Team development of databases

[Guest]

I was wondering if it was better to design Access databases by one individual
or would it be better for a team to design and build a database. Why would
one be advantageous over the other?

 

[Jeff Boyce]

If you have a person who has:
* great interpersonal skills (interacting with customer/client)
* great relational table analysis/design skills
* great UI (user interface) design skills
* great coding (VBA) skills
* great interpersonal skills
you could have one person do the entire design/build.

If you are talking about multiple people designing/building tables that have
to work well together in a finished application, at a minimum you need all
the above skills on your team, plus someone to set/enforce
design/development standards. ... and you'll want some process that the
team can use to keep track of each other's work, so folks aren't stepping on
each other's work.

--
Regards

Jeff Boyce
www.InformationFutures.net

Microsoft Office/Access MVP


Microsoft IT Academy Program Mentor
http://microsoftitacademy.com/

 

[Steve]

I have designed the table structure for many clients and then the client's
team created the application part of the database. Client teams have
consisted of two to six people. I provide a map of the tables. The map
contains all the tables, the name of each table and all the fields of each
table. The map shows all the relationships between the tables in the
database and for each relationship shows the type of relationship. The
tables on the map are arranged as best as possible in the order of data flow
in the database. About half of the clients have me provide the backend
database file containing all the tables.

PC Datasheet
Providing Customers A Resource For Help With Access, Excel And Word
Applications
(e-mail address removed)

 

[StopThisAdvertising]

I have designed the table structure for many clients and then the client's
team created the application part of the database. Client teams have
consisted of two to six people. I provide a map of the tables. The map
contains all the tables, the name of each table and all the fields of each
table. The map shows all the relationships between the tables in the
database and for each relationship shows the type of relationship. The
tables on the map are arranged as best as possible in the order of data flow
in the database. About half of the clients have me provide the backend
database file containing all the tables.

PC Datasheet
Providing Customers A Resource For Help With Access, Excel And Word
Applications
(e-mail address removed)

--
You are *not* a resource at all !!
Tell us you will stop advertising here, or get lost for another year or so...
http://home.tiscali.nl/arracom/whoissteve.html

ArnoR

 

[Jamie Collins]

you need all
someone to set/enforce
design/development standards.

In my experience imposing/enforcing a design/coding standard is not a
good idea. Think about it: it's not really in the spirit of successful
team working, is it?

If you have a person who has:
* great interpersonal skills (interacting with customer/client)
* great relational table analysis/design skills
* great UI (user interface) design skills
* great coding (VBA) skills
* great interpersonal skills
you could have one person do the entire design/build.

You wouldn't by chance be one of those 'one man band' operations,
would you <g>?

Jamie.

--

 

[Jeff Boyce]

Jamie

The term "herding cats" is sometimes applied to a group of developers all
building their OWN version of what they think is needed ... If more than one
person is doing the design/coding work, some form of
consensus/agreement/standard is critical if the finished product is supposed
to actually work.

(and yes, I didn't accumulate all these gray hairs from a lightning strike
.... and four out of five's not bad <G>)

--
Regards

Jeff Boyce
www.InformationFutures.net

Microsoft Office/Access MVP


Microsoft IT Academy Program Mentor
http://microsoftitacademy.com/

 

[Jamie Collins]

some form of
consensus/agreement/standard is critical if the finished product is supposed
to actually work.

That sounds more like it than "someone to set/enforce".

Jamie.

--