BTEC IT
Unit 2 - Creating Systems to
Manage Information
Revision Booklet and How to Guides
Name………………………………………………
1
C ontents
Topic
Assessment Checklist and timings
P ages
3-4
Part A - 3 hours
Entity Relationship Diagrams - Activity 1
5
Importing data
6
Creating Tables
7-8
Relationships
9-10
Tables Documentation - Activity 2
Validation and Input Masks
11
12-16
Interface documentation - Activity 3
17
Main Menus
18
Queries
19-20
Reports
21
Structure Testing
22
Structure Evaluation
23
Part B - 2 hours
Forms
27-28
Append Queries (putting data into the table)
29-30
Testing
31
Evaluation
32
Mark Schemes
Example Paperwork
For the digital version, click on the topic to get to the relevant page.
2
Assessment Checklist and Timings
Part A - 3 hours
Importing Data - 25 minutes
●
Have you inported your data into the database?
●
Did you use a make table query to add your data into tables?
●
Do your tables have correct names using naming conventions? E.g. TblName
●
Have you identified the primary keys and relationships between tables?
Entity Relationship Diagram - 20 minutes
●
Have you checked your fields (entities) against the data set to make sure you have used them all
but no others?
●
Do you have relationships between the tables?
●
Do your relationships go from the primary to the foreign key?
●
Are your one to many relationships correct?
●
Have you created a print screen of the ERD in a word document?
●
Is the word document saved as a PDF?
Table structure and Validation - 45 minutes
●
Have you got a proper naming convention for all of your tables?
●
Do you have at least one presence check, length check, value lookup, table lookup and format
check?
●
Have you completed the validation tasks that they have asked?
●
Does your validation have an error message in the validation text?
●
Have you taken a print screen of your table structures?
●
Have you taken a print screen of your validation rules?
●
Have you saved the word document as a PDF?
Queries and a Report - 40 minutes
●
Have you created the queries that it asks you to create?
●
Have you got the correct criteria in the queries?
●
Have you taken a print screen of the queries in both design and datasheet view?
●
Are your queries named correctly using the naming conventions? e.g. QryName
●
Have you created a query for the report?
●
Have you created the report to fit onto one page?
●
Have you put your print screen into the activity3 template?
●
Are they named correctly using the naming conventions? E.g. RptName
●
Have you saved activity 3 as a PDF?
Testing - 20 minutes
●
Have you completed the 6 tests that they require?
●
For each test have you completed a normal erroneous and extreme test?
●
Have you filled in the testing table in activity 4?
●
Does your actual result include a print screen?
●
Have you saved your test log in a PDF format?
Evaluation - 20 minutes
●
Have you explained how there is no data duplication?
●
Have you explained how it meets the requirements?
3
●
Have you explained whether your database structure (tables, queries, reports)allows for the different
requirements?
●
Have you saved your evaluation activity as a PDF?
Part B - 2 hours
Remember that you cannot change any of the structure of your database in this section.
Forms - 1 hour 10 minutes
Have you created a menu form to navigate around the database and called it FrmMenu?
Have you created the input forms?
●
Are your forms named correctly using the correct naming convention e.g. FrmName
●
Do the text boxes on your forms have a name? E.g. txtCustomerName
●
Have you created an append query to put the data in your tables in the database?
●
Have you made the forms a consistent style?
●
Have you added a title and explanation of the form?
●
Have you marked the mandatory boxes with a *?
●
Have you added the interface print screen of your forms into activity6 in both design and form view?
●
Have you added a printscreen of any queries you have used?
●
Have you saved the document as a PDF?
Testing - 20 minutes
●
For each test have you completed a normal, erroneous and extreme test?
●
Have you filled in the testing table up to expected result?
●
Does your actual result include a print screen?
●
Have you completed the testing log?
●
Have you saved the testing log as a PDF?
Evaluation - 20 minutes
●
Have you explained how the interface and forms allow you to meet each of the criteria?
●
Have you explained how did you did something and whether you would change it?
●
Have you saved the evaluation sheet as a PDF?
4
How to create the Entity Relationship Diagrams and Printscreen - Activity 1
1. Read through the scenario. What pieces of data is it asking you to store? Write them down in a list
and try to group them according to a specific topic (e.g. a customer or a school or a service). I
would do this on a piece of paper or a mini whiteboard so that you can scribble it around easily.
2. If you haven’t already, group the different entities into tables.
3. Give each table a name. This should be whatever the table is about and what you grouped the
data into before (e.g. a customer or a school or a service). Let's go with customer. You must use a
proper naming convention - e.g. TblCustomer. The tbl is the naming convention.
5. Make sure that all of your data is broken down fully and that each entity doesn’t appear in lots of
different tables. This is called the third normal form or 3NF for short. For example this means that your
entity shouldn’t just be address but should be broken down into Address line 1, Address line 2, City,
Country, Postcode. Each of these will be a new field. The only acception to the rule is when a primary
key appears in another table as the secondary key (we will worry about this later).
6. Check your tables and the fields against the dataset that you are given. Are you missing anything?
Does all of the data match up? Do you need to take anything out of your tables that isn’t included? Do
you need to add anything in?
7. Which part of your table is completely unique which identifies your table? This would normally be an
ID (customer ID, venue ID, trick ID, school ID, Product ID). Mark this as PK in your table. Try to put it at the
top of each table like the example above. There may be one table without a unique key given to you
in the dataset. With this, you will need to create an ID when you create your table.
8. You should have around 5 tables now. Remember each table must be able to link to another table.
If you are missing a link, maybe add in another table to create the link. For example if you have a
TblCustomer and a TblDoctor and a TblAppointmentType you might need a TblAppointment which will
link them all together so that they have a meaning but aren't clearly given in the scenario.
9. Decide which type of relationship each table has with the other, whether it is one to many, many to
many or one to one. An example of a one to many relationship is that one customer can have many
orders. This isn’t many to many because that order cannot have many people who have ordered it. An
example of a many to many relationship is that a student can register onto many classes and many
classes can have many students. Most relationships will be one to many and if you have many to many
relationships then your have not broken down your data enough. E.g. to break down the students and
classes you might need a subject enrollment table to link them together easier.
