A Database Designer

How must a database designer balance the time to complete data modeling steps with the benefits the data modeling process offers in creating a database? Consider examples from your work place and class assignments.

This discussion question poses a challenge for me for a couple reasons. The first reason would be that even though I own and operate a database that I have constructed I had "all the time in the world" to complete the project as it was a personal project and no real time constraints are put on such things. The second reason is that I have not been employed where I had hands-on contact with a database therefore I have no formal training on database use, maintenance, or development which means that I was not scrutinized to uphold specific requirements when my database was developed. That being said I can see the difficulties in conforming to a prescribed method developing a database within a set period of time.

According to Windows Enterprise Support Database Services (2013), "A data model is a conceptual representation of the data structures that are required by a database. The data structures include the data objects, the associations between data objects, and the rules which govern operations on the objects". Furthermore, according to Windows Enterprise Support Database Services (2013), "The design process roughly follows five steps:

1. planning and analysis

2. conceptual design

3. logical design

4. physical design

5. implementation"

Allocating time toward each primary section (since the details of each section can become quite extensive in explanation and procedure per business model) I would believe to be based on the database in development. Data modeling provides a physical preview of what the database will be before it is created. In essence by implementing data modeling the designer is creating the database before the database is manifested into a functional product.