| Data Manipulation
The need for good design at the database level is essential in ensuring that data becomes information. An excellent logical database design allows the information to be manipulated much easier, as opposed to searching with a data set for matches where it becomes very difficult to extract the correct information.
1) The importance of educating the user and why
a) The design of a good database should be driven by an internal expert who knows and understands how the business works at an operational level. Consultants can offer wide knowledge in broad terms but they rarely have the in depth experience as to the best way data should be extracted. This internal champion needs to understand the current and future requirements of the business in order to create the most effective specification for a database. Different levels of expertise are therefore required through the chain of Specification, Design and Implementation to ensure a successful outcome.
2) Good design at the database level
a) The need for data manipulation is evident in all areas of business and government in order to link information to established patterns. For example in the UK motor insurance industry, the integrated data service in whereby Car Insurance, Tax and M.O.T. are all linked deliver a better service to motorists. It can also be applied in Banking Services, where different products and services are combined to offer better value and convenience for the customer. Customer benefit is achieved through the availability of single source data to multiple applications, avoiding the inconvenience of continued replication of supplied information. Good design will ensure accurate and fast data retrieval.
3) Easy to bring separate data items together
a) The key to successful Data Manipulation in SQL databases is to remember that it is always easier and more flexible to combine data elements rather than to break them apart. In other words, it is much more effective and time efficient to accept data in clean and short segments than to spend unnecessary time writing parsing routines that are rarely efficient, exact or easy.
4) Difficult to split data within a single field
a) The ability to successfully extract and combine short, clean segments of data reduces time wasted on development and cost to the client, with the additional benefit of more effective and accurate manipulation of the data.
5) The role of data mining and pattern identification
a) This process provides the ability to search for any patterns occurring with travellers. The huge technical advances in processing power, storage capacity and inter-connectivity of computer technology has seen data mining become an increasingly important tool to modern business to transform large quantities of digital data into business intelligence, providing an informational advantage. The growing consensus is that data mining can bring real value to border security and has led to an explosion in demand for novel data mining technologies.
6) Greater visibility of information
Visibility and transparency of information is critical to ensure that privacy and the type of data that is being stored meets with approval at all levels within society. A proper understanding of why data is stored, who has access to it and how long it is stored for is required. The general public should have easy access to information relating to the use and re-use of their personal information – for example the sale of personal data for marketing purposes.
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