An important analytical and problem-solving skill is the ability to adapt and transfer patterns learned in one setting to other situations. This chapter explained how to develop an REA diagram for a business that sells tangible inventory. Yet some businesses provide only a service. For example, the following narrative describes Sparky’s Amusement Park’s revenue cycle.
Sparky’s Amusement Park is an entertainment park run by recent college graduates. It caters to young people and others who are young at heart. The owners are very interested in applying what they have learned in their information systems and marketing classes to operate a park better than any other in the area.
To accomplish these goals, guests of the park are given a personal “membership card” as they enter. This card will be used to identify each guest. Assume that a new card is issued each time a guest comes to the park. As a result, the system does not have to track one person over a period of time.
As at other parks, guests pay a flat fee for the day and then are able to ride all of the attractions (such as a double-looping roller coaster and the merry-go-round) for no extra charge. The owners, however, want to track the rides each guest takes and the attractions the guests use. They plan to have guests swipe their membership card through a computerized card reader, which automatically enters information into the computer system. This should allow the owners to gather data about the following:
• Number of people who use each piece of equipment. (How many people rode the Ferris wheel today?)
• Number of times each piece of equipment is operated daily.
• Times of day the attraction is busy or slow. (When was the carousel the busiest?)
• Number of attractions each guest uses. (How many different pieces of equipment did customer 1122 ride?)
• Number of rides each guest enjoys. (How many different rides did customer 1122 enjoy? Did each guest go on any rides more than once?)
Draw an REA diagram for Sparky’s revenue cycle only. Be sure to include cardinalities. State any assumptions you had to make.