Week 11 - Database Project

This week we had to create a database for a local gym with information about its members. This project was very value-adding to me since I learned the basic functions of Microsoft Access and how to individually create a database from scratch. Though I have never been in touch with this program, I now have the abilities to create tables; import and export data from different sources; perform different queries to display specific data I am interested in; create forms that conveniently show details about each member; and I can create reports, which display data according to different groups, sorted in a special way and the like. This makes me able to get the data I am interested in and view them in a way that is logical and structured to me. I am very sure that the knowledge I have acquired through this project will enhance my understanding of databases that are present in virtually every company today and make working with it easier for me in the future.

However, the steps I performed in this project were really basic. I think that this database needs to be a lot more comprehensive and more useful. MS Access offers the possibility to create relationships among different tables in the document, so that the maintenance would be even easier and consequently the validity of the data would be guaranteed. This would be important if the owner was to include the monthly membership fees in his database, to oversee the Members' IDs and who paid for them or who did not. This information could refer to another table that lists the Members' ID, as well as their addresses, so that the outstanding bills-reminder could then be sent to them. As I am really no expert in MS Access (yet), I can only vaguely suggest that there are many other improvements that could be made to this database, however, due to my limited knowledge I can not think of any other ones now.