The Case Study Status

The database designers can take a short breather since they have completed the first designs of the MDS database. The design of the application is an iterative process and the team understands that new requirements are already on the way from the end users just realizing that they missed something initially and from developers needing database changes to accommodate the application. There will also be further enhancements needed on the database for various reasons, new requirements that come in as EAB Healthcare changes its business practices, and changes as the system matures in use.

In the meantime, the database designers are not just sitting around waiting for the next project. Some will move on to other projects, some will begin to look at the existing designs and see where improvements can be made. Perhaps most importantly, some of the database designers will be part of a team, with the other groups involved, to review what they have done. This group will perform a postmortem, which involves looking at the project in detail shortly after it has been completed. The postmortem will look at the project to understand successes and failures, what worked and what didn't in the process and designs. The team will evaluate how the teams worked together, how to better utilize the UML, and how they all came together to build what hopefully will be a successful and useful system that meets the requirements of the business and the end users.