| 1. |
Determine the purpose of the database and give
it a meaningful name. |
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| 2. |
Identify all the fields needed to produce the
required information. Start working on paper by putting all
your ideas down. |
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| 3. |
Group related fields into tables. |
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| 4. |
Determine each table's primary key (or composite
key). |
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| 5. |
Include a common field in related tables to connect
one table logically with another table. |
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| 6. |
Avoid data redundancy. This occurs when you store
the same data in more than one place. With the exception of
common fields avoid it, because it wastes storage space and
can cause inconsistencies. (i.e. You will not know which table
contains the most updated information.) |
| 7. |
Determine the properties of each field. These
properties include the field name, the field's maximum number
of characters or digits, the field's description, the field's
valid values, etc. |
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| 8. |
Depending on what data entry and reports will
be needed specify then design your queries, forms and reports. |
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| 9. |
Make backup copies of your database. It's better
to be safe than sorry;-) |
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| 10. |
Enjoy and experiment. This is a software that
gives you quite a lot of power to deal with the information
in a custom-made format. Take advantage of that opportunity.
When you experiment, make copies of the original files you want
to work with. Don't work with the original files. This will
save you from headaches in case if you didn't do something right
and the changes were permanent. |
