INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

ITED123

(DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS 1)

EXERCISE

1
IDENTIFYING THE MODELING APPROACH

Ong,Paul Lawrenz S.
W191
01/05/2019
I. OBJECTIVES

At the end of this exercise, students must be able to:

a) Identify which models must be developed
b) Identify which modeling approach to use

II. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Approaches to Modeling

There are three approaches to modeling: top-down, bottom-up, and targeted. All three
approaches meet a different need, so you may be involved in projects that use different
approaches. In this course, you focus most on top-down modeling, which involves building
a model from scratch and following it through to completion.

 Top-Down modeling is used for designing a new database. It gathers information

about business requirements, and proceeds to define processes, a logical model of
the data, one or more relational models, and one or more physical models for each
relational model. The steps and information requirements can range from simple
to elaborate, depending on your needs.

 Bottom-up modeling approach modifies an existing database definition. It builds a

database design based on either metadata extracted from an existing database or a
file with DDL (Data Definition Language) code that implements an existing
database. The resulting database is represented as a relational model and a physical
model, and you reverse engineer the logical model from the relational model.

 Targeted modeling approach maintains the existing models by adapting to new

requirements. Depending on the requirement, you must determine which model to
modify. If the new requirement is to add or modify a new business requirement,
you typically modify the logical data model and then forward engineer the change
to the relational model to synchronize the models. If the new requirement is to
add or modify an existing database definition, you typically modify the relational
model and reverse engineer to synchronize with the logical data model.

III. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

Starlight DVD Case Study

Starlight DVD and Games Rentals is a successful company that rents DVDs and games.
Last year’s turnover almost doubled to $6.5 million with a profile margin of just over
10%, which is high in this type of business. The number of rentals increased 80% and the
customer base tripled to 30,000. The number of available movie titles grew by 8%,
reflecting the increase in titles coming out on DVD. The number of copies in the stores
increased by 45% to 63,000. The renting of games is still an immature business (less than
5% of turnover) and the number of game titles is steady as new games replace those
removed from the catalog.

Starlight already has an information system to track rentals, but this needs
enhancement to support proposed changes to the business. A team of business consultants
has carried out a study and produced a report outlining proposals. The following is an excerpt
from the report:

 Starlight attracts new customers easily and the number of rentals is growing rapidly. The
customer base is not stable, however, which is a cause for concern. We suggest
implementing some new concepts that should attract new customers and retain
existing customers.

 The main idea is to introduce the concept of membership at Starlight. Members will
pay a membership fee (the amount to be decided) that entitles them to certain
privileges that are valid for a period of time (length to be decided). Initially, there will
be three types of membership (gold, silver, and bronze) although more may be
introduced later. Bronze membership is free and replaces the current way of handling
rentals. Silver and gold memberships incur a fee but entitle the member to
privileges, such as a discount on the usual rental price for a type of title, a free DVD
after a certain number of rentals, the right to take out more than the usual number
of DVDs at the same time, and the right to take out more “new release” titles than
usual.

 In the current situation, only individuals (“customers”) can rent. It is proposed to

extend membership to companies as well.

 A membership will be of a certain type, last for a specified period, and will be renewed
periodically. The type of membership cannot be changed. If someone wants to
upgrade from a bronze to a silver membership, the bronze membership is
terminated and a silver membership is created. Members will receive an automatic
renewal or upgrade offer about a month before the membership is due to expire if
they have rented a tape or game during the previous four weeks. Bronze memberships
that do not lead to a rental during the rental period are terminated automatically. Silver
and gold members receive a membership card only after paying the appropriate fee.
Members can terminate their membership by request at any time.

 Another cause for concern is the number of “lost” DVDs. We propose some new
procedures to address this problem. Every customer seeking membership will have to
provide proof of identity as part of the registration process. A photocopy of the
identification will be stored. A membership card, containing the membership number,
type, expiration date, and a photograph of the holder, will be provided. This card will
have to be shown for every rental transaction.
 In addition, the store manager will be able to produce a weekly report identifying
DVDs that are more than two weeks overdue. Members who have the DVDs will be
requested to return them immediately. The request will be repeated until the DVDs are
returned. Members who fail to return DVDs, or who repeatedly break the rules by
keeping DVDs for two weeks or more, will have their membership terminated.
 Starlight management emphasizes that all amendments to the information system must be
flexible enough to deviate from fees and time frames in individual cases

Task

In this exercise, read the Starlight DVD case study and discuss the models that must be
developed and what modeling approach to use.

