Consulting support during conceptual database design in the presence of redundancy in requirements specifications: an empirical study
This study examines the efficacy of a consulting system for designing conceptual databases in reducing data modelling errors. Seventy-two subjects participated in an experiment requiring modelling of two tasks using the consulting system. About half the subjects used the treatment version and the other half used the control version. The control version resembled the treatment version in the look and feel of the interface; however, it did not embed the rules and heuristics that were included in the treatment version. Research findings suggest that subjects using the treatment version significantly outscored their control version counterparts. There was an interaction effect between system and prior knowledge-subjects who scored low in a pre-test benefited the most from the treatment version. This study has demonstrated that a consulting system can significantly reduce the incidence of errors committed by designers engaged in conceptual database modelling. Further, the system is robust and can prevent errors even in the presence of redundancy in user requirements. (C) 2001 Academic Press.
database design redundancy requirements specifications consulting system expert system problem-solving