10. If you have a primary key in one table which is going to relate to another table, you must add that
primary key into the other table as a secondary key. For example, one teacher has many classes. So
the relationship would be from the TeacherID to the ClassID in the two different tables. To make sure
the relationship has referential integrity (when data is imported properly), the TeacherID must be in the
TblClass too. This then becomes the foreign key, because it is in another table.
You now need to add the data into the database and create your tables so that you can print screen
your relationships. See below on how to do this.
5
How to import your data
1. Open up Microsoft Access. You will see this screen.
2. On the bottom right hand side you will see that it has
given it an automatic name. Change this to a suitable
name for your database. Normally this will be the name
of the company or the event. I’m going to call mine
Birmingham university courses. Press create and it will open a new blank database.
3. To import the data we are going to the external data tab and choose the txt
file. This is because we are going to import the data from the txt document
given to us from the exam board. Make sure you use import and not export.
4.
It will pop up with a yellow headed box. You
need to find the txt document from your
documents, so click on browse and select the
document. Then press OK.
5. The next window will show you all of the different
pieces of data. Make sure that the delimited
setting is selected and press next.
6. On the slide window it is extremely important that
you choose that the first row contains the field
names. If you don’t do this then it will insert the
field names as a record which isn’t right. Press
next.
7. Here you need to change the Field names to
something more appropriate if necessary. Press
next.
8. On the next window, Access automatically sets
a primary key. Because we are importing data
and not creating a table yet, select no primary
key.
9. Choose the name for the table. I just call this import data so that it is not confused with any other
table you later create. Press finish.
10. It will ask if you want to save the process, choose no and close.
11. You will notice that the database has created a new table on
the left and given it the name. If you open it and find blank
records, you can delete them. To do this, highlight the rows,
right click and press delete.
6
How to make tables
1. Open that table that you have just created when importing your
data.
2. We are going to use a query to import the data so choose the
create button from the tab at the top and then query design.
3.
Double click on the table
when the window appears which
will add it to the query.
4. You then need to double click on the
fields that you want to include in the
first table you are going to make. My
first table is student so I will choose all
of the entities that I have included in my entity
relationship diagram. Double click on them to add
them to this particular query. You will see that they
appear at the bottom of the page like the image
on the right.
5. Click in the big blank space and choose the property sheet from the top right hand side of the tab
button at the top. Then set unique values to yes. This is important because if you don’t do it, you may
get a lot of duplicates which will cause you big problems
further down the line.
6. Because we are making a table and not a query, you
need to choose the “make table” button on the tab at
the top.
7. A pop up box appears and asks you to name the table.
Make sure that this includes your naming convention of
Tbl.
8. Once you have pressed make table,
click run which will then create the
query.
9. Right click and close the query. You
don’t need to save it.
10. Repeat these steps for all tables that
you need.
7
How to Create a new field and set it as a Primary Key
Sometimes if you have to create a table which doesn’t have a given Primary
Key field given to you by the dataset, you will need to create it. To do this
you will need to create this table first so that the primary key can be added
in to any other tables.
1. Make the table into design view
2. Write the new ID name into one of the field boxes in the design view.
3. Change the data type to autonumber so that the database will automatically
input the data when a new record is inputted.
4. Press save to save the table.
5.
Make the new entity a primary key by pressing the “primary key button” in the
design tab.
8
How to create relationships
Once you have created the tables you need to create the
primary key in each of them so that you can create the
relationships.
1.
Double click on the table and choose design view.
2. Find the entity that you think is going to be the primary key.
Remember the primary key is the field which is completely unique.
Make sure that you change required to yes and that indexed is
changed to yes no duplicates.
3. Click on the field that you want to be the primary key and choose the
primary key button at the top of the screen.
4. Right click onto the table and save it. A pop up box will appear
saying that the data integrity rules have been changed. Press yes.
5. You can see that the primary key is shown in each table with a little gold key.
6. Repeat these steps for each table that you have created. Remember, every table needs a primary
key.
7. To create the relationships, click on the database tools and
then relationships tab at the top of the page.
8. Add all of your tables into the window, but do not add the
import data table.
9. Click on the primary key of your first table and drag it to the
foreign key in the table it relates to. For me
this is the student table to the enrollment
table. This table will appear:
10.
Make sure that the two fields are the
same and click on enforce relationship
integrity. If you don’t do this, the relationship
type will not be shown.
11.
Repeat this for each of the tables in your database until all relationships are created. It should
look something like this when completed:
12.Now that you have all of your tables completely related in the database, take a print screen and
add it into a word document. Trim it down so
that it is just the tables and the relationships.
13.Save the document as a PDF file. To do this,
press file → save as → pdf You can find the pdf
in the file type box underneath the file name.
9
14.Make sure the file name is saved as activity1erd_[Registration number#]_[surname]_[first letter of first
name]
E.g. activity1erd_089876_Smith_R
10
How to complete the tables documentation - Activity 2
1. Open up the document called activity2tables. It will have the different headings of the required
validation checks for you to put your print screens in as well as the section for the table structure.
2.
It is split into two main sections - the tables
and the validation.
3. In the table section, add a print screen of
each of your tables in design view. The
printscreens should only show the table
name, field names and datatypes so make
sure that you crop them down and make
them bigger so that you can read the
writing. Once it is saved as a PDF the
examiner cannot make the pictures larger
so they need to be able to clearly read
them!
4.
The validation section is broken down into the different validation types (see the next page if you are
stuck on the different types). The brief will ask you to meet roughly 6 different requirements which
require validation rules. The documentation asks for evidence of one of each of the validation types.
Presence Checks
There must be data in that field. Good if the brief asks for a record not to be saved without a name
or a different field.
Format Checks
Makes sure that the field is in the correct format - e.g. a phone number cannot have letters in it or a
date of birth has to be DDMMYYYY.
Length Checks
Makes sure that the data either isn’t too short or too long. Often used on passwords.
Value lookups
Only lets the user select a specific piece of data. Often used when choosing your title or gender.
Table lookups
Allows you to select a field from another table without having to write it in. Useful when selecting a
specific person when creating a form or a new person into a table.
Range Checks
Only lets the user select from a particular range of numbers. For example somebody’s age must be
between 18 and 100.
