Organizations depend on their databases to provide information that is essential for their day-to-day operations and to help them take advantage of today’s rapidly growing and maturing e-commerce opportunities. An understanding of database tools and technologies is an essential skill for designing and developing systems to support them. As applications get increasingly more sophisticated, database systems continue to demand more complex data structures and interfaces. Most organizations collect and store large volumes of data, either on their systems or in the cloud, and this data is used not just for the operational running of their business but is also mined for other more intelligent and complex applications. Databases stand as the back-end of most systems used by organizations for their operations.

Database design and development is a fundamental and highly beneficial skill for computing students to master, regardless of their specialism. This unit aims to give students opportunities to develop an understanding of the concepts and issues relating to database design and development. It will also provide the practical skills needed to be able to translate that understanding into the design and creation of complex databases. Topics covered in this unit are an examination of different design tools and techniques; examination of different development software options; consideration of the development features of a fully functional robust solution covering data integrity, data validation, data consistency, data security, and advanced database querying facilities across multiple tables; appropriate user interfaces for databases and other externally linked systems; creating complex reports/dashboards, testing the system against the user and system requirements; and elements of a complete system
documentation.

Pearson BTEC Levels 4 and 5 Higher Nationals in Computing
Specification – Issue 4 – May 2023 © Pearson Education Limited 2023 107

On successful completion of the unit, students will be able to use appropriate tools to design and develop a relational database system for a substantial problem. They will be able to test the system to ensure that it meets user and system requirements, and
fully document the system by providing technical and user documentation. For practical purposes, this unit covers relational databases and related tools and techniques. A brief overview of object-oriented databases will also be covered. As a result, students will develop skills such as communication literacy, critical thinking, analysis, reasoning, and interpretation, which are crucial for gaining employment and developing academic competence.