Dbm 380 Week 1

Database Environment Paper
Victoria A. Provencal
Database Concepts/DBM-380
Monday, December 15, 2014
Instructor: William McKown

Database Environment Paper
Database environments are very important in today’s industries. In selecting an organization that will need a database, I choose Smith Consulting. Smith Consulting will need a database to track their consulting staff, each staff member’s skill sets, and what projects they will be working on. This document will provide information on the following area’s listed below:
I. Analyze the Database Environment
II. Describe the Problems and Constraints
III. Describe the Objectives of the Database Environment
IV. Describe the Scope and Boundaries
V. List the Data Specifications
Smith Consulting is an organization that was structured in 1984 by Blair Smith in Houston Texas. This organization provides IT services to clients located in the Western United States from their headquarters located in Houston, Texas. Smith consulting originally started with a group of five, however over the years, have grown, and currently have 350
employees, generating about $45 million in revenue. Smith Consulting currently supports four clients: Kudler Fine Foods, Riordan Manufacturing, and McBride Financial Services. ("eCampus: Login", n.d.)
With the level of clientele that Smith Consulting provides services too, they also have consulting staff that also works for them. Smith Consulting will definitely need a functional database in order keep track of their consultant’s information. As you continue to read this document, the following area’s listed above will be answered to provide you with the information needed to help create a functional database for Smith Consulting.

I. Analyzing the Database Environment
Before you can start to create and build a database, you will need to analyze the database environment that you will be creating your database in. The purpose of analyzing the environment is to establish the nature and use of the data. Also, additional information will be provided to show where the organization currently stands and the type of situation the company is currently in based on this analysis. It is extremely important to find out if the current system is not doing well and the reasons for why it is not performing to the standards. will Currently for Smith Consulting, it appears that the current database will not allow new information and need to be updated in order to keep track of their consulting staff, their skill set, and the projects they are working on. In order for this analysis to be successful, the database designer and the users will need to speak frequently in order for this project to be successful. The database designed will need to collect as much information as possible in order to decide the types of entities and attributes will be needed for Smith Consulting. ("Database Analysis", n.d.)
The Nature and Use of data as mentioned above, involves the identification of the elements that will be needed in order to support the data processing system of Smith Consulting and using these elements as logical groups and defining the relationships between the groups. Basically, database analysis is a structure based methodology. ("Database Analysis", n.d.)
II. Describe the Problems and Constraints
The problems and constraints for this project for Smith Consulting will be determined by the database designer, during the conversations with the hierarchy and the users.
When the conversations are taking place, it is very important for the designed to obtain and identify the problems by collecting as much information as possible from the hierarchy and the end users. Without this information, it will be very difficult for the designer to complete this project. It is only natural for the designer and hierarchy to have different views on what they may feel are the problems, however they must come to some agreement and ultimately it is the database designer job to get the responses he/she will need to determine why the database system is not functioning properly. Listed below are some of the problems and constraints that could be possible while trying to plan and complete this
project:
1. Timing-Smith Consulting would like for this project to be completed within 3 months, which is considered a time constraint
2. Budget-Smith Consulting budget is very low, however, it appears that they are looking for a high level database. This is a budget constraint, which will have not allow for going over budget
3. Other Constraints and Problems deal with the building of the database after the designer have determine what the issues are.
To dig a little deeper with possible constraints that deal with database itself are: check constraints, foreign key constraint, not null constraint, primary key constraint, and unique constraint. As we get more involved with this project, these items will be described in more detail to give you a better understanding of how they relate to this project. ("Database Constraints at Database Tutorial," n.d.)
III. Describe the Objectives of the Database Environment
The objective of Smith Consulting’s database environment will be creating a database that will track consultants, their staff member’s sill sets, and the all projects they are working on with accuracy. In creating the database environment the following will have to be taken into consideration:

1. Choosing a Database Management System
2. The architecture of the Database Management System
3. Clustering
4. Proliferation
5. Installation Basics
6. Configuration
7. Versions and Releases
8. Support
9. Strategy
10. Standards and Procedures
11. Education
With the information listed above, this should satisfy the objectives of Smith Consulting’s database environment. ("Database Administration: Creating the Database Environment | Defining the Organization 's DBMS Strategy | InformIT," n.d.)
IV. Describe the Scope and Boundaries
The scope of this project will be creating a database that will satisfy the needs of Smith Consulting that will have enough capacity to add new information and edit existing information of their consultant staff. The database will ultimately track staff, track the skill set, and any projects associated with the consultants. This will provide management with ease when they are trying to determine which consultants will be the best fit for their clients. The end result will provide client satisfaction, employee morale, and a great match between the consultants and the client, based on the client needs.
The boundaries of this project will be the software and hardware. In the analysis phase, Smith Consulting will not need to purchase or update their software and hardware, however, boundaries will “identifies where the database system to be sized starts and ends”. ("Define System Scope and Boundaries," n.d.)
V. List the Data Specifications
Listed below is the beginning phase of the data specifications that will provide Smith Consulting with the information needed for their consultants. The entities will be listed in bold, followed by the attribute for that specific entity.
ENTITY=CONSULTANT_STAFF
Name
Position
Duties
ENTITY=CONSULTANT_SKILLS
Experience
Leadership/Management
Networking
ENTITY=CONSULTANT PROJECTS
Name
Location
Budget

References eCampus: Login. (n.d.). Retrieved November 14, 2014, from https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/cist/vop/Business/Smith/internet/index.asp
Database Analysis. (n.d.). Retrieved November 14, 2014, from http://db.grussell.org/section004.html
Database Constraints at Database Tutorial. (n.d.). Retrieved November 14, 2014, from http://michaelmclaughlin.info/db1/lesson-2-creating-tables/database-constraints/
Database Administration: Creating the Database Environment | Defining the Organization 's DBMS Strategy | InformIT. (n.d.). Retrieved November 14, 2014, from http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1963781
Define System Scope and Boundaries. (n.d.). Retrieved November 14, 2014, from http://www.testablerequirements.com/testablerequirements/def_sys_scope_bound.htm