Project 1: Database Design

Published

September 27, 2024

Complete by: Friday 27 Sept., at class time.
See the bottom of the file for additional checkpoints, all due at class time.

This prompt was written by Dr. Rapp and lightly adapted by me for our class.

In this project, you will examine a real-world dataset and design a database to support it following the best-practices taught throughout the course. The dataset can be downloaded from Sakai, either in the “Project 1” folder under Resources, or under the Project 1 Assignment.

Your first task is to normalize the dataset; you’ll create an Excel file, with one Sheet per table, that indicates all primary keys in bold and color coordinates the foreign key connections between the tables. You’ll then create a single README, or a PDF document to accompany a dataset which contains relevant details that all users are expected to read as a starting point. The README must contain a dependency diagram with all full functional dependencies indicated, a complete physical ERD documenting the normalized schema, a Data Dictionary which associates the column names with their relevant descriptions, and a reflective essay (1-2 pages) detailing your organizational choices and how they serve the way people will use this dataset. Your reflection will use the technical terms we define in class and should discuss the contributions others made to your choices. The README will also contain all citations and references.

You are expected to work on this project out of class until the due date of Friday, September 27. Recall from the syllabus that you are permitted to ask your classmates for help with this project provided you cite their contributions to your work; you are also encouraged to seek guidance from me or from the PAL tutors.

You may consider me to be your client for this project and the associated Project II. In an industry setting, you’ll be expected to communicate with your client during the development of your product; to help you practice this, along with the specific database design skills you’ll demonstrate, you have a few checkpoints to complete prior to the final due date. These are intended to help you make steady progress on the project, so that by the final deadline all your work will be polished and complete. All checkpoints can be submitted to the same Sakai Assignment.

This breakdown identifies all the important dates:

The following categories will be my criteria to evaluate this assignment on a 100-pt scale: