SYST3020 COURSE SYLLABUS
Database Design and Inquiry
Fall 2005
CLASS LEADER: / James R. Marlatt (Jim)Resume: James Marlatt
E-mail:
Phone: 303-492-0497
List Serve:
Office: Business 311 / Course Home Page:
Office Hours: BUS 311 / August 23 to December 8 (excluding breaks)
Tuesdays from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Wednesdays from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Thursdays from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Or by appointment
Note: I may make changes to this schedule and will notify you via e-mail or during class regarding these changes.
Classroom Location/Date/Time / Mondays and Wednesdays 8:00 to 9:15 in Room 136 (some Wednesdays we will be in Lab 101; this will be announced in the Monday class before labs)
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Transaction processing systems should be created only if they support the objectives of the business. This course is an introduction to developing databases for transaction processing systems, including data modeling, database design and database inquiry/manipulation. Database implementation will be required as part of the group project, but is not the main focus of this course. The ability to model both the problem and solution by utilizing the structured methods taught in class for designing a transaction processing systems will be required in this course.
"Data Structures give us useful ways to deal with information, but they don't always fit naturally, and sometimes not at all. Like different kinds of maps, (e.g. road map, trail map, elevation map, etc.) each kind of structure has its strengths and weaknesses, serving different purposes, and appealing to different people in different situations."Data and Reality by William Kent: During this course you will learn how to better understand the system’s purpose, its users (people) and the situation so you can begin to design better database systems (data structures) which take into account the structures’ inherent strengths and weaknesses.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
When you complete this class you should be very familiar with the following:
Conceptual Modeling
Normalization
Structured Query Language (SQL)
You will use these structured methods in class and on your group project to model a complex problem and design and implement a solution to that problem. (Refer to project materials)
COURSE MATERIALS:
Required Text-
DATA MANAGEMENT, Databases and Organizations, Fourth Edition, Richard T. Watson, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2004
COURSE CONDUCT:
We will spend time at the beginning of the semester reviewing the syllabus, the learning environment and getting to know each other. Based on this information, I may make some changes to maximize our learning potential. These changes will be communicated in class or via e-mail
The course will utilize the case study approach. I will present a business problem that will be solved in class utilizing the structured methods being discussed. You will also complete a group project using these structured methods to plan, analyze, design and implement your own database.
All reading assignments are to be read prior to the class for which they are assigned. All written assignments are to be turned in at the beginning of class on the day they are due. Because assignments may be discussed in class when due, no late assignments will be accepted without written approval one week in advance.
To Dos:
To subscribe to the email list, send mail to leave the subject line blank and include the message subscribe syst3020 your-full-name in the first line of the message body. I expect you to subscribe to the email list immediately, and to check for messages at least once every 24 hours M-F before class. You are responsible for all messages sent after the second class period. Please see University of Colorado, Boulder e-mail policy if you have any questions about this at
Exams must be taken when scheduled, per the syllabus, unless written approval is received at least one week in advance. Any missed exams will receive an automatic zero.
Disabilities:
If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please submit a
letter to me from Disability Services in a timely manner so that your needs may
be addressed. Disability Services determines accommodations based on
documented disabilities. Contact: 303-492-8671, Willard 322, or
Religious Observances:
Campus policy regarding religious observances requires that faculty make every
effort to reasonably and fairly deal with all students who, because of
religious obligations, have conflicts with scheduled exams, assignments or
required attendance. In this class, please inform me of any conflicts during the first week of the semester for written approval of assignment/exam due date changes.
See policy details at
Learning Environment:
Students and faculty each have responsibility for maintaining an appropriate
learning environment. Students who fail to adhere to behavioral standards may
be subject to discipline. Faculty have the professional responsibility to treat
students with understanding, dignity and respect, to guide classroom discussion
and to set reasonable limits on the manner in which students express opinions.
See policies at
and at
Honor Code:
All students of the University of Colorado at Boulder are responsible for
knowing and adhering to the academic integrity policy of this institution.