After reading the Starlight DVD case study, I have identified which models must be
created and developed. It is very important to create a conceptual model which
facilitates discussion that will determine exactly the information needs of the business.
For example, discussing how to attract new customers with its new concepts and to
retain existing customers. In such a way that it would maintain their profile margin and
revenue. With this model, it will also help to prevent mistakes and misunderstanding. In
addition on this matter, it will form important ideal system documentation and a sound
basis for physical database design.

Secondly, we need to have an entity relationship modeling which deals in modeling a

business. To be more precise, it is about modeling the data requirements for a business
based on the current or desired functionality of the future system. For example, the
introduction and implementation of the concept of membership at Starlight.With this
scheme,we can easily identify the membership's category and their activities that will let
give us a hint which services that we need to improve and expand based on their needs.

Lastly, we need to have a physical data modeling which is concerned with

implementation in a given technical software and hardware environment. The physical
implementation is highly dependent on the current state of technology and is subject to
change as available technologies rapidly change.A technical design made five years ago
is likely to be quite outdated today. For example, video rentals here in the Philippines is
not marketable today and produces less business profit because of online streaming
such as Iflix, Netflix and other online platform. We can also download easily movies
with the help of Torrent. By distinguishing between the conceptual and physical models,
you separate the rather stable from the rather unstable parts of a design. This is true
for both data models and functional specifications.

Regarding the modeling approach, I can recommend the targeted modeling

approach because it maintains the existing models of the business by adapting to new
requirements such as the membership scheme and its rules. It is dependent to the
customer's requirement for the approach to modify the current model. With this
approach, we can modify the logical data model and change it to the relational model if
 the new requirement is to add or modify a new business requirement. In addition to
that we can also use bottom-up approach because it analyzes the risks in individual
process using models.

I have learned a lot with this case study because I have identified different kinds of
models that must be created and developed. I have also familiarized myself with the
three modeling approaches which are the top-down, bottom-up and targeted.

IV. QUESTION AND ANSWER

Differentiate the approaches to modeling by giving examples.

These modeling approaches are used in order to measure operational risk. When we
talked about Operational risk, it is a type of risk that arises out of operational failures
such as mismanagement or technical failures. And it can be classified into Fraud Risk
and Model Risk. Based on the source that I have read, Fraud risk arises due to lack of
controls and Model risk arises due to incorrect model application.

Differences between Top-down Approach and Bottom-up approach.

1. Top-down approach analyzes risk by aggregating the impact of internal operational
failures while bottom-up approach analyzes the risks in individual process using
models.
2.Top-down approach doesn’t differentiate between high frequency low severity and
low frequency high severity events while bottom-up approach does
3.Top-down approach is simple and not data intensive whereas bottom-up approach is
complex as well as very data intensive
4.Top-down approaches are backward-looking while bottom-up approaches are
forward-looking

The top-down approach can spawn many positive business impacts through unique
aspects of management, including the following:

-Creating clear lines of authority

-Standardizing products and services
-Facilitating quality control
-Streamlining tasks and achieving goals quickly

By comparison, the bottom-up approach utilizes alternative ways of management to

achieve success. These can include the following:

-Forming a unique perception of the company, its goals, and its employees
-Measuring operational risk (in terms of fraud, model, and employee risk)
-Reallocating assets and decision-making power
-Giving voice to all employees
Regarding the Targeted approach, I have already elaborated it in the previous pages.

I have learned that before I choose the modeling technique or approach, I need to make
sure about my goals with the project’s needs and requirements that I am working with,
so that I can choose the best modeling approach.

REFERENCES

Young, M. (2010). Oracle Data Modeling and Relational Database Design, Vol. 1 Student
Guide, Oracle.