Data Base Administration

In modem organizations, data has been added to the classical economic assets of land, labor, and capital. Data on company products, finances, and operations are gathered into data bases that are used to support management reporting and decision making. Effective use of these data bases requires control over their design and development and coordination among the various users. The exercise of these management functions is called data base administration (DBA). DBA is an evolutionary area. In many organizations, it was formed as a response to the problems created by the installation of sophisticated systems for data base management. As a result, the practice of DBA has been strongly influ­ enced by its technological and organizational environment. The size, organiza­ tional position, staffing, and defined role of DBA vary from firm to firm. How­ ever, certain fundamental tasks and responsibilities are, or should be, recognized as the province of DBA. To date, literature on the DBA function is sparse. Most texts on data base management systems (Date, 1975; Kroenke, 1977; Martin, 1978; Sprowls, 1976; Tsichritzis and Lochovsky, 1977)\* discuss DBA as one aspect of that technology. Front Matter....Pages i-xii Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Managing the Data Resource....Pages 3-13 The DBA Function....Pages 15-21 DBA within the Organization....Pages 23-34 DBA Organization and Staff....Pages 35-47 Organizational Dynamics....Pages 49-59 Front Matter....Pages 61-61 Components of Data Base Planning....Pages 63-73 Evaluation and Selection of Data Base Management Systems....Pages 75-86 Front Matter....Pages 87-87 The Data Base Design Process....Pages 89-99 Logical Data Base Design....Pages 101-113 Physical Data Base Design....Pages 115-130 Front Matter....Pages 131-131 Maintaining Data Base Integrity....Pages 133-144 Controlling Data Base Access....Pages 145-158 Monitoring Data Base Performance....Pages 159-170 Front Matter....Pages 171-171 Data Administration....Pages 173-186 Data Base Standards....Pages 187-197 Front Matter....Pages 199-199 The DBA in Practice....Pages 201-212 Back Matter....Pages 213-250