11
How to add validation and input masks
Validation rules and input masks are applied to the tables in design view. In
the properties box at the bottom. Not every field needs validation, input
masks or data types changing. Please remember that if you have a field in
two different tables that the validation rules and input mask must be the
same on both of the fields. Make sure that for every validation rule that you
enter you also put in validation text that will appear if the validation rules
are not met.
Validation rules:
Format Checks
1.
Make your tables
2.
In design view choose the validation rule section and
input the validation rule that you want for that particular field.
3.
Add a Validation text in the box below. This is what will be shown if it
doesn’t meet the particular rule.
E.g. If you want your field to have either M or F, type “M or F” and in the
box below write an error message e.g. User must enter either M or F. If you
try and insert something else, the error message will be displayed
Length Checks
1. Make your tables
2. In design view choose the validation rule section and input
the validation rule that you want for that particular field.
3. Add a Validation text in the box below. This is what will be shown if it
doesn’t meet the particular rule.
E.g. if you know a phone number cannot be less than 11 numbers, you
could add a validation rule of Is null or like “###########” which
shows that there must be 11 numbers in the phone number or it can be
blank.
12
Value Lookup
1. Make your tables
2. In the datatype choose “lookup wizard”.
3. In the wizard choose “I will type in the values that I want”.
4. In this window add the values that you want to look up. Let’s go with
gender. When entering new data, they will be limited to these
options.
13
Table Lookup
1. Make both the tables that you want to relate and ensure that
they have a relationship between them.
2. As you will be looking up from a table that has a primary key,
the lookup wizard will not work so you need to do it manually
in the field properties section.
3. On the lookup tab, change the text box field to combo box. You will see the property menu appear.
4. You need to choose the source of the information. When you click in this field you should see all of
the tables, queries and reports that you have already
created. Choose the one where you want your field to
come from.
5. In the bound column field, choose the column where your
data is going to go into within the table. If you’ve chosen a
Primary Key, this will generally be the first column.
6. In the column count box, choose how many columns you
want to show on the lookup. This allows you to see multiple columns at the same time - e.g. the ID
and the name.
7. Save the table and when you go to the datasheet view, you should be able to select the field that
you want.
Presence Checks
1. Make your tables
2. In design view choose the validation rule section and input the
validation rule that you want for that particular field.
3. Add a Validation text in the box below. This is what will be shown if it doesn’t
meet the particular rule.
Range Checks
1. Make your tables
2. In design view choose the validation rule section and input
the validation rule that you want for that particular field.
3. Add a Validation text in the box below. This is what will be shown if it
doesn’t meet the particular rule.
E.g. If a score must be between 1 and 6 then the range check won’t let you put anything else outside of
the parameter in.
14
Format Checks
To do this ...
Accept letters (a z) only
Accept digits (0 - 9)
only
Letters and spaces
only
Digits and letters
only
Exactly 8
characters
Exactly 4 digits
Validation Rule for Fields
Is Null OR Not Like "*[!a-z]*"
Explanation
Any character outside the range A to Z is
rejected. (Case insensitive.)
Any character outside the range 0 to 9 is
Is Null OR Not Like "*[!0-9]*"
rejected. (Decimal point and negative sign
rejected.)
Is Null Or Not Like "*[!a-z OR "" ""]*" Punctuation and digits rejected.
Is Null OR Not Like "*[!((a-z) or (0-9))]*"
Is Null OR Like "????????"
Accepts A to Z and 0 to 9, but no punctuation
or other characters.
The question mark stands for one character.
Is Null OR Between 1000 And 9999 For Number fields.
Is Null OR Like "####"
For Text fields.
Requires at least one character, @, at least
Email address
Is Null OR ((Like "*?@?*.?*") AND
(Not Like "*[ ,;]*"))
one character, dot, at least one character.
Space, comma, and semicolon are not
permitted.
Presence Checks
You must fill
in Field1
Same as setting the field's Required property,
but lets you create a custom message (in
Not Null
the Validation Text property.)
The Yes/No field in Access does not support
Null as other databases do. To simulate a real
Yes/No/Null field
Is Null OR 0 or -1
Yes/No/Null data type, use a Number field
(size Integer) with this rule. (Access uses 0 for
False, and -1 for True.)
Range Checks
Positive numbers
only
Is Null OR >= 0
No more than 100% Is Null OR Between -1 And 1
Remove the "=" if zero is not allowed either.
100% is 1. Use 0 instead of -1 if negative
percentages are not allowed.
Not a future date Is Null OR <= Date()
Is Null OR IN (1, 2, 4, 8)
The IN operator may be simpler than several
ORs.
15
Input Masks:
I would recommend aiming for 3 input masks across your database. This
could include:
● A date
● Postcodes
● Phone number
● Time
Use the input mask wizard in design view by clicking on the three little
lines on the right side of the input mask box and a wizard box will
appear. You can choose whichever input mask you decide. Work
through the wizard for the particular field that you want.
These are the input mask rules - you don’t need to learn them off by heart unless you want an input mask
which isn’t on the wizard.
16
How to fill in the Query and Report Documentation - Activity 3
This document is split into different subheadings and should be filled in as you are making your database Don’t leave it to the end as you will find that there is a lot to printscreen and you will miss something. You
do NOT need to annotate or write anything on here unless you feel it is necessary or that your print screen
is not clear. This is simply for showing what you have done when building your database because
remember that the examiner does not look at your database. Everything that you do needs to be
documented in here.
Queries
This is also broken down into the subheadings of the two different queries that it asks for. Make sure that
each query is shown in both design and datasheet view. If a query solution uses more than one query, make
sure that you include all of the print screens in the relevant place holders.
Reports
Make sure that you show the design and the datasheet view of the report and any queries that it uses
including the calculations. The queries should have both the design and datasheet view.
It also asks for a PDF version of the report - you should add this into your assessment folder as well as
putting a printscreen of the PDF where it asks for it.
Forms
Each of the forms is broken down into their own subheadings. Make sure that you put the correct print
screens into the correct form heading!
It asks for the input form in form view and in design view. Make sure that you have any queries or other
forms that are used are also shown in design and datasheet view.
