BCS LEVEL 6 PROFESSIONAL

GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN IT

ADVANCED DATABASE CONTENTS

MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS 3. Introduction

4. Qualification Suitability and Overview

SYLLABUS
THIS QUALIFICATION WILL BE RETIRING 2026 4. SFIA Levels

5. Learning Outcomes

6. Syllabus

10. Examination Format

10. Question Weighting

11. Recommended Reading

12. Using BCS Books

13. Document Change History

September 2023 v5.2

This is a United Kingdom government regulated qualification
which is administered and approved by one or more of the
following: Ofqual, Qualifications Wales, CCEA Regulation or SQA.
 Qualification Suitability and
Overview
Candidates must have achieved the Diploma in IT or have an appropriate exemption in order to be entered
for the Professional Graduate Diploma (PGD). Candidates can study for this PGD by attending a training
course provided by a BCS accredited Training Provider or through self-study, although it is strongly
recommended that all candidates register with an approved centre. Studying with an approved centre will
deliver significant benefits.

Candidates are required to become a member of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, to sit and be awarded
the qualifications. Candidates may apply for a four-year student membership that will support them
throughout their studies.

The Level 6 PGD is suitable for professionals wishing to gain an advanced formal IT qualification, and this
module may be particularly relevant for candidates interested in career opportunities such as data science,
Introduction informatics and data engineering.

The final stage within the BCS three-stage Higher Education Qualification programme, the Level 6
Professional Graduate Diploma (PGD) enables candidates who have already achieved the Level 5 Diploma in
Total Qualification Time Guided Learning Hours Assessment Time
IT to gain depth of knowledge and expertise in their field. (Certificate) (Module) (Exam)

Our modules have been created in-line with the SFIAPlus framework and latest developments in the
industry, giving you a competitive edge in the IT job market and showing your dedication to the industry. 1414 hours 250 hours Three hours
You will have the opportunity to learn about topics such as advanced database management, network
information systems, web engineering and programming paradigms, as well as to build upon knowledge
and skills developed during the Level 5 Diploma.

To successfully achieve the qualification, candidates need to complete: SFIA Levels

· One core module (Professional Project in IT)
This award provides candidates with the level of knowledge highlighted within the table, enabling
· Four optional modules
candidates to develop the skills to operate successfully at the levels of responsibility indicated.
Depending on entrance conditions, completing the Level 6 PGD in IT may support entry onto a Master’s
degree course at selected global universities. Level Levels of Knowledge Levels of Skill and Responsibility (SFIA)
K7 Set strategy, inspire and mobilise

Advanced Database Management Systems optional module K6 Evaluate Initiate and influence
K5 Synthesise Ensure and advise
The Advanced Database Management Systems module is an optional module that forms part of the Level 6
K4 Analyse Enable
PGD in IT – the final stage within the BCS three-stage Higher Education Qualification programme.
K3 Apply Apply
Candidates will be given a detailed insight into relational systems and how to implement them. The module
will also develop candidates’ knowledge of current themes and advances in relational database systems. K2 Understand Assist
Furthermore, candidates will evaluate emerging architectures for database management systems and K1 Remember Follow
further develop their understanding of the impact that emerging database standards may have on facilities
provided by future database management systems.

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SFIA Plus
This syllabus has been linked to the SFIA
DTAN4
Investigates corporate data requirements, and Syllabus
knowledge skills and behaviours required at Level applies data analysis, design, modelling, and
6. quality assurance techniques, to establish, modify 1. Relational theory and concepts
or maintain data structures and their associated
components (entity descriptions, relationship
DBAD4 descriptions, attribute definitions). Provides
advice and guidance to database designers and Learners will be able to:
Uses database management system software and others using the data structures and associated
tools, and knowledge of logical database schemata, components.
to investigate problems and collect performance 1.1 Explain theoretical concepts.
statistics and create reports. Carries out routine
configuration, installation, and reconfiguration Indicative content Guidance
of database and related products. Develops and DBDS4
configures tools to enable automation of database Develops and maintains specialist knowledge of a. Theoretical foundations of Candidates will be required to have knowledge of relational algebra,
administration tasks. Identify problems and issues database and data warehouse concepts, design relational systems. tuple relational calculus, and relational model conformity. They
and recommend corrective actions. principles, architectures, software and facilities. should also understand the value of integrity constraints and be
Assesses proposed changes to object/data well-practised in design approaches and implications of design
structures, in order to evaluate alternative options. techniques on table design.
Implements physical database designs to support
transactional data requirements for performance
and availability. Implements data warehouse
designs that support demands for business 1.2 Describe the relational model.
intelligence and data analytics.
Indicative content Guidance

