Week7 Questions - Databases and Data Warehouse

1. List, describe, and provide an example of each of the five characteristics of high quality information?

• Accuracy –Are all values correct ?for e.g. name spelled correctly?
• Completeness – Are any of the values missing? for e.g. is the address correct including strret, city, postcode?
• Consistency – Is summary information in agreement with detailed information? for e.g. do total fields equal true total of individual fields?
• Uniqueness – is each transaction, event represented only once in the information? for e.g. are there any duplicate customers?
• Timeless –  Is the information current with respect to the business requirements? for e.g. is information updates weekly, daily, hourly?

2. Define the relationship between a database and a database management system?

A database refers to the upholding of information with regards to things such as: objects, events, people and places.
A database management system is used to access information from a database. A database management system (DBMS) is software through which users and appplication programs interact with a database.

3. Describe the advantages an organisation can gain by using a database?

The adavantages of using database in an organisation, include:

• Databases can save time, for e.g. a database pulls up information with a simple query meaning only requires keywords to pull up information
• Effeciency - Elimainates the need of repating data, which reduces data entry, storage and retrieval costs
• Data accuracy - As long as data is accurate, the client information will be reproduced accuartely throughout the system
• Information accessability and security - Easy to access cause all database information is in the one place. Employees have access to secure information on a need-to-know basis

4. Define the fundamental concepts of the relational database models?

The relational database model implements information into a two-dimensional table that are in connection to one another through rational means.

5. Describe the benefits of a data-driven website?

Benefeits of data-driven website, include:

• Development - Allows owner to make changes any time - without having to rely on a deeveloper
• Content Management - Static website which requires autur programmer to make updates. This adds to unnecessary layer between the business and its web content
• Future Expandability - Enables the site to grow faster than would be possible with a static site
• Minimising human error - Will have 'error-trapping' mechanisms to ensure that required information is filled out correctly and content is entered and deisplyed in right format
• More Efficient - Will improve reliabilty and stability of a website
• Improved Stabilty - With a data-driven website, the contant is never lost

6. Descibe the roles and purposes of data warehouses and data marts in an organisation?

A data warehouse is a logical collection of information - gathhat empered from many diefferent operational databases - that supports business analysis activities and decision-making tasks. The primary purpose of a data warehouse is to aggregate information throughout an organisation into a single repository in such a way that employees can make decisions and undertake business analysis activities.
data mart is where there is a smaller subset of database information. Organisations are able to disperse from transferred data and obtain business intelligence on things that are not identical to one another.

Reference

Baltzan, Phillips, Lynch, Blakey. 2010. Business Driven Information Systems. McGraw Hill. Sydney, Australia.

Sass, Forrest 2006, 10 Advanatages of Business Intelligence database that gives your company an edge, File-Makers, viewed 10 April 2011, <www.file-makers.com/10advantages.htm>