1. technology and computing
2. software
3. databases

How Databases Work For
Records Management
Presented By Joe Gentry
President, Xpert Systems, Inc.
Record Keeping Uses Databases

Databases are increasingly at the core of
records management classification and
indexing from simple electronic card
catalogs to complex applications such as
electronic record-keeping systems.
Our Direction Today

We will discuss database usage in records
management, including in depth analysis
of good and poor database designs.
Target Audience

Ever Heard of the Beginner Series of
books that begin with “For Dummies…”?
This is the “Databases For Dummies”
Presentation …
(But, of course WE are not Dummies) 
Why Do I Need To Know This?





Databases are everywhere
You use them in everyday applications
They Force you to be Organized
People will talk about them – you should
at least know enough to talk about them
Business = Data Collection
How Can I Apply This?







Good Question!
What Do You Do?
Keep Track of Things – Any Thing
Records
Files
Collections
To Do Items – Task Lists
What We Will Cover







What is a Database?
Different Database Uses
How To Create a Database
How To Design Tables (Good and Bad)
How To Connect To Your Data
How To Find Your Data
How To Apply This To Your Work
What We Will Not Cover
The “Tough” stuff – It’s unnecessary
 The “College” stuff – Who’s got time
 The “Bad” stuff – The Sky is Falling
 The “Hard” stuff – Easier Than You Think
 The “Boring” stuff – My Personal Challenge
No one will walk out of here today and apply for a
job as a Database Administrator. There are lot’s
of courses taught and books sold to give you
more detailed information on databases.

What Is A Database – Really?



The Purpose of a Database is to Store
Data
Physically, a Database is Implemented as
one or more files – depending on the type
of database used
Databases consist of Multiple Objects
Who Uses Databases?






Everyone who uses Windows!
Run REGEDIT.EXE some time
View the Microsoft Window’s Internal
Database
Where Associations Are Stored
Where Application Settings Are Stored
Where Object Permissions Are Stored
(Windows Database Trick)


Ever Install A Program That Puts an Annoying Reminder Message
That Just Never Seems to Want To Go AWAY?
Would You Like to Know the “Trick” Hiding Place For This
Application?
Internet Giants Use Databases
The Following Web Sites have to handles
thousands of requests each day all relying
heavily on, you guessed it, Databases!




E-Bay
Amazon.Com
Imovies
CheapTickets
Database Objects









Tables
Keys
Constraints
Indexes
Views
Stored Procedures
Triggers
Defaults
Rules
Who’s Afraid Of Databases?

Well If you’ve Taken A Course Of Any Kind
On Database Design Theory – Probably
You Are!

Today, We Are Going To Focus on
Simplicity – So Never Fear
Can We Make This Complicated?

Before We Delve Into How The Internal
Workings of A Database Operate, Let’s Consider
The Following: It’s Like Driving A Car

Many people have no idea how the Internal
Combustion Engine operates in their Automobile

They Just Need To Know How To Turn The Key
To Start The Motor And That’s It!
Database Applications
Let’s Take A Few Minutes To
Discuss How Databases Are
Used In Some Day-To-Day
Programs
Example Database Applications









Contact Manager
Document Manager
Library Books Manager
Accounting
Retail Store Manager
Document Capture Management
Work-Flow Management
Personal Organizer
Human Resources Manager
Contact Manager









As used by the salespeople in any company
Keep track of all the customers you work with
Contacts at that company
Every phone conversation
Every letter sent out
Every follow-up that needs to be performed
Tie all of the different salesperson’s data together to
give the sales manager an overall view of what their
people are doing
Where they are in the different sales cycles
Are they even working?
Document Manager



Keeps track of your documents
Paper, Electronic Files, Images, Email, etc.
For every document you need to know:






What it is?
Who it Belongs to?
Where should it go?
How long do I need to keep it?
How do I need to secure it?
How do I find it later?
Library Books Manager






Used to track the Corporate Library
What books on shelves
What books are loaned out
When are They due back
Who has what
Where are the books located
Accounting Management








Similar to Quicken/Quickbooks
Create Invoices
Customers
Who Owes Us Money
Who We Owe Money To
Taxes Collected/Owed
Employees
Payroll
Retail Store Manager







