Help for Daughter

[Shorter Rankin <srank -at- PACBELL -dot- NET>]

Some time in the misty past Rebecca Carr said:
>Please reply to the list...

Becky, your daughter should tell those insurance
agents to "type the field name NAME in the field
name FIELD". That's how we do it in California.
(with apologies to Susan W. Gallagher).

Your darlin' daughter seems to have identified a
database design issue. From the description it sounds
like they don't know how to get their data into second
normal form. She should not argue with her boss about
this as it is unlikely he would have any idea what she's
talking about. For her information, though, names can be
split into several fields: first name, middle initial,
last name, other such as Jr., Sr., III, etc. It is
much easier to do this when the database is being
designed rather than after it has data.

As to choice of software, she could use Word in Outline
view to create bullet lists for Powerpoint or she could
use Powerpoint from the beginning; it doesn't matter.

What does matter is how to document a system when the
system is messed up. I hope that some people on the list
will comment on this. My own view is that she describes
present practice as is. They have not hired her to redesign
their software.

HTH


Shorter Rankin, MBA
mailto:srank -at- pacbell -dot- net
Sacramento, CA
tel: 916/452-8842
fax: 916/452-8843
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