Databases

Organizational summative report

Assignment
Spring – winter 2023
 Task 1
Analysis and design:
a) Introduction
According to Shoprite (1975). Shoprite is a retail and a cooperative
supermarket, which is a retail grocery store chain in United States
and some other African countries. It is owned by WAKEFERN
Food Corporation, which is a retailer-owned cooperative. There
are over 300 ShopRite stores in the northeastern and mid-Atlantic
states, primarily in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania,
Connecticut, Delaware, and Maryland.
What they do:
The stores offer a wide variety of products, including fresh
produce, meat, dairy, and bakery items, as well as household
goods and health and beauty products. ShopRite also offers online
ordering and home delivery services.

i. The meaning and use of Database

Meaning of database:
According to Ben L (ND). A database is a collection of data that is organized
in a specific way, allowing for efficient searching and retrieval of information.
It typically consists of one or more tables, each containing rows and columns
of data. Database can be used to store a wide variety of information
Such as:
Customer information, Business processes, financial transactions, Store
personal data and more.
They are often used in business, and other organizations to manage and
analyze large amounts of data.
 According to (AHMED, 2004; BERRY & LINOFF, 2004; Carrier &
POVEL, 2003). The type of transaction it will carry:
 Inventory management: It can be used to track the inventory levels of
products, including the number of items in stock, reorder points, and
supplier information.
 Sales tracking: It can be used to track customer purchases, including
the items purchased, the date of purchase, and the total amount
spent.
 Customer management: It can be used to store customer information,
including contact details, purchase history, and preferences.
 Reporting and data analysis: It can be used to generate reports on
various aspects of the business, such as sales, inventory, and
customer demographics.
 Automation of business processes: It can be used to automate
various business processes, such as ordering, invoicing, and
inventory replenishment.
 Type of record that will be carried out:
 Product information: This includes details about the products being
sold, such as product name, description, price, and SKU (stock
keeping unit) number.
 Inventory data: This includes information about the current stock
levels of products, reorder points, and supplier information.
 Customer data: This includes contact information, purchase history,
and other details about customers.
 Sales data: This includes information about customer purchases,
including the items purchased, the date of purchase, and the total
amount spent.
 Employee data: This includes information about employees, such as
their name, contact information, job title, and salary.
 Supplier data: This includes information about the suppliers of
products, including contact information and the products they supply.
 Financial data: This includes information about financial transactions,
such as sales, payments, and expenses.
All of this data can be used to generate reports, perform analysis, and
make informed business decisions.

Advantage and disadvantages of this database to the organization:

Advantages:
 Improved inventory management: It can be used to track inventory,
allowing customers to quickly reorder products when stock is running
low.
 Increase sales and revenue: It can be used to track customer
purchase history.
 Improved customer service: It can store customer information,
including contact details, purchase history, and preferences, which
can be used to personalize marketing campaigns and improve
customer service.
 Increased security: It can be used to store sensitive information, such
as financial data, and can be secured with various security measures,
such as encryption and user authentication, to protect against
unauthorized access.
  Improve accuracy: A database can store large amounts of data,
which can be easily accessed and updated, reducing the chances of
errors.

 Disadvantages –
 Potential for data breaches, which can compromise sensitive
customer information and damage the company's reputation.
 Databases require regular maintenance and updates, which can
be costly and time-consuming.
 If the database is not well-designed or optimized, it can slow down
and affect the performance of the overall system.
Entities:
 Customer: representing customers who make purchases
 Employee: representing employees who process orders
 Product: representing the products that are sold
 Order: representing the orders placed by customers
 Payment: representing the payments made for orders
 Store: representing the store where the products are sold

 The entities would be connected through relationships such as:

