Midterm #1 Results

Tuesday, October 12, 1999

90-728 MIS Lecture Notes 1

Midterm #1 Results

Average 153.87Std. Dev. 21.03Median 159.25AverageGrade: B+

Grade Distribution

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A+ A A- B+ B B- C+ C C-

Letter Grade

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Students

• Good work! Most students have a solid understanding of the course material

• Exam solution will be reviewed in Wednesday’s session

• Extra credit points will be used for midterm and final grade determination



Administrative Details• Midterm grades will be posted to administration by

Monday 10/18

• HW #7 due Tuesday 10/26

• No lab or workshop this week due to Heinz School mid-semester break and Network NY

• Lecture on Tuesday 10/19 will focus on class project description and project management

• Lab on Thursday 10/21 will focus on reports

• Lab on Friday 10/22 will focus on project management using Microsoft Project98

• HW #6 will not be collected



Reporting in the Relational Database ModelThe relational database model (RDBM) we have studied has the

following key characteristics:– Normalized tables

• Primary key uniquely defines each record in a table• All attributes are dependent on the primary key and not each other• Focus on data integrity• Multiple tables with minimum number of columns

– Operational focus• Short time frame• Specific transactions that occur at a given time• Queries are small in scope and complexity• Business rules implemented through E-R diagrams and application-level code

How can we summarize and present data in order to make tactical or strategic, as well as operational decisions?



Example Reporting Requirements for RDBM

Tactical/Strategic• What 10 buses have had the most repairs in the

past year?• What is the average number of gallons in gas

fill-ups?• What percentage of all brake inspections for

Ford trucks have resulted in repairs?

Operational• What repairs have been performed

between 6/1/99 and 7/30/99? What parts were used in each repair?

• What inspections have been performed on buses #30, 42 and 70?



Architecture of RDBM ReportsReport Header - Information which

identifies the report: title, organization,

Group Header - Segment which identifies section of data that are similar according to grouping criterion

Group Body: Rows of data corresponding to records in table/view that have same grouping criterion

Group Footer: Segment which summarizes information in group e.g. though descriptive statistics

Report Footer: Segment which summarizes information in entire report

Page Footer: Information which appears at the bottom of every page: date/time/page #



Typical RDBM ReportsBasic reports:

– use a single table, or a table plus a code table, as input to the report

– one report row per table record plus a summary row

Example: report of buses currently in use– group by make

– summarize by average odometer reading of all buses in make category



Typical RDBM Reports (cont’d)

Complex reports: – use a data view/

complex query as input

– apply grouping levels

Example: report of employee usage by repair event (summarize total cost)



Typical RDBM Reports (cont’d)Reports/Subreports:

– use one data view for information according to one criterion (main report)

– use another data view for other information according to another criterion (subreport)

Example: Monthly gasoline usage summary– Gas fill up summary

(main report)

– Gas tank levels (subreport)



Using the Report Wizard• Select tables/queries

• Confirm relationships

• Select grouping levels

• Select sorting rules

• Specify summary information

• Select report format

• Preview



Scoping Out A ReportWhat information do I want the report to contain?

– List of data for particular tables and summary statistics (simple report)

– Trends over time, across company divisions or for ranges of values

– Spatial data as well as aspatial data

How do I want the information organized?– Simple tabular or columnar representation

– Grouped/sorted by criterion values

– Cross-tabulations by multiple criteria

– Report/subreport

What will be the report’s look and feel?– Report header/footer? Group header/footer?

– Font sizes/typefaces?

– Formal (annual report) or informal (newsletter)

How will the report be used?– Once or periodically?

– Based on user input or hard-coded?



Putting the Report TogetherCreate queries that group the data

– Underlying data can be modified without having to open the report (useful on the road)

– One query can be used for multiple reports

– Confirm data accuracy without printing out the report

Create a report template (perhaps with Access’ Report Wizard)– Save header/footer formats and titles

– Preserve a consistent look and feel

Create a report prototype for inspection by client– Are the data correct?

– Is the look and feel acceptable?

– Identify alternative ways to profile the data

Revise, revise, revise!– Work by hand if Report Wizard can’t do what you want

– Automate work with macros or Visual Basic for Applications where possible



Reporting in a Decision Support SystemDSS reports are often much more complex than reports in

operationally-oriented databases:– Summarization of large volumes of data

• Use make-table queries for greater speed

• Frequent use of delete and update queries

– Complex cross-tabulations• Variety of date ranges: by year/quarter/month/week/day/shift/hour

• Multiple row headings

• Summarize across rows as well as down columns

– Present data in a variety of formats• Textual/Graphical/Spatial

– Interface with other applications• Word processor

• Spreadsheet

• Web

Midterm #1 Results

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