Getting to Know the Current Database

To determine where you should go, you must first understand where you are.

This maxim defines the entire philosophy behind this phase of the database-design process. You must devote some time to gaining a clear understanding of your organization's database for these reasons:

  • To determine whether the database supports the organization's current information requirements

  • To uncover existing structural deficiencies

  • To determine how the database needs to evolve so that it will support the organization's future information requirements

You can use the existing database as a resource for developing a new database. However, you must carefully judge which aspects of the current database remain useful and ...

Get Database Design for Mere Mortals™: A Hands-On Guide to Relational Database Design, Second Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.