PRINCIPLES OF DATABASE PLANNING

A. Plan data requirements

1. Identify what type of data you will work with--numbers, characters, commands, dates, currency, images, sounds, or video.

2. Determine the units to be used as records.

3. Determine the fields needed to store information.

4. Decide if codes are needed for blank fields, missing data, or inapplicable data.

5. Decide how you want the data to be formatted on the screen or when printed out.

6. Review existing data files to see if fields and codes already exist.

B. Plan table and file requirements

1. Review existing paper forms for completeness.

2. Determine whether tables or files will be "flat," "relational," or distributed."

3. Adopt naming conventions for fields in a table.

4. Adopt naming conventions for tables in a database.

5. Adopt naming conventions for databases in a system.

6. Adopt naming conventions for files in a system.

7. Adopt data access (security) requirements.

8. Identify key field requirements for relational structure

C. Plan requirements for procedures

1. Data entry

2. Data retrieval

3. Data checking and verification

4. Data tracking

5. Data modification/updating

6. Data queries

7. Reports needed

8. Table creation

9. Database creation

10. Database backups

11. Review existing procedures.