Sit down with a manager in your organization, an entrepreneur, or someone else who might have a need for a new system to manage data. Interview this person and gather as much information as you can about this data management need. Explain the benefits of databases and how they can be useful in the real world.

Write a report that answers/considers the following questions:

What data need to be maintained? Students? CDs? Recipes? Describe the data and typical data elements that would need to be stored.

Will this be an entirely new system or a replacement for an existing system?

What is the consequence if the data are not maintained properly? What is going wrong now that your new system would fix? If this is a replacement for an existing system, why is the existing system inadequate?

Who are the stakeholders in this project? Who stands to benefitno matter how insignificantlyfrom this new system?

Are there any legal, ethical, or privacy concerns that should be taken into account when creating and implementing the system?

Is the project feasible within the constraints of this class? Some considerations for feasibility are technology (dont try to create something thats impossibly huge), economics (dont try to create something that is beyond your budget$0 in this case), and time (you have 8 weeks).

Finally, validate your plans with the person you interviewed and get his or her approval to begin the project.