William H. Bowers – Improving Data Entry Cooper 17

William H. Bowers – Agenda Data Integrity vs. Data Immunity Data Integrity vs. Data Immunity Data Integrity vs. Data Immunity Data Integrity vs. Data Immunity Lost Data Lost Data Lost Data Lost Data Fudgeability Fudgeability Fudgeability Auditing vs. Editing Auditing vs. Editing Auditing vs. Editing Auditing vs. Editing

William H. Bowers – Data Integrity vs. Data Immunity Data integrity Data integrity –Keep ‘bad’ data out of the system –Validate at point of entry –Assumed to be ‘good’ if it is in the DB –Does not require successive validation –Places the needs of the DB over the user

William H. Bowers – Data Integrity vs. Data Immunity Data immunity Data immunity –Programs must look before they leap –Must be trained to ask for help –“Nine” vs. ‘9’ vs. “9” vs. 9 vs. 9.0 –Stopping for corrections may be improper –Incorrect data may be in correct format

William H. Bowers – Lost Data Should the program halt on bad data? Should the program halt on bad data? Use subtle, modeless cues to indicate data status Use subtle, modeless cues to indicate data status Use bounded entry for critical data Use bounded entry for critical data Determine seriousness of lost data Determine seriousness of lost data Can missing information be tolerated? Can missing information be tolerated?

William H. Bowers – Fudgeability Systems tend to be rigid Systems tend to be rigid People tend to be flexible People tend to be flexible Which is more important? Which is more important? –Database –The business supported by the DB Try to model the real world Try to model the real world Difficult to build into the UI Difficult to build into the UI

William H. Bowers – Auditing vs. Editing The user isn’t always right The user isn’t always right Program is responsible for data Program is responsible for data Provide modeless, meaningful warnings Provide modeless, meaningful warnings Maintain audit trail Maintain audit trail Track what was done and by who Track what was done and by who MS Word spell check vs. AutoCorrect MS Word spell check vs. AutoCorrect

William H. Bowers – Questions & Discussion