Mike’s Bikes

Mike's Bikes is a new bike shop located in a small suburb called Greenlake, not far from
downtown Seattle. It has been open for only two months, and business is growing steadily.
Mike, the shop's owner, has been conducting his daily business on paper. He records sales
on preprinted forms, maintains employee and vendor information on sheets of paper
(storing them in manila folders), and writes information about his regular customers on
index cards. As a result, Mike spends a lot of time maintaining all of this data. He owns a
computer but uses it mainly to play games, write letters, and visit various golf sites. The only
business-related task he performs on the computer is keeping track of the bike shop's
inventory using a spreadsheet program.

Recently, Mike learned that using a database would be a good way to store and work with
data related to his business. Using a database would greatly diminish the amount of time he
currently spends maintaining his data, and he could always ensure that the data is up-todate
and that the information is accurate. Although he thinks a database is a good idea, he's
aware of the fact that he doesn't know the first thing about properly designing a database.
Undaunted, Mike has decided to hire a database consultant to design the database for him.

You are the consultant he has hired for the project. As the database-design process unfolds
throughout the next several chapters, you'll apply each technique to design the database for
Mike's Bikes. As you learn new concepts or techniques, Mike will supply you with the
information you need to complete the design of his database.

Assume you have an assistant named Zachary who is conducting the interview for you. The
interview may go something like this:

ZACHARY: "Can you tell me why you believe you need a database?"
MIKE: "I think we need a database just to keep track of all our inventory. I'd also like to
keep track of all our sales as well."
ZACHARY: "I'm sure the database will address those issues. Now, what would you say is the
single most important function of your business?"
MIKE: "To provide a wide array of bicycle products and bicycle-related services to our
customers. We have a lot of great customers. And regular ones, too! They're our
biggest asset."
ZACHARY: "Can you give me an idea of the things you'd like to track in the database?"
MIKE: "Oh sure, that's pretty easy. I want to keep track of our inventory, our customers,
and our sales."
ZACHARY: "Is there anything else that you can think of that is related to these subjects?"
MIKE "Well, I guess if we're going to keep track of our inventory, we should know who
our suppliers are."
ZACHARY: "Can you tell me why you believe you need a database?"
ZACHARY: "What about the sales reps involved in each sale?"
MIKE: "Oh yeah, we should definitely keep information about our employees. If nothing
else, it's a good idea to do this from a human-resources point of view. At least,
that's what my wife tells me!"

ZACHARY: "How would you define the work that you do on a daily basis?"

PARTICIPANT: "As an account representative, I'm responsible for 10 clients. Each of my

clients makes an appointment to come into the showroom to view the
merchandise we have to offer for the current season. Part of my job is to
answer any questions they have about our merchandise and make
recommendations regarding the most popular items. Once they make a
decision on the merchandise they'd like to purchase, I write up a sales order
for the client. Then I give the sales order to my assistant, who promptly fills
the order and sends it to the client."

ZACHARY: "Let's discuss sales orders for a moment. What does it take to complete a
sales order for a client?"

PARTICIPANT: "Well, I enter all the client information first, such as the client's name,
address, and phone number. Then I enter the items the client wants to
purchase. After I've entered all the items, I tally up the totals and I'm done.
Oh, I forgot to mention: I enter the client's fax number and shipping address
—if they have one."