Chapter 14. Communicating the Design

Unless you're building a database system for your own use, you need to be able to communicate the results to other people. Please note that I just said "communicate." I didn't say "document." Yes, you'll be creating at least one document as part of communicating the design, but I've seen far too many analysts produce "system design documents" that consist of data dictionaries, screen shots and report layouts, with nothing to explain how these bits fit together.

All the documentation in the world isn't going to accomplish anything if it's obscure and unreadable. You can't learn a language by reading a dictionary, and you can't understand a project by reading tables of data.

Now, a word from my soapbox: Basic written communication skills are critical to this task, so if you have any doubts about your abilities, get a good book (some of my favorites are listed in the Bibliography) or sign up for a course at a local community college. I promise it will be time well spent. If your grasp of English grammar is faulty, your clients are bound to wonder what else you haven't understood quite as well as you should have. (And here endeth the sermon.)