1. Smith Consulting is in need of a database which will track their consulting staff and keep
track of each staff member’s skill sets. This database should also keep track of which projects
the consulting staff is each working on. Smith Consulting is an organization located in Houston,
Texas which provides information technology services to clients located in the Western United
States. Smith Consulting provides services in the areas of networks and communication,
database, and application programming. The company was founded in 1984 by Blair Smith and
three associates from his firm in order to provide his accounting clients services in technology
consulting. This was the beginning of Smith Consulting where Blair Smith launched a business
doing this type of work.
Analyze the Database Environment
The purpose of analyzing the database environment is to make an initial study of where
the company stands and in what situation the company is in based on the results of the initial
study. It is important to determine if the current system is failing and the reasons why it is
failing. In the case of Smith Consulting, their current database system is unable to support the
addition of new information and needs to be updated in order to keep track of the staff as well as
the other requirements of the project. These include tracking staff members, tracking their skill
sets, and tracking which projects they are working on. In order to accomplish the mission of
analyzing the database environment, there must be an open line of communication between the
database designer and the end users. This communication will enable the designer to cover a
wide range of components which are detrimental to the project.
Describe the Problems and Constraints
The problems and constraints of this project can be identified by the designer when the
initial interviews are conducted. During this process, it is important to identify the problems by
collecting as much information from the end users and management. They may both have
differences in what they view as problems; however it is still the job of the designer to get
answers from both sources as to why they believe the system is not functioning adequately.
Even if the process of defining the problems may seem like a never-ending task, or the process
seems unstructured, the designer must continue to probe carefully in order to acquire additional
information which will help in defining the problems within the company’s system. In the case
of Smith Consulting, one problem is that the database for this project needs to be in place within
a short amount of time which in turn, runs into a time constraint. Another constraint when it
comes to this project is the issue of the project not going over budget. The designer must be
aware of the budget and stay within the set parameters. More importantly, time, budget, and
personnel issues are constraints with which the database designer must be able to “distinguish
what’s perfect and what’s possible” (Cengage Learning, 2013).

2. Describe the Objectives of the Database Environment
The objectives of the database environment can be satisfied by creating a database which
will track staff, track their skill sets, and track which projects they are currently working on with
efficiency and ease. It is important to answer some critical questions during this part of the
project so that the designer can be clear as to those objectives. This process will also determine
how the objectives will be satisfied once the database is in place for Smith Consulting.
Describe the Scope and Boundaries
The scope of the project is important to know because it will “define the extent of the design
according to operational requirements” (Cengage Learning, 2013).For this project, the scope of
developing a database to meet the needs of Smith Consulting includes making sure the database
has enough capacity to hold all the information or data which will be input into the system. The
database will allow Smith Consulting to track staff, track their skill sets, and which projects they
are working on, which will make the job of management a lot easier when they are trying to
match clients to staff members. The result will be better client satisfaction, higher staff morale,
and easy matching of clients to the right staff member whose expertise is just what the client
needs.
The boundaries of this project have to do with hardware and software. Smith Consulting
will not be updating any of its hardware or software for the purpose of this project. “Boundaries
are also imposed by existing hardware and software”(Cengage Learning, 2013). Therefore, the
boundaries or limits to this project are that the designer must use the software tools already in
place by the company which are MS Access and MS SQL Server.
List the Data Specifications Three Entities Three Attributes
The data specifications of this project will be input into tables which describe the entity and three
attributes. “An entity is a thing or object of importance about which data must be captured.
Information about an entity is captured in the form of attributes or relationships.”
(eWebArchitecture Ltd., 2012). The entities and attributes are as follows:
Entity=STAFF
Name
Position
Duties

3. Entity=SKILLS
Technical
Leadership
Networking
Entity=PROJECTS
Name
Phase
Budget

4. References
Database Design: Requirements, Entities, and Attributes
http://www.informit.com/guides/content.aspx?g=sqlserver&seqNum=60
http://ewebarchitecture.com/web-databases/database-entities