Mgmt 3830 (A)
Midterm Exam
Nov. 15, 1999
1. Use Case (25 marks)
Value Video is open from 9 AM to midnight. All tapes are due by midnight of the due date, but
any tape left in the drop box overnight is processed as received on time as well. Some customers
return tapes that are several days overdue to the drop box, but there are also those who bring
overdue tapes to the counter and offer to pay the fine. These are termed “In Person Overdue
Returns.”
Value Video has a policy for handling this situation. Any tape due by midnight of the previous
day that is returned by noon the following day is accepted as on time. (This does not apply to
tapes that are simply left in the return slot.) Any offer to pay the fine is refused, and the customer
is thanked for bringing the tape back. They believe this builds better customer relations and
actually increases revenue in the long run. If a tape due the previous day is returned after noon,
the customer’s record is checked. If they have any existing outstanding charges, the store adds
the fine for the tape being returned to the previous charges and attempts to collect the full
amount.
Write a sample Use Case to cover In Person Overdue Returns. Your Use Case should accurately
reflect the above description, but may also require some additional information not present here.
Make some reasonable assumptions in completing the Use Case. Include every part of the Use
Case standard discussed in class, but mark as “Not Applicable” any parts that are not needed
here.
The final product should be a good model of Use Case design and represent what you feel is the
best way to handle In Person Overdue Returns (even if the resulting Access Forms would be
quite complex). The answer must be both technically consistent with Use Case format standards
and display a good sense of reasonable business practices.
2. Definitions (25 marks)
You are trying to sell your video store software to a local video store manager. She is interested,
but unfortunately your marketing manager is really more of a techie and has used a lot of jargon
in the brochure. She would like you to clearly define each of the terms below, and provide an
example of what it means in the context of a video store.
Primary Key
Composite Key
Transitive Dependency
Referential Integrity
Block Sequential Code
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Mgmt 3830 (A)
Midterm Exam
Nov. 15, 1999
3. Check Digit (10 marks)
The following Social Insurance Number has been supplied by an employee. Check to see if it is a
valid number or not. If not, what should the last digit be?
783 347 981
You must show your calculations, not just an answer.
What is the purpose of a check digit? Should a video store use them in its CustomerID numbers?
The difficulty of implementing them in Access should not be a consideration in your answer.
4. Database Normalization (10 marks)
The following table appears in a video store rental database:
tblRental
CustomerID
RentalDate/Time
WeatherCode
AmountReceived
PaymentMethod
CreditCardNumber
CreditCardExpiryDate
CouponID
ShiftID
The WeatherCode is a field that records the general weather conditions. This is used to analyze
the affect of weather on rental patterns. The definitions of the remaining fields are very similar to
those in your system.
Define Boyce-Codd Normal Form. (There is more than one acceptable form for your answer.)
State which, if any, of the fields in this table are not consistent with Boyce-Codd Normal Form.
Explain why they are not consistent. Where do they belong?
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