Learn How To Design A Good Database Design

For a company dealing with huge bulks of data, it is a must to have a good database design to make sure no mistakes are made when using these data.The design must be made to make sure it can handle information accurately, queries should be carried out without any mistakes and swiftly, moreover, information entries should also be able to be performed swiftly with no redundant information.

A database design has to make sure the structure is able to provide and keep up with the work of the company without bringing them any burden or mistakes.

A database design can be defined as a set of processes or steps taken to implement a database that will manage data for business. It is the organization of data from a database model. A good database design should follow certain rules like making sure all the information is up to date and no redundant information is present as this can cause many mistakes. Another rule will be to make sure inquiries can be answered accurately; the reliability of this data highly depends on the table structure of the design. These rules need to be followed as one mistake alone can be detrimental to a business’s operation and function.

Most designs use these two method when database designing is concerned.

• Entity relationship modeling: In this method, things that are interrelated in some interest will be dedicated to some domain. In other words, data are classified into entities with each entity having data that are related to each other in a specific manner which will be specified. This is done to signify real-life objects.

• Normalization: A relational database is structured into tables and columns and are linked together based on their relationship. This is done so to reduce the redundancy of information and to increase the integrity of the data.

There are three main phases in every database design, conceptual, logical, and physical phase. Let us look briefly at what is developed during each phase.

1. Conceptual Phase

As the name suggests this is where the concept is developed without much thought about issues of implementation, given that it is possible to implement. This stage is highly abstract and developers will look at the main problem domain and will design the concept of the structure with no technical details. In this stage, they will try to identify all the entities and how they are related to the business. The main aim of this stage is to come up with a clear plan and form of the structure. This stage requires careful research of the business’s needs as the whole lifecycle of the database design is decided at this stage.

2. Logical Phase

In this stage, designers go deeper into the design and translate the concept into a structure which is a more detailed representation of the concept. In this stage, all the entities are given their attributes, primary keys, foreign keys, and data types. But this phase is independent of any database management system(DBMS) and is expressed mainly in modeling diagrams like Entity Relationship Diagrams.

3. Physical Phase

This is the phase where the actual design comes to life. This is the most technical stage as implementation will be fully regarded at every step. At this stage, the logic phase is designed to be implemented on a specific data management system and all features like indexing, storage, security issues, performance optimization, etc. are taken care of in this stage.After everything is developed, before it is deployed there will also be constant and continuous testing to make sure no issues will arise in the future.

A database can be built for different purposes and that needs to be researched and studied thoroughly before any development starts. Moreover, you need to know how to specify the structure of the database. Designing can be done in so many ways and steps, some of which are discussed briefly below.

1. Know Why You Need A Database

The first thing you need is the objective of your database, and the purpose of the design and this will guide the design in every phase and development of the design. For instance, if you are designing a database for a university, it can be done so for information on student enrolment, the different subjects they opt for, and so on. The decision in this initial step is important as it sets the tone for all the planning necessary to finish and implement the database.

2. Collect the Necessary Data

The second step is to go through all the existing data and collect what needs to go into the database. This will save you time later while at the same time reducing data redundancy. You need to make sure you question yourself what queries you need or want your database to answer as you work, this will make deciding which information to go to your database clearer and easier.

3. Distribute the Data into Tables and Columns

The next step is to make a table where you spread the data based on the relation or bu entities you have created. Taking our example of university, one table can be about students’ enrolment information another table can be about the subjects students opt for, while another can be information about the teachers and so on.

The next step will be making a column in the table to divide the data according to the user’s needs to make sure the information is easier to access and more accurate. Again taking our university’s example, the table for the student’s enrolment can have columns to fill in their name, another column to add the marks they get, another to record their past educational background, and so on. After the first entry, you can further refine these columns to make sure data entry can be easily found. For example column for each subject and the marks students score in each and so on.

4. Primary key and Composite key

One thing you need to do is identify the primary keys in your table. This will improve the design of your database significantly as the primary keys are columns or sets of columns that will clearly show or pinpoint a row distinctively making it easier when searching for information. There can be more than one primary key known as a composite key which is made by using similar data or varying data as the primary keys.An example of this will be, that a primary key in your student enrolment table can be the student’s roll numbers of the students, or it can be the class they are assigned, and so on.

5. Define the Relationship of Your Entities in the Table

There are three main types of relationships, the first one is a one-to-one relationship where one piece of data in a table has a relation with another data in another table. The second relation is one-to-many which is when data from one table have a relation with multiple data from another table. The last one is many-to-many, that is many data from a table have a relation with many data from another table.

One thing to note is to make sure the relation of data in any table entry remains meaningful to make sure the database is functional and easy to use. If needed more tables can be made to make the relationship more simple and easier to manage.

6. Experiment With the Design

After the tables, columns, relationship of the tables, and information entry are all done, experiment with the design to make sure no mistake is made. For instance, try any query with the database, edit some information, or update some, the point is to try any activities to make sure errors can be identified before any implementation is developed. This way you can identify the errors and mistakes and fix them before reaching further stages of the development to make sure no mistakes will be found when used in real-life operations.

7. Implement normalization rules

After all the steps the above steps are taken and enough test is made to make sure the database operates smoothly, you can implement the normalization rules. As we have already learned the definition of this rule, we know this will help in getting rid of redundant information while also making sure there is no irregularity or disturbance with updates, changes, or deletion of information.This will make sure queries can be answered accurately and easily, while at the same time, wrong information or unnecessary data are not found in the table.

Every business or institution deals with data, while some deals with bulks of data others deals with a smaller amount. If the case is that the data is so small that it can be handled manually, then a database structure is not needed. But otherwise, for almost all businesses a database is needed for the operation of the business. This will make sure all information can be accurately taken while at the same time stored correctly in a methodological manner for easier access and use. Working with data is crucial for all businesses and accurate data is needed for this to work successfully, thus having a well-designed database is vital for the functionality and success of a business.

What is a good database design?

A good database design is one that will make sure there is no data redundancy, deliver accurate answers for any queries, and store data in a tabular manner based on relationship.

How to make sure a database design is good?

There is no other way but testing consistently. Test again and again to make sure the design can accomplish the objective of the database and make sure no error remains.

Is a table needed to make a database design?

Yes, to make sure the data is stored according to a certain relationship among the data, for better functionality, using a table format is necessary.