CSC316 Assignment: Database Systems I Module 1 Discussions

Database
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Inasmuch as Excel can perform some tasks that are similar to Access, it is still a spreadsheet application and therefore has its deficiencies when compared to databases. As a point of note, a database can easily operate with information or files that are way bigger than the available RAM, something that cannot happen with Excel (Stephens, 2011).Excel utilizes much of the available memory for its proper functioning. The other reason for the use of database over Excel is that they are multi-user, whereas Excel can only allow one user at a time (Philips, 2014).
Databases are special because they come with multiple inbuilt functionalities that simplify data management. They help solve the problem of data retention, repeated computation, and simultaneous multi-user access from various locations. A relational database is an excellent way of data representation since it ensures data consistency and quick inquiry by allocating unique attributes for each table, attributes that can be linked to give specific information contained in each table (Philips, 2014).
When a database is poorly designed, numerous problems arise. There is ambiguity and inconsistency when it comes to the interpretation of data (Date, 2005). Related data is found to be scattered in numerous different tables, while the information on one might be very different from the information in the other. In the end, the output from such a database might either be unavailable or very inaccurate since it is a culmination of numerous wrong processes (Hernandez, 2003).
The advantages of relational databases are that they display information in a simple to understand way since it’s in row and columns. It’s flexible since different tables can easily be accessed (Ritchie, 2008).The normalization structure that is present in a relational database ensures that there is data independence at any one time. The main disadvantage comes with the complexity of its working, for example, if there are numerous tables, then the performance of the system might be significantly limited(Rob et.al.,2008).
What are some ways in which we can measure the success of our IT projects? What are some ways we can increase our chances of success?
It is always very interesting to plan for a given project, performing feasibility studies, or dry runs and so forth, for the purposes of avoiding failure in it, then in the end it still fails. It’s a very frustrating instance. However, there are a number of ways that can be used to measure the success of IT projects. Projects have a set of goals and targets.
First, one can analyze the project scenarios. This will help the project director or manager be able to have a skeleton of the entire project, to check on the potential pitfalls of bottlenecks that might pla...