Customers
Products Sold
Taxes Collected
Sales People
Commissions Owed
Inventory On Hand – Inventory To Order
Reports
Document Capture Management







Used When Scanning Paper Documents
What Type Of Document Is It?
Where Does It Get Stored?
What Index Information Do I Need?
Is It Part of a Batch of Documents?
Do I Want To QA, OCR, Index Each One?
Internal Routing of Batch’s Work-Flow
Work-Flow Management









In-Box Work-Flow
Moves Documents From Point to Point
Tracks Documents
Which Work-Flow
Where/Who It Came From?
Where It Goes Next?
Approval Action (Initials, etc.)
Age of Items
Reports
Personal Organizer






Day-Timer Type of Application - Outlook
Daily To-Do Lists
Short Term Goals
Long Term Goals
Personal Phone Numbers
Important Dates (Birth Dates, etc.)
Human Resources Manager







Keeps Track of People
Resumes
Application Data
Job Reviews – Performance Evaluations
Equipment Assigned
Office Locations
Payroll
The Common Denominator

The Glue that holds all of these different
applications together is the database

Every significant business application
must store it’s information somewhere
Levels Of Database Usage

Ordinary Application User
No Idea What A Database Even Is

Seasoned Application User
Knows Enough About Databases To Be Dangerous
Knows Where Data is Stored And How To Poke Around

Application Developer
Is Responsible For Designing Database Architecture

Database Administrator
The Guru
Hypothetical Situation

It Never Fails! Your Boss comes to You
and Assigns The Task of Tracking Records
For A Special Project
How Are You Going To Keep Track Of
Them?
But I’ve Got Excel Here!
Over The Years, I Have Seen Them All:
 Post-It Notes
 Plain Notebook Paper
 Index Cards
 Excel Spreadsheets
 Notepad Text Document
 A Database
 A Really High-End Database
Different Types Of Databases
There are Three Main Types of Databases:
 Desktop Databases
Access, FoxPro, Paradox, Btrieve, etc.
 Client/Server Databases
SQL Server, Sybase, Oracle, Informix, etc.
 Mainframe Databases
DB2, etc.
Database Components



Data Files
Where The Actual Data is Stored
Database Engine
Handles Search Requests, Record
Additions/Deletions, etc.
User Interface
Some Method to Connect To The
Database Engine
Desktop Databases
These are the “Do It All” databases
The Three Main Components All Operate Together On Your
Local Desktop Machine:
 The Database File is Stored On Your Local C: Drive
 The Database Engine Resides In Memory on Your
Machine
 The User Interface is Running On the Same Machine
Microsoft Access






Part of the Microsoft Office Suite of
Products (Professional Edition)
Simple to Use
Easy To Create Objects using Wizards
Built-In Reports
Built-In Programming Language
Stores File as .MDB file on Drive
Desktop Utility



Desktop Databases Get the Job Done And
Have Been Doing So For Many Years
You Can Store Your Data For Many Years
And You May Still Get The Job Done
But Then, The Question Is…
Do You Share?

If you have a Desktop Database That Is
Being Shared By Many Other Users, You
Start To Edge Into The Next Level

When There Is A Lot of Activity Against A
Desktop Database such as Access,
Locking Issues Creep Into The Picture
Room To Grow

The Next Most Pressing Issue With A
Desktop Database is Volume

As The Size Grows – Depending On The
Situation, The Database May Become
Inappropriate For The Job
Client/Server Who?




A Client/Server Database Breaks Down The
Three Main Components Over Two Or More
Computers
The Server is Where The Database Files Are
Located
The Server is Where The Database Engine is
Located (Possibly A Different Server From
Where The Database Files Are Located)
The Client is The User Interface Portion of The
Process And Is Processed By The Local User’s
Computer
Server Databases





Server Databases usually run as a Service on
the Server Computer
It’s A Program That is Running In Memory Just
Waiting For Users To Request Work
This Service Program Can Handle Many
Different User Requests At Once
They Can Store Large Volumes of Data
Data Files Can Even Span Multiple Physical
Devices
Through Thick And Thin
Clients
Early Client/Server Applications Were known as
Thick Clients


An Actual Program Is Installed On Your Local
Machine That Connects To The Database
Upgrading Lots Of Users=Lots Of Pain
Today More People Desire Thin Clients



Usually Little Or Nothing is Installed On Local
Computer
Updates Are Done In One Place – The Server
Often, But not Always, Browser-Based
Applications Store Data



New Thin Client Applications Allow me To Do My
Work Through A Browser
The Data Application can Add New Records,
Perform Searches, Run Reports
Basically I can Do All I need To Do With Nothing
Installed On My Machine*
*Okay, Need a Browser with the Latest Java
Runtime
Let’s Do It!

