Prepare and submit a 1-2-page statement of work (SOW) to describe the need to create, design, and implement the database that you are proposing for your project. Within your SOW, the following minimum requirements must be met:
Minimum Requirements:
Overview/Executive Summary (10 points)
Provide a one-paragraph executive summary of your overall SOW. This section should not only effectively introduce your database concept but also highlight the key objectives, goals, and benefits. Recommend that you save this section for last to be completed once sections 2 through 7 below are done.
Objectives of your database project (10 points)
Provide a comprehensive set of SMART objectives (https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/smart-goals.htm) that outlines the scheduled implementation of each of your database project objectives from the submission of this SOW through your final project submission (all four project steps) at the end of week 11. This will require that you thoroughly examine and plan your database project using the Project Learning Demonstration under Hands-On Resources. A quality set of objectives will include not only the minimum requirements but also a critical analysis of second and third-order objectives that must be met in order to accomplish the primary database project objectives.
Project Scope (10 points)
As a complement to the objectives section, provide a one-paragraph statement along with a bullet-list of in-scope and out-of-scope work that outlines your database project scope which must answer two key questions:
What work is within the scope of my project and will be done?
What work is outside the scope of my project and will not be done?
Database Goals, Expectations, and Deliverables (10 points)
This section should be no more than one paragraph and it should address the end-state of your database project in terms of its usability and function as well as what items will and are required to be delivered when your final project is submitted.
Database Benefits (10 points)
Using your imagination and ability to critically think, this one-paragraph section should describe the potential benefits that the implementation and usage of your database will have on the business/organization/individual/etc. that ultimately uses it. Be creative and challenge yourself to find unique benefits beyond simply storing or querying/reporting on the underlying data.
Project Hardware and Software Tools (10 points)
Provide a comprehensive hardware and software inventory which will be a detailed description of all related hardware and software technologies to be used throughout your database project. This must include client-side and server-side technologies. The purpose of this section is two-fold: reproducibility and consistency. This will include but is not limited to: diagramming and design tools, development tools, office productivity, connectivity tools and access method, the DBMS system, client hardware, and server hardware.
Diagramming Tool Identified
To further clarify, your SOW must accurately and completely identify the entity-relationship diagramming tool that you will use to design your entity-relationship diagram (ERD). This information must include not only the software name but also the version and platform (i.e. Windows, macOS, Linux).
Database and Access Method Identified
In addition to the identification of your client (i.e. database design/development hardware and software) and server (database instance/platform), you must also completely identify the method or methods by which you will be accessing the server from the client. As with the previous objectives, you must not only identify the software and/or method itself but also the version (if applicable) and protocol.
SQL Usage and Style Guide (10 points)
Provide a detailed overview of the relevant SQL usage standards and styles that you will employ in your database project. This will include but is not limited to, SQL statement structure for readability, script format, comment usage, and object naming conventions. This section must also include a brief description of how data definition language (DDL) and data manipulation language (DML) statements will be used in your project.
Student-Defined Sections and Additional Content (10 points)
The purpose of this objective is for the evaluation and inclusion of your own unique and individual contributions, i.e. not one of the pre-defined minimum objectives, that further expand the depth of your SOW. Be creative and adventurous in your report by exploring additional content areas from domains such as database technology and project management.
One-to-Two Page Report Length (10 points)
At a minimum, your SOW should be at least one or two pages in length. A report that is less than one-page will not have satisfactorily met the minimum objectives listed above. Exceeding this minimum requirement is not only allowed but encouraged based on the depth of content and analysis provided.
Report Presentation (10 points)
In addition to the above objectives, your SOW will also be evaluated on the quality of presentation such as professional aesthetic, organization, logical flow, tonal consistency, and grammatical/spelling accuracy. For ease of identification, the sections of your SOW that address the qualitative goals above should be marked in some way with the goal itself.
Ensure that the following questions are addressed when completing the requirements above:
What is the business need and business problem that your database will solve?
What is the purpose of your database project?
What is the scope of your database project?
What will be achieved by implementing this database?
What benefits will the new database offer?
Project Step #1 Deliverable
****AN EXAMPLE HAS BEEN ATTACHED BELOW
