Office 2007 Bible

A Five-Step Design Method

Figure 33-2 is a version of the design method that is modified especially for use with Access. This is a top-down approach, starting with the overall system design and ending with the forms design, and it consists of five steps.

Figure 33-2. The five-step design flowchart. This design methodology is particularly well-suited for Access databases.

These five design steps, along with the database system illustrated by the examples in this book, teach a great deal about Access and provide a great foundation for creating database applications—including tables, queries, forms, data pages, reports, macros, and simple VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) modules.

The time you spend on each step depends entirely on the circumstances of the database you’re building. For example, sometimes the users give you an example of a report they want printed from their Access database, and the sources of data on the report are so obvious that designing the report takes a few minutes. Other times, particularly when the users’ requirements are complex, or the business processes supported by the application require a great deal of research, you may spend many days on Step 1.

As you read through each step of the design process, always look at the design in terms of outputs and inputs. Although you see actual components of the system (cars, buyers, sellers, and transactions), ...