Okay So Your Boss Is Still Dropping Hints
That Your Project Has Yet To Show Any
Progress
Let’s Get Busy Writing The Plan
The Plan
The Project Needs A Plan –
Even If It Is A Simple One
Step 1. Describe The Scope of Project
Step 2. Outline Objects Involved
Step 3. Describe Relationships Of Objects
Step 4. Start Initial Design On Paper
Step 5. Design Actual Database
How Do I Pick A Database?




When Deciding Which Database to Use,
There Are Three Major Decisions That
Need To Be Answered:
What Can I Afford?
How Much Data Will I Have?
How Many Users Will I Have?
Database System Comparison
Access
SQL Server
Oracle
Low Number Users/Moderate Frequency of
Transactions, or
Moderate Number of Users/Low Frequency of
Transactions
High Number Users/Moderate Frequency of
Transactions, or
Moderate Number Users/High Frequency of
Transactions
High Number Users/High Frequency of
Transactions
Simple Decision For Us
Since Our Department Has NO BUDGET
And We Already Own Microsoft Access,
We Will Do Our Project Using Access
The Good News – All Of Our Data Can
Easily Be Imported Into Either SQL Server
Or Oracle When The Time Comes
How Do I Get Started?

Step 1. Describe The Scope Of Project
Basically, It’s To Manage All Of The Folders
And Documents In A Five Drawer Filing
Cabinet
Paralysis Of Analysis
Step 2. Outline Objects Involved
This is Where A Lot Of Projects Can Get
Bogged Down Or Go In The Wrong
Direction
Don’t Over-Analyze
Simple Design
The Objects:




Cabinet
Drawers
Folders
Documents
Who’s Related To Who?
Step 3: Describe Relationships Of Objects
One Cabinet Has Many Drawers
One Drawer Has Many Folders
One Folder Has Many Documents
Initial Design
Step 4: Start Initial Design On Paper
Designing A Database Is As Much Art As It
Is Science
Don’t Over-Complicate Matters If Possible
Create The First Database
Step 5. Design Actual Database
This is Where the “Fun” comes in …
The “Wrong” Way
We Create One Table Called FileCabinets With The Following:
 Cabinet Name – What we Call this Cabinet
 Cabinet Location – Where it’s Physically Located
 Cabinet Type – We Have Many Different
 Drawer Number – Drawer 1, 2, 3, etc.
 Drawer Name – Label on the Front of Drawer
 Folder Name – Label on Actual Folder
 Folder Owner – Who is Responsible For This Folder?
 Document Name – What is The Document Called
 Document Type – What Kind of Document is it?
 Document Attribute 1 – Used To Describe The Document
 Document Attribute 2 – Used To Describe The Document
Get The Job Done



Pick up any book on Database Design and
you will probably get overwhelmed by all
of the jargon.
There are lots of “Preferred” ways to do
things
Most Import of All is Get The Job Done
Before We Begin The Design

We Are Going To Have To Consider The
“Right” Way To Build Our Database

What Is The “Right” Way?
Parental Advisory

The Next Few Slides May Be Deemed
Inappropriate For People Of ALL Ages

“Stick With Me, Here Comes The
Technical Stuff…”
Relational Database Design




Before We Look At Relational Database Design
We Should Define The Term “Relational
Database”
A Relational Database is a Database That Has
Been Organized Into Related Tables, Rows, and
Columns
This Type of Database Normally Uses More
Tables That Are Narrow Vs. Few Tables That Are
Wide
More Tables That Contain Fewer Columns
Are You Normal?
When You Take A Course On Relational Database
Management Systems, Or Pick Up A Book That
Covers Database Design, Count On One Thing
To Come Up…
Normalization!
A Normalized Database Improves Performance
Even Though There Are More Tables
Normalization