Make sure that you have enough detail / screenshots to show that your form works.
17
How to create a Main Menu
Main menus are created using a form with hyperlinks which take you to each of the forms, reports and
queries in your database.
If you wanted to, you could even make two buttons which take you to two different parts of the
database when it is first opened. To do this, just follow the same
hyperlink skills below and create the links to the
releventrelevant forms.
1. Instead of using the wizard for this, we are going to do it
by hand. Choose create and form design
2. Choose button from the controls panel at the top and make sure that the
property sheet is selected on the right.
3. Double click onto the button so that you can rename it to wherever it is that
you want it to take you to. Let’s say we are going to take it to the Add a new
student form.
4. On the properties sheet, choose the three little dots next to
hyperlink address
5. It will open up a pop up box asking where you want the link to
take you. Make sure you choose an object in this database
from the left hand side of the menu and choose the form /
report / query that you want. Press OK and you will see that the link has
been added.
6. Repeat each of these steps for each form / report / query you have been
asked to make.
7. Add a text box from the controls panel and add a title to the main menu.
This will normally be the company name or whatever it is that your
database is about.
8. Change from design view to form view to test if your hyperlinks work.
9. Make sure that you give your menu a name by calling it FrmMainMenu
How to make your main menu appear when your database starts
1. Click on the file menu at the top left and click on Access Options at the
bottom.
2. Click on the current database option on the left
3. Choose the “display form” option in the application options
on the right.
4. Choose the form that
you want to appear
when the database is
opened
18
How to create a Query
Queries are used to bring back particular criteria in a database. There are normally two different queries
that are asked of you in the assessment. The first one is always more simple than the second. It is generally
found that the report will also ask for a query.
1. Press create and query design.
2. Double click on each of the tables so that you can see all
fields available.
3. Check the scenario for what is is asking you for in your
query. An example would be: a query to show the average
degree length of each course at Bournemouth
University. For this I would need the course name,
course length, and university name. Add each of the
fields into the query.
4.
At the bottom of the query, there are different options
that you may need to complete. If there is a
particular criteria that the query is asking for, you
may need to type this into the criteria box. See
the picture on the right for an example.
5. If you need to only have something that begins
with a particular letter, in the criteria box you need to put: like U*. This will bring back all words that
begin with that particular letter.
6. If the query asks for some form of a calculation, whether this is the sum of
something, the average, the lowest or the biggest you need to click on
the totals button the design tab. This adds a column at the bottom
called “total” where you can add any of these parameters.
7. Once you have added the totals tab, you can choose any of the
following options:
8. If a query asks for you to enter a parameter, you need to
add a message into the criteria box at the bottom in
between []. For example, if I want them to enter a date, I
would write [start date] or if I want them to enter two things it
could be “Between [start date] And [end date]”.
9. Some queries may ask you to do something that requires you
to do two queries. For example, if it asks for an average of
students on a particular course you would first need to
complete a query to find the total then another to complete
the average of the total.
10. To create a query of a query, you need to close down the
query that you have and then create a new query. When you
open up a new query, choose the tables that you need and
19
then choose the queries tab. You can then use the fields from this to create your second query.
11. Once you are happy that you have written all of the criteria, click run and your query will pull back
only the records which meet the criteria you have asked
for.
12. Make sure that you save the query using the correct
naming convention - Qry……
13. To work out somebody’s age from a date of birth using a query, you need to add the following code
into a field column: Age: Year(Now( ))-Year([DoB])
This will subtract the date of birth year from the current year and give you an age.
20
How to create a report
Reports are used to display the outcome of a query and are generally used to hand to other people as a
way of showing your data. All school reports and timetables
that you receive in school are made using a report from a
database. In the exam this is called data output. You need
to make sure that the report looks appealing to the eye.
1. Choose create and report wizard from the database
tab at the top of the software.
2. Choose the query or table that you want to display
your information from. If it has asked for a report of a
query you should choose the correct query here.
3. Once you have selected the table or the query that you
want to produce a report from, you need to choose the
fields.
4. On the next screen you can choose how you want the
data to be set out. Choose the option that suits you the
most and press next.
5. The next window asks for grouping. This is how you want
the data to be grouped. If it has asked for grouping by
age or gender or a particular place, this is where you
would do that.
6. On the next window it asks if you want to sort it in ascending or descending order. Choose the
preference of the scenario and press next.
7. The next window asks for your preference of layout.
Choose the most appropriate and press next.
8. On the final screen it asks for the name of the report.
Make sure you use the naming convention of Rpt when
you save it.
9.
You will notice that when you complete the
report, the title is the name of the report and you
cannot see all of the field names. Change to design
view and change the
title and the size of the text boxes.
21
Structure Testing
This tests the structure of the database - the way that you have made your tables, the validation that you
have put onto your fields and the queries that you have made.
1. Open the document called Activity4Testing. It should look like this:
2. You only need to complete the testing once you have made the first two forms that it asks you to.
Remember that you need to complete a normal, erroneous and an extreme test for each of the
tests that it asks you to carry out. All of these need to be recorded.
3. The test number should start at 1 and go down to 18 (if there are 6 tests that it asks you to complete).
Let's say that you are going to test that a class does not have more than 30 students in it when
inputting on a form. Test 1 would be the normal, test 2 the erroneous and test 3 the extreme. Then
the next test would start at 4.
4.
For each test you will need to carry out Normal (N) – Data that is considered ordinary/typical and
should be accepted e.g. 14, Erroneous (R) – Data that is completely incorrect and should be
rejected with a suitable error message e.g. forty and Extreme (X) – Data which is on the limit of what
should be accepted. This is both within the restrictions (accepted) and outside the restrictions
(rejected). E.g. 24.
5. Purpose of the test should state exactly what the reason of the test is. For example for the example
above, it would to be make sure that a class does not accept more than 30 students and displays
an error message.
6. The test data is exactly what is going to be inputted. For example,
the numbers 24, 30 and 34.
7. The expected result would be what you expect to happen when
you input that data. Will it be rejected? Will it be accepted? Will it
show an error message? What are these and why? The more detail
you can add, the better.
