Case Study

Assignment 1

Weighting:  30%

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Assignment Specification

In this assignment, you need to perform the following tasks for the given case study:

●      Draw an Entity Relationship (ER) diagram

●      Perform logical design (optional)

●      Create 3NF Relations (optional)

Please note that the above mentioned optional components, logical design and 3NF relations, will not be marked, however those tasks are expected to enrich your skills in the creation of database in future.

Case Study

CQParcels (CQPS) is well known for its parcel handling business in Australia.  It collects the parcels from its customers and then transports and delivers them to the respective specified delivery addresses in Australia. 

When a new customer (sender of the parcels) requests for parcel deliveries, CQPS collects many details that are related to them.  Among the many information that is required to be collected at that time, the contact phone and email details of the customer are considered to be vital.

Whenever a customer requests a parcel delivery, the parcel-delivery information such as the delivery address and receiver details are collected.  Subsequently, one of CQPS employees collects the parcel from the sender, verifies whether the address for delivery is mentioned on the parcel, and then creates an invoice for the charges related to its delivery. 

For each parcel-delivery, CQPS also maintains the details of the employee involved, the date and time of collection/pick up and delivery.  Though most of the parcels are delivered to the specified addressees, some of them occasionally are not deliverable due to incorrect/incomplete delivery address. Such parcels are returned to the senders.

When an undelivered parcel is not returned to the sender/customer within a month of collection, then the customer can lodge a compensation claim to CQPS.  The compensation claims are verified and settled by CQPS based on their records.

Note:

The attributes of the possible entities have not been mentioned clearly.  Hence, you need to assume at least two relevant attributes for each of the entities that you will identify for your ER diagram.

The delivery charge for a parcel need not be assumed as calculated value (i.e., it can be assumed to be a stored attribute).

Assignment Requirements

In this assignment, you need to create an Entity Relationship (ER) diagram relevant to the above case study and optionally perform logical design to produce appropriate 3NF Relations.

The attributes for various entities have not been purposely described in the case study so that the students are encouraged to further research and list the pertinent attributes in addition to the required identifier for each and every entity in their ERD.

1         Draw an appropriate ER diagram

Use the symbols as prescribed in your unit-textbook to draw the ER diagram (ERD) for the above case study. 

Your ERD must

•             show all necessary entities, attributes and relationships

•             show identifiers/identifying attributes as necessary

•             show multi-valued attributes, if any

•             show participation and cardinality

•             show associative entities, if appropriate

•             show weak entities, if any

•             use the notation described in the set text

•      use consistent and appropriate naming for entities and attributes  as specified in the unit text book

Some business rules or other aspects of the case study may not be clear to you when you read the case study. If this is the case, then you should either approach your lecturer or tutor for clarification, or you may simply make an assumption and then develop your ERD accordingly. For example, the case study might not mention all relevant participation information (also called minimum cardinalities). If so, you may make an assumption about what the minimum cardinalities might reasonably be, and then show them in your ERD accordingly. You should justify each assumption in terms of the business, for example: it is assumed that each customer must have at least one order because it is assumed that the business does not record customer details until the customer makes an order with them. To get yourself started, ask yourself, 'If I were running this business, what things I need to keep a list of?'  Write those things down.  For each thing, what information would you need to record about it? How can it be identified? The answers to these questions will help you to develop your ERD.

2         Assumptions and Business rules

Provide assumptions and business rules relevant to your ERD.

3         Create Logical Design (Optional):

If you would like to perform this optional component of this assignment, you can map your Entity Relationship diagram (ERD) into relations and make sure that all the relations are in 3NF.

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