Further detail around the SFIA Levels can be found at www.bcs.org/levels. a. Conformity and integrity. Candidates should be able to evaluate the relational model and
b. Use of constraints. discuss physical mapping techniques.
c. Mapping design approaches,
such as entity relationship
modelling to relational
systems.

2. Processing database data

Learning Outcomes
Learners will be able to:
Upon completion of this module, candidates will be able to:

• Critically assess new developments in database technology. 2.1 Describe advanced SQL programming.
• Interpret and explain the impact of emerging database standards.
• Evaluate the contribution of database theory to practical implementations of database management Indicative content Guidance
systems.
a. Using advanced SQL Candidates should have detailed knowledge of the limitations of
techniques when querying SQL and the role of stored procedures and triggers in database
and manipulating data and applications. They should build on their knowledge of basic
data objects. constructs such as joins and subqueries and be able to evaluate a
range of alternative solutions to query requirements.

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2.2 Explain query optimisation. 2.5 Explain distributed relational systems.

Indicative content Guidance Indicative content b. The Two-Phase Commit protocol and its
weaknesses.
a. Query transformations. c. Implications for cloud storage.
Candidates should be able to demonstrate an understanding of a. Data replication:
b. Optimisation approaches. d. Fragmentation strategies.
how optimisers work. This includes the ability to transform query i. Synchronous.
c. Use of constraints. e. Distributed locking strategies.
specifications, use appropriate indexes and constraints to perform ii. Asynchronous.
d. Creation and use of a variety f. Optimisation approaches.
of index structures and efficient retrieval of data. Candidates will also need to analyse
mechanisms. query trees and simple execution plans. Guidance
Candidates should be able to distinguish between truly distributed databases (as in C. J. Date’s twelve
rules), and those which only partially implement them - often involving replication techniques. Candidates
should have a solid understanding of network issues and protocols such as Two-Phase commit.
2.3 Demonstrate an understanding of concurrency control, transaction management and recovery
techniques.

Indicative content Guidance 3. Post-relational systems

a. The ACID principle. Candidates should have a detailed knowledge of the ANSI ACID
b. Two-phase locking and principle for transactions - particularly the isolation levels, as these Learners will be able to:
deadlocks. are markedly different in the leading databases. Candidates should
c. Recovery procedures. be familiar with the tools available for backing up and recovering 3.1 Compare different types of database management systems.
d. Transaction design. the database, in order to achieve fault tolerance of a range of
e. Lock granularity. failures, such as transaction, process, system, media, and site. Indicative content d. Temporal database management systems.
f. Optimistic and pessimistic e. New database applications and architectures, e.g.:
approaches to locking. • Multimedia.
a. Object oriented database management
systems. • Mobility.
b. Deductive database management systems. • NoSQL.
c. Spatial and graph database management • Document-oriented databases.
systems. • Statistical databases.
2.4 Describe database server tuning.
Guidance
Indicative content Guidance
Candidates should understand the reasons behind development of and the perceived need for object
a. Maximising storage and This area is mainly relevant to administration and the Database support within the database. They should be familiar with Object-relational systems and reasons for using
memory usage. Administrator. Balancing system resource usage is an important them.
b. Memory components and part of tuning the database. Candidates should have a firm
caching techniques. understanding of important aspects, such as using appropriate Candidates should also recognise the limitations of relational systems and the way in which new
c. Indexing. storage technology, and techniques, such as data compression. technologies such as NoSQL, document-oriented, and key-value pair databases attempt to alleviate some of
d. Hashing techniques. the issues.

They should be able to demonstrate their understanding of special purpose database systems as
alternatives and relational models to handle temporal, spatial and multimedia databases.