8. The actual result is what actually happens. In here, make sure that
you put a print screen of the result of your test and explain what it
does and why. Like this:
9. The comments and actions taken should be what you did to sort
out if the expected and actual result is different. How did / would
you fix it?
22
Structure Evaluation
23
How to write an evaluation
You will need to create a new word document for the evaluation.
Always use key terminology in each of the different paragraphs as
you cannot get in the top mark band for the evaluation without
key terminology. Use the ones on the right.
Use the “things to consider” section to steer the content of your
evaluation but make sure that you answer these questions about
the topics:
1. Paragraph 1 - Why did you structure your database the way
that you did?
a. What were you asked to do?
b. Does your database do this? Why / Why not?
c. How did you make the specific parts (fields, tables,
queries, reports, primary keys, foreign keys etc) of your
database suitable?
2. Paragraph 2:What changes did you make?
a. What changes did you make as you were making the database and why did you make
them?
b. What changes did you make during the testing and why?
c. Describe at least one situation that didn’t go as expected, explain why and the changes you
made. E.g. a query that didn’t bring back what you thought it would and the changes you
made to it
3. Paragraph 3: The overall quality, performance and usability of your database
a. Are your tables designed well to enable you to complete specific tasks? Why? / why not?
b. Are you pleased with your data inputs and outputs? Why?
c.
Are you happy that your database does what it says that is does?
d. Is your database easy to navigate and use? Are there instructions on the forms to tell the user
what to do?
4. Make sure that you save the word document as a PDF.
24
Part B
2 hours in the morning on the second day of the assessment. Builds upon the work of the day before. You
cannot change anything from the previous days' work but only add to it. You will be given a database to
work off of so don’t worry if you struggled with the first part. Part B consists of:
-
Activity 6: Creating the interface of the database - how is it going to look and what is it going to
actually do?
-
Activity 6: Creating forms to input data into the database
-
Activity 7: Testing the forms to make sure that they work properly and input the data into the
database
-
Activity 8: Evaluating the interface
25
How to create a Main Menu
Main menus are created using a form with hyperlinks which take you to each of the forms, reports and
queries in your database.
If you wanted to, you could even make two buttons which take you to two different parts of the
database when it is first opened. To do this, just follow the same
hyperlink skills below and create the links to the relevant forms.
10. Instead of using the wizard for this, we are going to do it
by hand. Choose create and form design
11. Choose button from the controls panel at the top and make sure that the
property sheet is selected on the right.
12. Double click onto the button so that you can rename it to wherever it is that
you want it to take you to. Let’s say we are going to take it to the Add a new
student form.
13. On the properties sheet, choose the three little dots next to
hyperlink address
14. It will open up a pop up box asking where you want the link to
take you. Make sure you choose an object in this database
from the left hand side of the menu and choose the form /
report / query that you want. Press OK and you will see that the link has
been added.
15. Repeat each of these steps for each form / report / query you have been
asked to make.
16. Add a text box from the controls panel and add a title to the main menu.
This will normally be the company name or whatever it is that your
database is about.
17. Change from design view to form view to test if your hyperlinks work.
18. Make sure that you give your menu a name by calling it FrmMainMenu
How to make your main menu appear when your database starts
5. Click on the file menu at the top left and click on Access Options at the
bottom.
6. Click on the current database option on the left
7. Choose the “display form” option in the application options
on the right.
8. Choose the form that
you want to appear
when the database is
opened
26
How to create a form
A form is used to input data into the database so that the user can add something into the database
that already exists. There will nearly always be an add new customer or add new dog or something and
then one other form. It will always be called data input on the exam.
1. Use your design specification to find out which forms are asked for
by the scenario.
2. Click on create and form wizard
3. Choose the table that you want the fields to come from. For
example, if I was registering a new student I would use the
TblStudent as this is where the data needs to go to
4. Double click on each of the fields that the scenario asks for in the
form. If it doesn't specify the fields, add in all fields for that table. I
know that when I register a new student it will need all of the fields
from the student table. You will notice that when you double click,
the field goes to the right hand side of the window under selected
fields.
5. The next few options allow you to choose how you want your form to
be laid out. I would choose Columnular as I find this is the neatest
layout.
6. When you press finish, you will notice that it automatically puts a
students data into the form and that it is in form view. It has also given
the title asTblStudent. We need to change these settings to make the form work properly.
7. Change to design view and first change the title of the form by
double clicking in the form header. You need to change this to
whatever you want to appear as the title of the form. For me it is
going to be “Add a new Student”. You can change the layout
and the style just like you would any other text box.
8. Go through and delete each of the text inside the text
boxes so that it simply says “unbound”. This means that
when it is a form, you will be able to input the data instead
of records already appearing.
9. Change the name of any labels which don’t make sense
for user input. For example, Student Add 1 is not a useful
name, call it Address Line 1.
10. Add a label from the controls panel at the top and next to
any of the required fields put a * to show that it is required.
11. Add the buttons that you need by choosing the “button” button. Follow the wizard so that you can
control what it does. See below for how to add the button to add new records.
You can change up your boxes a little if you want by adding combo boxes where you look up particular
information and select it from a form. Follow the steps below:
27
1.
Create a combo box for the customer ID
2. A box will come up saying combo box wizard. Press next
and choose the table that you want the field from - in this
case the customer ID. Then press next
3. Select the field you want. For us, customer ID and then
click next.
4. When it asks for a name, using
a naming convention give it a
name - cmbo (for combobox)
and a name
5. It will then look like this:
6. Repeat the process for any
other fields that you want a drop down
selection box for.
7. You will see that if you look at the form
view it will look like this:
8. Add in a text box (ab button) for any other fields that you want the user to enter. Don’t forget to
name these boxes in the properties sheet. Remember - naming conventions get you easy marks!
9. Save your overall form. Remember - use a naming convention
10. Make your form look pretty and consistent with the style of all of the other forms and menus. These
are easy marks. Add in a label (the Aa button) to
add a description of how to use the form and
also to add *s onto the fields that are
compulsory to fill in.
28
How to create an append query to populate the form into a table
1. Click on create - query design
2. Click close because you do not
need to choose any of the
tables.
3. Click on append at the top of
the screen and select the table
that you want the data to be saved
to
4. 4. At the bottom where it says
“append to”, choose the field that
you want to save to.
