An Overview of Database-Related Issues

Agenda for IT Conference, Denver, 09/07/07

1. Current Migration Issues

            a. See accompanying Fellowship Data Processing diagram.  We need to purchase the Quickbooks Customer Manager module.  This will allow us easily to integrate data from Filemaker Pro, the online store, and Skipjack with the existing Quickbooks database.

            b. Current Filemaker databae should be refined with a better designed relational structure.  Filemaker should be replaced with MySQL probably sometime late in 2008.  This could be done sooner if we can find an outside contractor to do the work for us.  This will be much less expensive if we've already refined our table structure, work flow procedures, access restrictions, etc.

            c. The php language should be phased in early in 2008 so that web interfaces to the MySQL data easily may be constructed.

            d. We currently had POS capabilities available in Quickbooks as well as in the Volusion product.  We need to review each one and make decisions about which one (or both) to use.  One consideration is the ability to use POS services without the need to have the Quickbooks software running.

                        i. If Quickbooks is running on the machine which is hosting the POS, forms can be pre-populated with customer information.

                        ii. If the Volusion POS is used, all customer information must be entered for each first-time transaction and then exported to Quickbooks where it needs to be integrated with existing customer information.

                        iii. Filemaker currently generates a member_ID which is used to identify each member and manage table relationships.  If Quickbooks is to be the primary databaes we need to have a means of consistently generating member_IDs for records created outside of Filemaker.  (See the following).

What is our primary point of data entry for reader records?  Filemaker?  Quickbooks?  All data sets that we currently have can be ordered in Filemaker.  Admin procedures need to be established regarding where new information is entered into the system.  Through Quickbooks?  Through Filemaker?  Information can be sent from one to the other for updating but specific procedures should be in place to minimize errors and eliminate any double-entry of information.

It seems that the most dynamic, most active database should be the core, primary database with all others relative to it.  Under present circumstances, this would make Quickbooks the core database, relative to which all other data sets would be configured and related.

Other points in the system where data is input or changed:

            Online E-newsletter subscription list -- users can add or delete email addresses.

            Fellowship internal email subscriber lists -- users can change their email addresses.

            Online transactions: Auto debit and contribution information from online form goes to Skipjack database.

            Transactions and shipping information from online store is partially stored in Volusion database, partially in Skipjack database.  Do we want to download all of this information into the Quickbooks Customer Manager module?

            Others?

2.  Do we want an online store?  See accompanying overview of web store issues.

3. Security:       Who has admin access to Skipjack account?

                        Who has user access?

                        A policy about changing security and access permissions needs to be developed so that changes are not randomly made to accommodate transient situations.

4. Data Sources:  We have data from a number of sources.  Which ones do we want to integrate into a central database?

            a. Filemaker reader database

            b. GraphicMail E-newsletter subscriber list

            c. Fellowship internal email subscriber lists

                        i. Socadmin

                        ii. EC

                        iii. GC

            d. Registration databases from past conferences

            e. Contribution records from various accounting programs used over the past 10 years.

            f. Skipjack reports

            g. Web store reports including shipping information

            h. Online print media subscription form

5. Backup and restore procedures and an overall disaster recovery plan need to be developed.

            a. Which data needs to be backed up regularly, which should be archived for long-term storage?  If we have data stored in multiple tables, all data needs to be backed up as an integrated set.

            b. Who is responsible for seeing to it that backup and restore procedures actually work and are regularly tested?  This should be someone other than the person responsible for maintaining the backups.