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4. Database security Examination Format
This module is assessed through completion of an invigilated written exam.
Learners will be able to:

4.1 Analyse database security and privacy methods and techniques.

Indicative content Guidance Type Three written questions from a choice of five, each with equal marks
Duration Three hours
a. Data encryption and This is an increasingly important area for data professionals,
Supervised Yes
decryption. covering an increasing array of technologies. Candidates should
have a firm understanding of password control and identification Open Book No (no materials can be taken into the examination room)
b. Redaction and masking
techniques. techniques, as well as authorisation controls such as roles and Passmark 10/25 (40%)
c. Authentication and privileges. They will also need to appreciate the responsibilities of
Delivery Paper format only
authorisation. a Database Security Administrator. Cyber security describes the
d. Database auditing and way an organisation protects its online assets from different kinds
archiving. of threats.
e. Cyber security vs. data Adjustments and/or additional time can be requested in line with the BCS reasonable adjustments policy
security. for candidates with a disability or other special considerations.

5. Data warehouse and data mining

Learners will be able to:

5.1 Compare different approaches for modelling and storing historical data. Question Weighting
Indicative content f. Multidimensional databases, e.g. cubes,
Candidates will choose three questions from a choice of five. All questions are equally weighted and worth
aggregation.
g. Time series analysis. 25 marks.
a. Schema design, e.g. star vs. snowflake.
b. OLAP vs. OLTP and denormalisation issues. h. Analytic (windowing) functions.
c. Extraction, transformation and loading i. Resource issues.
(ETL/ELT). j. Data mining capabilities and applications.
d. Slowly changing dimensions. k. Data mining and data warehouse integration and
e. Table partitioning. support.

Guidance
Data warehousing involves the storage of large amounts of mainly historical data which can be used
for market and trend analysis. Data warehouses are mainly query-only, which allows different design
opportunities, in contrast to operational databases. They are often denormalised and carefully indexed to
maintain performance as the data grows. Candidates would be expected to explain why different schemas
exist, how table partitioning can be used to organise data for efficient retrieval, and how to cope with the
issue of slowly changing dimensions. They should also be aware of the complexities around ETL/ELT and
populating a data warehouse.

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Recommended Reading Additional texts and resources

Primary texts Title: SQL 1999: Understanding Relational Language Components

Author: J. Melton and A. Simon
Publisher: Morgan-Kaufmann
Title: An Introduction to Database Systems (eighth edition)
Date: 2003
Author: C. J. Date
ISBN: 978-1558604568
Publisher: Addison-Wesley Longman
Date: 2003
ISBN: 978-0321197849

Title: The Ultimate Guide from Beginner to Expert - Learn and Master
SQL in No Time
Author: P. Adams
Title: Database System Concepts (sixth edition)
Publisher: Addison Wesley
Author: A. Silberschatz, H. Korth and S. Sudarshan
Date: 2016
Publisher: McGraw-Hill
ISBN: 978-1540700520
Date: 2010
ISBN: 978-0073523323

Title: Designing Data-Intensive Applications: The Big Ideas Behind

Reliable, Scalable, and Maintainable Systems
Title: Principles of Database Management: Practical Guide to Storing, Author: M. Kleppmann
Managing and Analyzing Big and Small Data
Publisher: O’Reilly
Author: W. Lemahieu, S. vanden Broucke and B. Baesens
Date: 2017
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 978-1449373320
Date: 2018
ISBN: 978-1107186125

Title: Database Systems: Practical approach to design, implementation,

and management (sixth edition)
Author: T. M. Connolly and C. Begg
Publisher: Pearson Education
Date: 2015
Using BCS Books
ISBN: 978-1292061184 Accredited Training Organisations may include excerpts from BCS books in the course materials. If you
wish to use excerpts from the books you will need a license from BCS. To request a license, please contact
the Head of Publishing at BCS outlining the material you wish to copy and its intended use.

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Document Change History
Any changes made to the syllabus shall be clearly documented with a change history log. This shall include
CONTACT
the latest version number, date of the amendment and changes made. The purpose is to identify quickly
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what changes have been made.
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Version Number Changes Made The Chartered Institute for IT
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July 2021 SN1 1BY
Version 2.0 Syllabus updated following review.
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Version 3.0 Syllabus updated following review.
Version 4.0 Updates made based on review by moderators and examiners. www.bcs.org
Version 5.0 Changes made to date following 2022 refresh. © 2022 Reserved. BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT
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BCS Level 6 Professional Graduate Diploma in
IT Advanced Database Management Systems v5.1
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