5. Click on the field cell at the
bottom and then choose
“builder” from the query setup
at the top.
6. Choose “forms” from the left hand menu
and find your form and choose the dropbox
box that you want. If you double click on it
you will see that it appears in the top of the
expression builder. Click ok.
7. Repeat steps for the other fields that you
want to save in your form.
8. Save your query. Remember your naming
convention.
9. Go back to the button that you made in
the previous help guide on your form. Choose
miscellaneous and run query from the pop up
command wizard box.
29
10. Select the query that you have just made and click next.
11. Choose “text” in the naming of the button and give it a name - in the case create transaction.
12. Close the query down, it will not work if you leave the query open!
13. Test it out. Make sure it works. If the query works properly, you should get a pop up saying “you are
about to run this query”. If you don’t get this, you have done something wrong.
14. To create an ID automatically on a new field, you need to add this formula into the unbound textbox
in the form: =[HighestValue]+1
30
How to complete Testing - Activity 7
10. Open the document called Activity7Testing. It should look like this:
11. You only need to complete the testing once you have made the first two forms that it asks you to.
Remember that you need to complete a normal, erroneous and an extreme test for each of the
tests that it asks you to carry out. All of these need to be recorded.
12. The test number should start at 1 and go down to 18 (if there are 6 tests that it asks you to complete).
Let's say that you are going to test that a class does not have more than 30 students in it when
inputting on a form. Test 1 would be the normal, test 2 the erroneous and test 3 the extreme. Then
the next test would start at 4.
13. For each test you will need to carry out Normal (N) – Data that is considered ordinary/typical and
should be accepted e.g. 14, Erroneous (R) – Data that is completely incorrect and should be
rejected with a suitable error message e.g. forty and Extreme (X) – Data which is on the limit of what
should be accepted. This is both within the restrictions (accepted) and outside the restrictions
(rejected). E.g. 24.
14. Purpose of the test should state exactly what the reason of the test is. For example for the example
above, it would to be make sure that a class does not accept more than 30 students and displays
an error message.
15. The test data is exactly what is going to be inputted. For example,
the numbers 24, 30 and 34.
16. The expected result would be what you expect to happen when
you input that data. Will it be rejected? Will it be accepted? Will it
show an error message? What are these and why? The more detail
you can add, the better.
17. The actual result is what actually happens. In here, make sure that
you put a print screen of the result of your test and explain what it
does and why. Like this:
18. The comments and actions taken should be what you did to sort
out if the expected and actual result is different. How did / would
you fix it?
31
How to write an evaluation
You will need to create a new word document for the evaluation.
Always use key terminology in each of the different paragraphs as you
cannot get in the top mark band for the evaluation without key
terminology. Use the ones on the right.
Use the “things to consider” section to steer the content of your evaluation
but make sure that you answer these questions about the topics:
2. Paragraph 1 - Why did you structure your database the way that you
did?
a. What were you asked to do?
b. Does your database do this? Why / Why not?
c. How did you make the specific parts (fields, tables, queries,
reports, primary keys, foreign keys etc) of your database
suitable?
5. Paragraph 2:What changes did you make?
a. What changes did you make as you were making the database and why did you make
them?
b. What changes did you make during the testing and why?
c. Describe at least one situation that didn’t go as expected, explain why and the changes you
made. E.g. a query that didn’t bring back what you thought it would and the changes you
made to it
6. Paragraph 3: The overall quality, performance and usability of your database
a. Are your tables designed well to enable you to complete specific tasks? Why? / why not?
b. Are you pleased with your data inputs and outputs? Why?
c.
Are you happy that your database does what it says that is does?
d. Is your database easy to navigate and use? Are there instructions on the forms to tell the user
what to do?
7. Make sure that you save the word document as a PDF.
32
Mark Schemes
33
34
35
813
1-7
Inc
u and
Functionality
Interface is limited,
Interface ts thorough,
including the full range of
forms, queries and reports
required with most of the
including gome forms,
quenes and reports required
with some of the relevant
fields.
fields
Interface indudes accurate
Interface has details of
some criteria and
calculations required, which
details of most criteria and
calculations required.
moy indude inaccuracies.
Interface is cleer but there
are some inconsistencies
and there are
formatting allowing a user
to use tho database with m
Interface is unclear or
provides limited information
end inaccuracies in
inconsistencies end
inaccuracies in form att›•o.
so a user would cxoczicnw
ddtioJlts in us•ng the
nor difficulties and
allowing maintenance by a
third partY mith minor
database end making
maintenance by a third
party difficuh.
difficulbes.
Interface uses accurate
Interface uses minimal
validation and checking
procedures, resulting in a
system with limited capacity
Jlu$joCi g Jz( errors and
handles most unexpected
validation and checking
procedures resulting in a
system that minimises fig.
to reduce errors or handle
unexpected events.
The datebese mey not be
fully functional andlor may
have major ci ro• s thet
prevent the database from
moetino the oiven criteria
TesLing is too narrow to confirm a
working solution, induding limited
normal, erroneous and/or extreme
data.
0
Evaluation
20-26
14-19
events.
The database is functional
ZG
Interface es thOf OU4^.
including the full range of
forms, queries and reports
required with all relevant
F•elds.
Interface indudes accurate
details of all criteria and
calculations required.
Interface is clcer ond
intuitive, consistently and
accurately formatted allowing
a user to easily use the
dotebase and ollowing it to
be easily maintained by a
third party.
Interface uses accurate
validation and checking
procedures throuqhout,
resulting in a robust system
that minimises errors and
handles unexpected events.
The database is fully
functional and fully meets the
given criteria.
with minimal errors and
meets thg 91en criteria.
S-C
Testing is adequate to confirm a
working solution, induding some
normal, erroneous and/or extreme
data.
Teshng is thorough, including a
range of normal, erroneous and
axtreme data.
Expected results as Generic or
mosdy inaccurate. Test data may
not be present.
Expected resuhs ara mostly
Expected resuks are specific and
accurate based on identified test
data.
Test results prove that that the
database operates under some
normal circumstances relevant to
the scenario.
