![]() ![]() During the process of designing a good database schema, communication is essential. We return to conduct interviews with stakeholders to identify the relationships between the tables. Step 4: Determine and establish the table relationships of the database schemaĭesigning a good database schema involves establishing relationships between tables, and that is the focus of the fourth step. When this step is complete, we can again review the structure of each table and the specifications of each field with the stakeholders to detect possible improvements. Then, we can define and document the specifications for each field. It’s useful to conduct additional interviews to help identify the specific characteristics of the fields that are important to stakeholders. The final activity in this step is to determine the specifications for each field in the database schema. The primary key is the field that uniquely identifies each record within a table. Then, proceed to define the primary key of each table. ![]() Move or delete fields that don't represent different characteristics of the topic that the table represents.Ĭheck that each table contains all the necessary fields so that the table's structure is correctly defined. Also review each field to determine that it contains unique data, that is, it stores a unique value. After we’ve created these associations, check that each table represents a single topic and does not contain duplicate fields. From the objectives we established in step 1 and the list of requirements that we developed in step 2, we represent the topics as tables and associate the fields with each topic. Tables are the first object that we define in the database. The third step in designing a database schema is defining the tables and fields, setting the keys, and defining each field's specifications. Step 3: Create the data structure for the database schema design The initial field list should be sent to users and managers for review and feedback. The initial list represents the organization's fundamental data requirements and provides a starting point for designing a new database schema. While you may think it better to first identify the entities or topics for tables, having a list of the main fields helps identify the topics from a more general perspective. The information collected from the database analysis and interviews forms the basis of an initial list of fields. We must take the time to conduct full interviews to ensure that the information we obtain meets the information needs of our organization. The type of questions and their answers will have a significant impact on the final structure of our database. In this step, we will examine how the organization collects data via forms and how it presents the data through reports and in a user interface.Īnother essential part of the analysis is to conduct interviews with users and management to identify how each group interacts with the database. In this process, it is also necessary to analyze how the organization collects and presents data. Regardless of the type of database in the organization, analyzing it provides us with valuable information about how our organization currently uses and manages data. ![]() Depending on the organization, the database may be electronic and accessible by users, or it may be paper-based, that is, it contains forms, file folders, index folders and all kinds of documents that contain the data. The second step is to analyze the database, if one already exists. In this initial stage, we can also define a list of objectives representing the tasks that users will perform with the data from the database schema. It is essential to pay attention to the purpose of the database schema because it will help us properly design its structure. Each database schema is created for a specific purpose, such as to solve a business specification, handle daily business transactions, or as part of an information system. The first step in the database schema design process is to define its purpose. Step 1: Define objectives for database schema design For this reason, I invite you to discover the 7 steps that I learned over the years to design logical database schemas. But, regardless of the software we use to implement our database schema physically, if we want to use our time efficiently, it is necessary to create a good conceptual model of our project. With today’s resources, software and tools, we can understand these concepts more easily. I remember when I was at the university and I took the class "Data Management." At that time, learning database schema design was challenging because we only had a blackboard, sheets of paper, pencils and a teacher trying to explain something so abstract that we had no idea what a database was, much less a database schema. ![]()
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