ABSTRACT
As with many skills, the ability to normalize data requirements gets better with time and practice, as it is not an analytical process taught to software developers and users. Even when a database design team is composed of experienced users and analysts, a solution to a particular set of design requirements will vary widely, based on subtle nuances of interpretation of how to interpret details of user requirements.
The current chapter repeats the normalization process using a much more complex set of requirements than that used in Chapter 3. Based on data needed for a university’s database, a logical and physical data model is developed to capture information about schools and departments, the courses offered at the university, faculty members mapped against the classes they teach, and the students enrolled in each. Grades for assignments must of course be captured, and well as transcript records for completed courses. At each phase, the input for that step is given, with a visual pause allowing the user to develop their own solution before presenting a solution for that phase of analysis.
