Week 8: Databases and Data Warehouses

1) List, describe and provide an example of each of the five characteristics of high quality information

- Accuracy: are all values correct? For example, is the name spelt correctly? is the dollar amount recorded properly?

- Completeness: are any of the values missing? For example, is the address complete including street, city, state and postcode?

- Consistency: Is aggregate or summary information in agreement with detailed information? For example, do all total fields equal the true total of the individual fields?

- Uniqueness: Is each transaction, entity and event represented only once in the information? For example, do all the total fields equal the true total of the individual fields?

- Timeliness: Is the information current with respect to the business requirements? For example, is information updated weekly, daily, or hourly?

2) Define the relationship between a database and a database management system.

A database in an organised collection of data. A database management system is a group of programs that manipulate the database. It provides an interface between the database and its users and other application programs.

3) Describe the advantages an organisation can gain by using a database.

A Database is the heart of an organisation, it stores key business information such as:

- Sales data; customers, sales, contacts

- Inventory data; orders, stock, delivery

- Student data; names, address, grades

4) Describe the fundamental concepts of the relational database model.

A relational database is a type of database that stores information in the form of logically  related two-dimensional tables each consisting of rows and columns. This allows data to be accessed in many different ways without having to reorganise the database tables.

5) Describe the benefits of a data-driven website

Data-driven websites are an interactive website kept constantly updated and relevant to the needs of its customers through the use of a database. These advantages include:

- Development

- Content management

- Future expandability

- Minimising human error 

- Cutting production and update costs

- More efficient

- Improved stability

- Real time info like stock levels and price changes

6) Describe the roles and purposes of data warehouses and data marts in an organisation.

A data warehouse is the logical collection of information, gathered from many different operational databases, that supports business analysis activities and decision-making tasks. The primary purpose of a data warehouse is to aggregate information throughout an organisation into a single repository for decision-making purposes.