Fall 2000 Mr. Richardson
One of the Requirements of this course is that students will design and create a relational database. The project is intended to demonstrate that the student is proficient with databases. The requirements for the class project are described on the appropriate webpage.
In keeping with the theme of clear and intelligent design, students will be required to create a specification document prior to mid-terms (Due on Wednesday Oct 18th). This will be your contract with me for the finished project. Once I have approved your specification, you may begin the actual database construction. If necessary, adjustments may be made to the document at later date, with prior agreement of all parties.
A product specification document is extremely important to the success of a project. In your instructor's opinion many CIS project implementations are delayed or fail because of the lack of a proper specification. A written specification should serve as a contract between the customer and the developer. Expectations should be clearly delineated. Both input and output should be discussed at length. In addition, human factors such as user interface, security, and documentation should also be clearly addressed.
In short, the customer should expect to receive EXACTLY what is in the specification. The specification should go into excruciating detail, with illustrations, screen diagrams, report mockups, etc. The customer should not expect things because they deem them logical or obvious. If it isn't in the specification, it will not happen.
There is no single template for a product specification. Different projects have different requirements. In order to help facilitate this assignment I suggest that students follow the outline given below.
I Introduction
Who is the customer? What kind of business is it? What is the project? What purpose does it serve? What product or process does it replace?
II. Purpose/Goal/Objective
What exactly is the database intended to do? Increase Productivity? Improve Workflow? Document Work the Work Process?
III. Input
What sort of input will the system be accepting? Is it entered directly or is it entered from a written source? What sort of person is doing the data entry? What is being done to maintain data integrity?
IV Processing
What sort of internal processing does the database do? Does it relieve inventory, or update quantities?
V. User Interface
What does the user interface look like? What menus and toolbars can users access? Is there a consistent "look" to the interface? What screens (forms) will be available? Describe them.
VI. Output
What do you intend to be the output from the database? Reports? If so provide details. Files? If so, provide a specification.
VII. Data Dictionary
This section should appear in EVERY specification. What Tables will you use? What fields will appear in those tables? What are the appropriate data types, field sizes, input masks, validation rules, etc.? How are your tables joined? What keys are you using?
Specification Templates on the Web:
http://www.baxtercycle.com/~bradapp/docs/sdd.html
http://homepages.feis.herts.ac.uk/~3com0027/TEMP(27).html
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Updated: December 26, 2001