 relationship (no archiving of leases and 0 if the property
has no current lease), or a 1-to-many relationship (a group of tenants signs
individual leases or we archive leases).

vi. Client holds Lease: The multiplicity of this relationship depends on whether
we archive old leases. It is 1-to-1/0 if we do not archive leases (the 0 occurs if
the client has not yet found a property to rent), or a 1-to-many relationship if
leases are archived.

vii. Newspaper advertises PropertyForRent: This will typically be a many-to-

many relationship as DreamHome will use one newspaper to advertise
multiple properties and each property may be advertised in multiple
newspapers.

viii. PrivateOwner owns PropertyForRent: A 1-to-many relationship as a private

owner may list multiple properties, but each property is owned by a single
owner.

ix. BusinessOwner owns PropertyForRent: Same as the preceding relationship.

x. Staff oversees PropertyForRent: This is a 1-to-many relationship as each staff

member may oversee multiple properties, but each property is managed by a
single staff member.

d. For each of the objects, what details do you think need to be stored in the database?

i. Branches – DreamHome has branch offices in cities throughout the United

Kingdom. Each branch office is allocated members of staff, including a
Manager, who manages the operations of the office. The data describing a
branch office includes a unique branch number, address (street, city, and
postcode), telephone numbers (up to a maximum of three), and the name of
the member of staff who currently manages the office. Additional data is held
on each Manager, which includes the date that the Manager assumed his or

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her position at the current branch office, and a monthly bonus payment based
upon his or her performance in the property for rent market.

ii. Staff – members of staff with the role of Supervisor are responsible for the
day-to-day activities of an allocated group of staff called Assistants (up to a
maximum of `0, at any one time). Not all members of staff are assigned to a
Supervisor. The data stored regarding each member of staff includes staff
number, name, address, position, salary, name of Supervisor (where
applicable), and the details of the branch office at which a member of staff is
currently working. The staff number is unique across all branches of
DreamHome.

iii. Properties for rent – each branch offers a range of properties for rent. The
data stored for each property includes property number, address (street, city,
postcode), type, number of rooms, monthly rent, and the details of the
property owner. The property number is unique across all branch offices. The
management of a property is assigned to a member of staff whenever it is
rented out or requires to be rented out. A member of staff may manage a
maximum of 100 properties for rent at any one time. When a given property
is available for rent, the property details will be displayed on the DreamHome
Web site and, when necessary, as advertisements in local and national
newspapers.

iv. Property owners – the details of property owners are also stored. There are
two main types of property owner: private owners and business owners. The
data stored for private owners includes owner number, name, address,
telephone number, email, and password. The data stored on business owners
includes name of business, type of business, address, telephone number,
email, password, and contact name. The password will allow owners access
to parts of the DreamHome database using the Web.

v. Clients – DreamHome refers to members of the public interested in renting

property as clients. To become a client, a person must first register at a
branch office of DreamHome. The data stored on clients includes client
number, name, telephone number, email, preferred type of accommodation,
and the maximum rent that the client is prepared to pay. Also stored is the
name of the member of staff who processed the registration, the date the
client joined, and some details on the branch office at which the client
registered. The client number is unique across all DreamHome branches.

vi. Leases – when a property is rented out, a lease is drawn up between the client
and the property. The data listed in detail on the lease includes lease number,
client number, name and address, property number and address, monthly rent,
method of payment, and indication of whether the deposit has been paid
deposit (calculated as twice the monthly rent), duration of lease, and the start
and end dates of the lease period.

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vii. Newspapers – when required, the details of properties for rent are advertised
in local and national newspapers. The data stored includes the property
number, address, type, number of rooms, rent, the date advertise, the name of
the newspaper, and the cost to advertise. The data stored on each newspaper
includes the newspaper name, address, telephone number, and contact name.

e. What queries do you think are required?

i. Data entry
ii. Enter the details of a new branch (such as branch B003 in Glasgow).
iii. Enter the details of a new member of staff at a branch (such as Ann Beech at
branch B003).
iv. Enter the details of a lease between a client and property (such as client Mike
Ritchie renting out property number PG4 from the 10-May-12 to 9-May-13).
v. Enter the details of a property advertised in a newspaper (such as property
number PG4 advertised in the Glasgow Daily newspaper on the 06-May-12).
vi. Data update/deletion
vii. Update/delete the details of branch.
viii. Update/delete the details of member of staff at a branch.
ix. Update/delete the details of a given lease at a given branch.
x. Update/delete the details of newspaper advertisement at a given branch.
xi. Data queries. Examples of queries required by the Branch user views:
xii. List the details of branches in a given city.
xiii. Identify the total number of branches in each city.
xiv. List the name, position, and salary of staff at a given branch, ordered by staff
name.
xv. Identify the total number of staff and the sum of their salaries.
xvi. Identify the total number of staff in each positon at braches in Glasgow.
xvii. List the name of each Manager at each branch, ordered by branch address.
xviii. List the names of staff supervised by a named Supervisor.
xix. List the property number, address, type, and rent of all properties in Glasgow,
ordered by rental amount.
xx. List the details of properties for rent managed by named member of staff.
xxi. Identify the total number of properties assigned to each member of staff at a
given branch.
xxii. List the details of properties provided by business owners at a given branch.
xxiii. Identify the total number of properties of each type at all branches.
xxiv. Identify the details of private property owners that provide more than one
property for rent.
xxv. Identify flats with at least three rooms and with a monthly rent no higher than
£500 in Aberdeen.
xxvi. List the number, name, and telephone number of clients and their property
preferences at a given branch.
xxvii. Identify the properties that have been advertised more than the average
number of times.
xxviii. List the details of leases due to expire next month at a given branch.
xxix. List the total number of leases with rental periods that are less than one year
at branches in London.

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xxx. List the total possible daily rental for property at each branch, ordered by
branch number.

4. Organizations have a vital need for quality information. Discuss how the following database
roles relate to each other.

a. Data Administrator
i. Data Admin responsible to manage required data accordingly.
ii. Data Admin will provide entities, role and other information that is needed
after studying the User Requirement Specification to Database Administrator
and Database Designer upon completing Database Requirement Diagram
(DRD).

b. Database Administrator (DBA)

i. (DBAs) use specialized software to store and organize data. The role may
include capacity planning, installation, configuration, migration, performance
monitoring, security, troubleshooting, as well as backup and data recovery.
ii. DBA use software or application that is built by Database Designer and
Application Developer, and Data Admin will manage data accordingly

c. Database Designer
i. Database Designer design database according to DRD.
ii. Database designer will get info from Database Administrator, Data Admin to
design DRD and ERD.

d. Application Developer
i. Develop application base on DRD and ERD provided by Database Designer.

e. End-Users
i. Uses application system that is developed by application developer.
ii. Execute UAT and FAT for acceptance test before implementing the
application as part of the process.