 A customer places an order
 An employee processes an order
 A product is included in an order
 An order is paid for through a payment
 A store carries products and processes orders
Task 1b)
According to (Jerzy, 2015; Richard, 2022). Diagram of the Entity
Relationship (ERD) –
1NF (First Normal Form):
Each table has a primary key
Each column in the table contains atomic (indivisible) values
2NF (Second Normal Form):
The table is in 1NF
No non-primary key column is dependent on a part of the primary
key
3NF (Third Normal Form):
The table is in 2NF
No non-primary key column is dependent on any other non-
primary key column.
Normalizion from 1NF – 3NF
Problems Encountered:
During the process of creating the ERD and normalizing it to 3NF.
 During the process is identifying all the entities and relationships that
are needed to accurately represent the requirements.
And I resolved it by thoroughly reviewing the business
requirements and discussing them with relevant stakeholders to
ensure that all necessary entities and relationships
 Another problem that I encounter is dealing with. The data anomalies.
And I resolved it by carefully reviewing the data and identifying
any redundant or inconsistent data, then implementing appropriate
normalization techniques to eliminate the redundancy and
inconsistencies.
 Another problem that I encounter performance issues when
normalizing the ERD.
And I resolved it by carefully reviewing the relationships between
tables and identifying any unnecessary joins, then optimizing the
database design to minimize the number of joins and improve
performance.
 Another problem that I encounter during the normalization process, is
challenge of understanding the business rules and constraints,
And I resolved it by consulting with the relevant stakeholders and
subject matter experts and documenting the rules and constraints.
Data Dictionary:
Task 2 –
Queries:
Select statement:

Update statement:

Delete statement:

Multiple command query:

Join query:
Task 3:
1) How the database meets ShopRite needs:
a. It is designed to store and manage the data needed for a standard
retail industry. The data dictionary describes the tables, columns
and relationships that are needed to store and manage the data
for this organization.
b. The normalization process was used to organize the data in a way
that reduces data redundancy and improves the integrity of the
data.
c. The data dictionary I have provided contains all the necessary
information needed to understand and work with the database.
d. The queries I have provided help understand how effectively you
can retrieve and manipulate data within the database, such as
performing operations and joining tables together.

How essential is the ER modeling:

e. Is an essential part of the design of a database solution because
it’s easier to understand and communicate the structure of the
data
f. It helps for a clear understanding of the requirements and
constraints of the system, and helps identify any potential issues
or inconsistencies in the data model.
g. When I used ER modeling in the design of the database solution, I
started by identifying the main entities (such as customers,
employees, products, stores, inventory, and suppliers), this will
help understand the structure of the data and how it would be
used.
h. ER diagrams is used to represent the relationships between the
entities and to identify any potential issues, such as data
redundancy or missing relationships. By identifying these issues
early on, I was able to rectify them before implementing the
database solution.
i. ER modeling helped me to ensure that the data model met the
business requirements and constraints, and that it was flexible
enough to accommodate future changes or expansion.
 Assumption:
1) I assumed that the organization is a standard retail industry and not a
specific company, so I provided a general solution which can be adapted
to specific requirements.
2) I assumed that the data required for the retail industry is limited to the
data entities and relationships I have described in the ERD and data
dictionary.
3) I assumed that the organization is using a relational database
management system (RDBMS) such as MySQL, and the SQL queries I
provided are based on that assumption.
4) I assumed that the organization's data model needs to be in 3NF form,
and I provided the normalization process accordingly.
 How the database support the transactions I made earlier:
 For example, the transactions related to sales will involve the Customer,
Employee, Product, Store, and Inventory tables. The Customer table will
store data about the customer, the Employee table will store data about
the employee who made the sale, the Product table will store data about
the product being sold, the Store table will store data about the store
where the sale took place, and the Inventory table will store data about
the quantity of the product in the store.
 The database I have created supports the transactions that I identified
by providing the appropriate data structures and relationships to store
and manage the data for those transactions.
 The relationships between these tables are defined in the ERD and the
data dictionary, which allows the data to be easily retrieved and
manipulated to support the sales transaction.
 Similarly, the transactions related to inventory management will involve
the Product, Store, and Inventory tables.
 The database also supports the transactions by providing the necessary
constraints and indexes to ensure data integrity and consistency. For
example, the primary key constraints on the tables ensure that each
record has a unique identifier, and the foreign key constraints ensure
that the data is consistent across related tables.
.
 References:
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[Accessed on 25/January/2023].
Adrienne W (ND). Chapter 8 the entity Relationship Data Model,
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