There Are Six Different Forms of Normalization
Each Method is Usually Referred To As
“Normal Form”
There Are Three Normal Forms Commonly Used
Over-Normalized Databases Will Be Normalized
To The Fourth, Fifth, Or Sixth Forms And May
Actually Slow Overall Performance
First Normal Form



Eliminates Repeating Groups of Data in a
Table
Create a Separate Table For Each Set of
Related Data
Assign a Primary Key To Each Table
Which is Used as an ID (Identifier)
Eliminate Repeating Groups
Cabinet
Name
Cabinet
Location
Cabinet Type Drawer
Number
Row 1
HR Cabinet
HR
Break-room
5 Drawer
1
Row 2
HR Cabinet
HR
Break-room
5 Drawer
1
Row 3
HR Cabinet
HR
Break- room
5 Drawer
1
Separate Tables With ID’s
Cabinets
Drawers
Folders
Documents
Cabinet ID
Drawer ID
Folder ID
Document ID
Cabinet Name
Drawer Number
Folder Name
Document Name
Cabinet Location
Drawer Name
Folder Owner
Document Type
Cabinet Type
Document
Attribute 1
Document
Attribute 2
Second Normal Form

Create Separate Tables For Sets Of
Values That Apply To Multiple Records

Relate These Tables With Foreign Keys
Tables For Values That Apply To
Multiple Records
Cabinet Types
Locations
Owners
Document Types
Cabinet Type ID
Location ID
Owner ID
Document Type ID
Cabinet Type
Location
Owner Name
Document Type
Relate With Foreign Keys
Cabinets
Drawers
Folders
Documents
Cabinet ID
Drawer ID
Folder ID
Document ID
Cabinet Name
Drawer Number
Folder Name
Document Name
Location ID*
Drawer Name
Owner ID*
Document Type ID*
Cabinet Type ID*
Cabinet Types
Locations
Owners
Document Types
Cabinet Type ID*
Location ID*
Owner ID*
Document Type ID*
Cabinet Type
Location
Owner Name
Document Type
Third Normal Form

Eliminate Columns That Do Not Depend
On the Primary Key
Eliminate Columns
The Columns In Each Table You Define
Should Relate To Primary Key
Employees Table
Employee ID
Employee Name
Supervisor ID
Supervisor Name
Address
Doesn’t Belong
Can You ID That Person?
The “Trick” To The Primary Key is Uniqueness
 Sometimes Defining the Primary Key is Fairly
Simple





Social Security Number
Phone Number
Employee Number
License Number
Sometimes You Have To Completely Make One
Up


Folder ID, Document ID, Cabinet ID, Drawer ID
Fortunately Auto-Incrementing Columns Help
Doesn’t Feel Very Normal

Okay, We Now Have a Normalized Relational
Database Designed and Created – What Next?

If You Are Adding Records One By One, It Could
Be Considered “Painful”

The Best Solution is to Write a “Client” Interface
Of Some Sort That Connects To The Database
And Allows You To Enter Data And Retrieve
Data
Slow Down

Relax - We’re Not Going To Turn You Into
Programmers At This Point

This Process Is Very Much Required In
Every Electronic Records Management
Application Developed Today – Only Much
More Complicated Than What We Have
Done, Of Course
Ways To Connect To A Database


We Have A Database And With The Help
Of One Our Programmer Friends (NICE
People To Have Around ;) We Also Have A
Client Program To Use With The Database
As Well
How Do They “Talk” To Each Other?
The “Old Way”



In The Early Days, Programmers Wrote
Applications That Were Tightly Coupled
With A Specific Database
If The Customer Needed A Version For A
Different Database
Several Years Ago
ODBC = K.I.S.S.



Several Years Ago Microsoft And Other
Database Software Vendors Defined A Standard
Interface For Connecting To Databases Called
ODBC
Open Database Connectivity
Application Developers Could Now Write One
Application That Could Connect To Practically
Any ODBC-Compliant Database - Simple
Out With The “Old”



As Is Common In Technology ODBC is
now considered “Old”
The Current Revision of The ODBC
Standard is 3.0 and Will Be The Last
The Newest Kid On The Block Is Called
ADO - OLEDB
SQL – The Language Of
Databases
A Little Is All You Need
A VIEW Of The Future
Thank You!
I Hope You Enjoyed This Presentation
I Am Available For Any Questions or
Comments