Test results prove that that the
database operates under some
normal circumstances and that the
database can cope with some
erroneous and extreme data
relevant to the scenario.
Test results prove that that the
database operates under all
circumstances relavant to the
scenario.
Test result comments show a
limited understanding of anY errors
that were found.
Test result comments show partial
understanding of any errors that
were found.
Test result comments show a clear
understanding of any errors that
nere found, and how they were
accurate and based on identified
test data, but may lack detail.
1-3
4-G
7-9
10- 12
12
Superficial understanding of
relevant technical concepts
shown with some
inaccuraoes. Limited or
unsupported justificafion of:
Some accurate and relevant
understanding of technical
concepts shown. Some valid
justification, which may
laCk support, of:
Hostly accurate and detailed
understanding of relevant
technical concepts shown. A
valld and mostly supported
justification of:
Accurata and detailed
understanding of relevant
technical concepts shown
• changes made during
the development and
testing process
• fhe relational database
structure selected
• about the quality,
performance and
usability of the database.
Limited links beMeen
aspects of the solution and
the requirements of the
scenario.
Technical vocabulary is used
but it is not used
appropriately to support
arguments.
• changes made during
the development and
testing process
• the relational database
structure selected
• the quality, performance
and usability of the
database.
Some logical links between
aspects of the solution and
tha requirements of the
scenario but may lack
clarity.
Mostly accurate technical
vocabulary is used to
support arguments.
• chanqus made during
the development and
testin9 process
• Lt\e relational database
structure selected.
• quality, pertormance and
usability of the database.
Makes some logical coherent
links between aspects of the
solution and the
requirements of the
scenario.
Accumte technical
vocabulaw is used to
support arguments.
throuqhout.
A valid and fullY supported
justification of:
• changes made during
the development and
testing process
• the relational database
structure selected
• quality, performance
and usability of the
database.
Nakes logical coherent
links between aspects of
the solution and the
requirements of the
scenario throughout.
Fluent and accurate
technical vocabulary is
used to support
a uments.
36
Unit 2: Creating Systems to Manage
Information - Marking grid
General Marking Guidance
All learners must receive the same treatment. Examiners must mark the first learner in
exactly the same way as they mark the last.
Marking grids should be applied positively. Learners must be rewarded for what they
have shown they can do rather than penalised for omissions.
Examiners should mark according to the marking grid not according to their perception
of where the grade boundaries may lie.
All marks on the marking grid should be used appropriately.
All the marks on the marking grid are designed to be awarded. Examiners should always
award full marks if deserved. Examiners should also be prepared to award zero marks if
the learner’s response is not rewardable according to the marking grid.
Where judgment is required, a marking grid will provide the principles by which marks
will be awarded.
When examiners are in doubt regarding the application of the marking grid to a learner’s
response, a senior examiner should be consulted.
Specific Marking guidance
The marking grids have been designed to assess learner work holistically.
Rows within the grids identify the assessment focus/outcome being targeted. When using
a marking grid, the ‘best fit’ approach should be used.
Examiners should first make a holistic judgement on which band most closely matches
the learner response and place it within that band. Learners will be placed in the band
that best describes their answer.
The mark awarded within the band will be decided based on the quality of the answer in
response to the assessment focus/outcome and will be modified according to how
securely all bullet points are displayed at that band.
Marks will be awarded towards the top or bottom of that band depending on how they
have evidenced each of the descriptor bullet points.
Part A
Assessment Band 0
focus
Activity 1:
ERD
screenprint
Activity 2:
Table
structure
and
validation
0
0
Band 1
Band 2
Band 3
Band 4
Max.
mark
1-2
3-4
5-6
7-8
8
ERD shows an attempt at
normalisation with
significant data
redundancy.
ERD shows that most data ERD shows that most data The ERD shows that the
is correctly normalised with is correctly normalised with data is correctly
some data redundancy.
minimal data redundancy.
normalised with no data
redundancy.
ERD has some correct
relationships shown.
ERD has some correct
relationships and some
correct relationship types.
1-2
3-4
Uses some meaningful field Uses meaningful field and
and table names
table names with minor
with some inconsistencies. inconsistencies.
ERD has mostly correct
relationships and mostly
correct relationship types
shown.
5-6
Uses a recognised naming
convention with minor
inconsistencies for fields
and tables.
The table structure
The table structure
The table structure
identifies some primary and identifies most primary and identifies all primary and
foreign key fields.
foreign key fields.
most foreign key fields.
ERD has correct
relationships and
relationship types shown
throughout.
7-8
8
Uses a recognised naming
convention consistently for
fields and tables.
The table structure
identifies all primary and
foreign key fields.
The table structure has
limited use of correct data
types.
The table structure has
correct data types for most
fields.
The table structure has
The table structure has
correct data types for most correct data types for all
fields including matching
fields.
primary and foreign key
fields.
Limited use of validation
which may be inaccurate.
Accurate validation rules
for some of the fields that
require validation.
Accurate validation rules
for most of the fields that
require validation.
Accurate validation rules
for all fields that require
validation.
17
Assessment Band
focus
0
Queries
and Report
0
No rewardable material
Activity 3:
Band 1
Band 2
Band 3
Band 4
1-3
4-6
7-9
10-12
Queries and report include
limited relevant fields.
Queries and report includes
some relevant fields.
Queries and report includes
mostly relevant fields.
Queries and report includes
all relevant fields only.
Queries and report include
details of some criteria and
calculations required, which
may include inaccuracies.
Queries and report include
accurate details of some
criteria and calculations
required.
Queries and report includes
accurate details of most
criteria and calculations
required.
Queries and report include
accurate details of all criteria
and calculations required.
Presentation of data in
queries and report will not
aid readability and
understanding of data.
Presentation of data in
queries and report will, in
places, aid readability of and
understanding of data.
Presentation of data in
queries and report will
mostly aid readability and
understanding of data.
Presentation of data in
queries and report will aid
readability and
understanding of data.
Max.
mark
12
18
Assessment Band 0
focus
Band 1
Band 2
Band 3
Activity 4:
Structure
Testing
1-2
3-4
5-6
No rewardable material
0
Testing is too narrow to confirm a
working solution, including limited
normal, erroneous and/or extreme
data.
