Chapter 19

Designing Accurate
Data-Entry Procedures

Systems Analysis and Design

Kendall and Kendall
Fifth Edition

Major Topics

Data entry
Effective coding
Types of codes
Guidelines for coding
Validation methods
Check digits
Ecommerce accuracy

Quality Data-Entry
Objectives

The quality of data input determines the

quality of information output
Accurate data entry is achieved through
four broad objectives:

Effective coding
Effective data capture
Efficient data capture and entry
Assuring quality through validation

Codes and Coding

Coding helps efficiency because

Data that are coded require less time to enter

Coding helps to reduce the number of items
entered
Coding can help in sorting of data during the
data transformation process
Coded data can save valuable memory/storage
space

Purpose of Coding

Besides providing accuracy and

efficiency, coding does the
following:

Keeping track of something

Classifying information
Concealing information
Revealing information
Requesting appropriate action

Types of Codes

Types of codes are

Simple sequence code

Alphabetic derivation codes
Classification codes
Block sequence codes
Cipher codes
Significant digit subsets
Mnemonic codes
Function codes

Guidelines for Coding

Keep codes concise

Keep codes stable
Make codes that are unique
Allow codes to be sortable
Avoid confusing codes
Keep codes uniform
Allow for modification of codes
Make codes meaningful

Using Codes

In validation programs to ensure that only valid

codes have been entered

In report and inquiry programs to display code

meanings

In GUI programs to create drop-down lists

This helps to ensure accurate data, since the user

sees the code and its meaning and can only
select a code from the list

Effective Data Capture

In order to assure the quality of

data entered into the system, it is
important to capture data
effectively

Guidelines for Effective

Data Capture

Deciding what to capture

Letting the computer do the rest
Avoiding bottlenecks and extra steps
Starting with a good form
Choosing a data-entry method

Validation Overview

To assure data quality, errors

should be detected during input,
prior to processing and storage

Two possible ways to validate

inputs are:

Validation of input transactions

Validation of input data

Data-Entry Methods

Keyboards
Optical character recognition
Magnetic ink character recognition
Mark-sense forms
Bar codes
Intelligent terminals

Problems With Input Data

Three main problems that can occur

with input transactions are

Submitting the wrong data to the system

Submitting of data by an unauthorized
person
Asking the system to perform an
unacceptable function

Validation Methods

Test for missing data

Test for correct field length
Test for class or composition
Test for range or reasonableness
Test for invalid values
Cross-reference checks
Test for comparison with stored data

Check Digits

Check digits are used to validate a numeric

field by performing a calculation on a part of
the number and comparing the result with a
digit stored within the number

Check digits help to detect

Single digit miskey
Transposition errors

Using Codes

Codes may be included in drop-down

lists when using a GUI interface

This helps to ensure that the data

entered are accurate, since the user
sees both the code and its meaning
and can only select a code from the
list

Ecommerce Accuracy

Ecommerce environments have

increased accuracy of data because

Customers generally enter data themselves

Data entered by customers are stored for
later use
Data entered at the point of sale are used
throughout the order fulfillment process
Information is used as feedback to customers