Violations of this policy may include: cheating, plagiarism, aid of academic
dishonesty, fabrication, lying, bribery, and threatening behavior. All
incidents of academic misconduct shall be reported to the Honor Code Council
(; 303-725-2273). Students who are found to be in violation
of the academic integrity policy will be subject to both academic sanctions
from the faculty member and non-academic sanctions (including but not limited
to university probation, suspension, or expulsion). Additional information on
the Honor Code can be found at
COURSE PERFORMANCE MEASURES:
MEASURES: / Points:Group Project – Data Model (November 10) / 200
Group Project – Implementation (December 6) / 150
Class Participation (throughout the semester) / 100
Midterm Exam (October 18) / 250
Final Exam (Take home final due in class December 8) / 300
Total / 1000
EXAMS AND QUIZZES:
Exams are open book and may be in a variety of question formats (multiple choice, case analysis, short answer, essay, etc.). Exams may cover lectures, labs, speakers, our class project, reading assignments and any in-class presentations by your fellow classmates.
GRADES:
The following percentages define the course grading scale. If you miss an assignment, there will be no opportunity to make it up.
Grades: Points are converted to grades according to the following:
866 <= 895 B+ 766 <= 795 C+666 <= 695 D+ 0 <= 595 F
926 <= 1000 A 826 <= 865 B 726 <= 765 C626 <= 665 D
896 <= 925 A- 796 <= 825 B- 696 <= 725 C-596 <= 625 D-
GROUP PROJECT:
Project Description – Each team will be working with a company called Intelis ( and will be provided with documentation describing the purpose of the system, the people it should serve and some situations they will likely be in when using it. The team will have to install the postgres-sql database onto a server (servers will be provided to each team) and all of the other software infrastructure necessary to support the database’s operations.
Team Organization-As part of this project, you must produce two distinct deliverables (see project milestones) through active participation of all team members.
Project teams will be constructed during the second or third week of class and will consist of from four to five team members. The team will be responsible for organizing and managing itself, including allocating work within the team. Each milestone must be divided up among the team members, where each member participates materially in each milestone.
A project team can fire an individual from the team at any point during the project. The group must first issue a written warning to the person describing the issue(s) and give the person two weeks to correct the issue(s). I must be copied on this correspondence. If the issue(s) are not corrected, the group can then vote the person off the team. I must be presented with evidence of the vote. This vote must be at least two thirds in favor of firing the individual (evidence must include signatures on a document explaining the reasons the person was fired). Any person fired from a group will be responsible for completing the project on their own.
Grading - The group project represents 35% of your grade in this course. Your individual project score will be based on the group's score for the project. If I feel it is appropriate, I can adjust an individual’s project score by as much as one letter grade to reflect their lack of participation. Grading criteria will be based upon how well your deliverables address the problem(s) identified by your client, attention to detail, creativity, content (use of concepts and tools from class, your work or other experience), organization, style and consistency among the individual parts. The project scope is of such complexity that full involvement by each team member will be required to complete the project.
Project Deliverables-
Please bind your deliverables in a 3-ring binder, including the current and all prior deliverables with your team member and client names and contact information noted on the cover. Please also turn in a CD with each deliverable with all of your files saved to it (using file names that are easy to understand), and your project name and team member names noted on it. Documents turned in after class time on the assigned date will not be accepted. You will receive a zero for any missing documents or sections. No exceptions.
Your deliverables are as follows:
- Data Model (200 points)
Your Data Model must include at a minimum:
- Updated user requirements,
- High fidelity data model which addresses the user’s requirements,
- Project assumptions,
- Bi-weekly status reports (starting on September 13),
- Attention to detail, consistency among the deliverables, spelling, grammar and presentation,
- Team member feedback forms.
- Implementation (150 points)
Your implementation must include at a minimum:
- SQL queries,
- Working system,
- Weekly status reports,
- Attention to detail, consistency among the deliverables, spelling, grammar and presentation,
- Team member feedback forms.