Testing is adequate to confirm a
working solution, including some
normal, erroneous and/or extreme
data.
Testing is thorough, including a
range of normal, erroneous and
extreme data.
Expected results are generic or
mostly inaccurate. Test data may
not be present
Expected results are mostly accurate
and based on identified test data but
may lack detail.
Expected results are specific and
accurate based on identified test
data.
Test results prove that that the
database operates under some
normal circumstances relevant to
the scenario. Test result comments
are present when errors have been
found. These comments show a
limited understanding of any errors
that were found.
Test results prove that that the
database operates under some
normal circumstances and that the
interface can cope with some
erroneous and extreme data relevant
to the scenario. Test result
comments are present when errors
have been found. These comments
show partial understanding of any
errors that were found.
Test results prove that that the
database operates under all
circumstances relevant to the
scenario. Test result comments are
present when errors have been
found. These comments show a
clear understanding of any errors
and how they were fixed.
Max
Marks
6
19
Activity 5:
Structure
Evaluation
Band 0
0
No rewardable material
Assessment
focus
Band 1
1-2
Band 2
3-4
Band 3
Max.
mark
5-6
6
Superficial understanding of
relevant technical concepts shown
with some inaccuracies.
Some accurate and relevant
understanding of technical concepts
shown.
Accurate and detailed understanding
of relevant technical concepts shown
throughout.
Limited or unsupported justification
of the relational database structure
selected.
Some valid justification, which may
lack support of the relational
database structure selected.
A valid and fully supported justification
of the relational database structure
selected.
Limited links between aspects of
the solution and the requirements
of the scenario.
Some logical links between aspects
of the solution and the
requirements of the scenario but
may lack clarity.
Makes logical coherent links between
aspects of the solution and the
requirements of the scenario
throughout.
Technical vocabulary is used
but it is not used appropriately to
support arguments.
Mostly accurate technical
vocabulary is used to support
arguments.
Fluent and accurate technical
vocabulary is used to support
arguments.
20
Part B
Assessment
focus
Activity 6:
Band
0
0
No rewardable material
Interface
and
Functionality
Band 1
Band 2
Band 3
Band 4
1-4
5-7
8-10
11-14
Interface is unclear or
provides limited information
and there are inconsistencies
and inaccuracies in
formatting, so a user would
experience difficulty in using
the database and making
maintenance by a third party
difficult.
Interface is clear but there
are some inconsistencies and
inaccuracies in formatting
allowing a user to use the
database with minor
difficulties and allowing
maintenance by a third party
with minor difficulties.
Interface is clear with
minimal inconsistencies and
inaccuracies in formatting
allowing a user to use the
database easily and allowing
maintenance by a third party
with minor difficulties.
Interface is clear and
intuitive, consistently and
accurately formatted
allowing a user to easily use
the database and allowing it
to be easily maintained by a
third party.
Interface may not have
details of criteria/calculations
required, or these may
include inaccuracies.
Interface includes accurate
details of some
criteria/calculations required.
Interface includes accurate
details of most
criteria/calculations required.
Interface includes accurate
details of all
criteria/calculations required.
Interface uses minimal
validation, checking
procedures and automation
resulting in a system with
limited capacity to reduce
errors or handle unexpected
events.
Interface uses some
accurate validation, checking
procedures and automation,
resulting in a system that
minimises the most common
errors and handles some
unexpected events.
Interface uses accurate
validation, checking
procedures and automation,
resulting in a system that
minimises the majority of
errors and handles most
unexpected events.
Interface uses accurate
validation, checking
procedures and automation
throughout, resulting in a
robust system that
minimises errors and
handles unexpected events.
Interface may not be fully
functional and/or may have
major errors that prevent
the interface from meeting
the given criteria.
Interface is functional and
meets some of the given
criteria with minimal errors.
Interface is functional with
minimal errors and meets
the given criteria.
Interface is fully functional
and fully meets the given
criteria.
Max.
mark
14
21
Assessment Band 0
focus
Band 1
Band 2
Band 3
Activity 7:
Interface
Testing
1-2
3-4
5-6
No rewardable material
0
Testing is too narrow to confirm a
working interface, including limited
normal, erroneous and/or extreme
data.
Testing is adequate to confirm a
working interface, including some
normal, erroneous and/or extreme
data.
Testing is thorough, including a
range of normal, erroneous and
extreme data.
Expected results are generic or
mostly inaccurate. Test data may
not be present
Expected results are mostly accurate
and based on identified test data but
may lack detail.
Expected results are specific and
accurate based on identified test
data.
Test results prove that that the
database operates under some
normal circumstances relevant to
the scenario. Test result comments
are present when errors have been
found. These comments show a
limited understanding of any errors
that were found.
Test results prove that that the
database operates under some
normal circumstances and that the
interface can cope with some
erroneous and extreme data relevant
to the scenario. Test result
comments are present when errors
have been found. These comments
show partial understanding of any
errors that were found.
Test results prove that that the
database operates under all
circumstances relevant to the
scenario. Test result comments are
present when errors have been
found. These comments show a
clear understanding of any errors
and how they were fixed.
Max
Marks
6
22
Activity 8:
Interface
Evaluation
Band 0
0
No rewardable material
Assessment
focus
Band 1
1-2
Band 2
3-4
Band 3
Max.
mark
5-6
6
Superficial understanding of
relevant technical concepts shown
with some inaccuracies.
Some accurate and relevant
understanding of technical concepts
shown.
Accurate and detailed understanding
of relevant technical concepts shown
throughout.
Limited or unsupported justification
of the quality, performance and
usability of the interface.
Some valid justification, which may
lack support of the quality,
performance and usability of the
interface.
A valid and fully supported justification
of the quality, performance and
usability of the interface.
Limited links between aspects of
the solution and the requirements
of the scenario.
Some logical links between aspects
of the solution and the
requirements of the scenario but
may lack clarity.
Makes logical coherent links between
aspects of the solution and the
requirements of the scenario
throughout.
Technical vocabulary is used
but it is not used appropriately to
support arguments.
Mostly accurate technical
vocabulary is used to support
arguments.
Fluent and accurate technical
vocabulary is used to support
arguments.
23