Document Templates:
Northwind Requirements
Status Report
Confidential Peer Review
CLASS PARTICIPATION:
Attendance and contribution to class discussion
Students are expected to attend every class and to participate in the class discussions. Class participation grades are based on two aspects: your attendance in class and your contributions to the class discussions. Contributions to discussions will focus on the quality, not the quantity of the contribution; therefore students who participate often will not necessarily receive a better grade than those who participate less often. One must recognize, however, that there is an art to quality participation that is only learned by trial and error. Therefore, students are encouraged to begin contributing to the discussions early in the semester.
As the value of this course stems from class discussion and participation, your attendance at class sessions is critical to learning the material and to enhancing the discussions. Therefore, your participation grade will include your class attendance. If you never speak out in class or if you miss several classes, you will receive a participation grade of D. If you speak out occasionally, bur rarely say anything inspiring, and you attend virtually all the sessions, your participation will be a C+. The best grades will be given to students who make contributions to the discussions. These involve applying conceptual material from the readings or lectures, doing some outside readings and applying them to the discussion, integrating comments from previous classes into the current discussion, taking issues (in a constructive manner) with a classmate's or instructor’s analysis and/or pulling together material from several different sources.
The instructor reserves the right to cold-call on students, particularly on students who have not participated in a while. Students who are shy or uncomfortable with participation are encouraged to make an appointment with the instructor. This discussion should take place early in the semester to minimize the impact on the student's participation grade.
SYST3020 Class Assignments:
Week 1: Course Introduction, Read Watson Chapters 1 and 2, Homework: Chapter 1 Exercises: 20, 21, 22 and Chapter 2 Case Questions: 1-4
Week 2: Read Watson Chapter 3, Homework: Exercises 1 and 3
Week 3: Read Watson, Chapter 4, Homework: Exercises 1, 2, 4, 5 and 7
Week 4: Read Watson, Chapter 5, Homework: Exercises 1, 2, 3, 5 and 10
Week 5: Read Watson Chapter 6, Homework: Exercises 1.a, 1.b, 1.d, 1.g and 2
Week 6: Read Watson, Chapter 7 and Reference 1, Homework: Chapter 7 All Short Answers, Exercises 2, 3, 6, 8, 9 and 11 and Reference 1 Exercises b, c and d
Week 7: Read Watson, Chapter 8 Homework: Short answers 1, 2 and 3, Normalization and Modeling 3 and 4
Week 8: Read Watson, Chapter 9 pp.225-229 and pp.238-241 Homework: Exercises 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7
Week 9: Read Watson, Chapter 10 (midterm exam October 18) Homework: Exercises 2, 3, 4, 5 6, 7 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18 and 22
Week 10: Watson, Chapter 10 and review for familiarization the SQL Playbook Homework: SQL Playbook 13, 17, 20, 24, 31, 37, 41, 47 and 50
Week 11: Watson Chapter 10/SQL Playbook cont.
Week 12: Watson Chapters 18 Homework: Exercises 1, 2, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 17, 18, 20, 22 and 23
Week 13: Watson, Chapter 19 Homework: Exercises 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 19, 25, 26, 27 and 28
Week 14: Watson, Chapters11 & 12 Homework: Exercises Chapter 11 - 1, 2, 3, 7, 10, 11, 13, 16 and 17 and Chapter 12 – Exercises 10, 11,
Week 15: Watson, Chapter 15 Homework: Exercises 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12a, 12c, 12f, 12h, 14, 17 and 18
Week 16: Watson, Chapter 13 Homework: Exercises 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 12 and 17
OTHER RESOURCES:
TransBase SQL Reference Manual
Textbook Web Site
37signals design firm
Agile Manifesto
Hitachi Training Session I Presentation
Expeditioner Database
Product Assembly
Employee One to Many Recursive Example
Sample Queries Database 11-3-05
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