Business System Analysis: ERD Entities and Relationships
This paper examines the design of a business system for Petrie's Electronics through the lens of entity-relationship diagram (ERD) development. It identifies and describes six core entities — customer, transaction, product, promotion, coupon, and services — and outlines the attributes associated with each. The paper explains which attributes serve as identifier keys and why certain entities require them while others do not. Finally, it explores the relationships between entity types, including those linking customers to transactions, products, promotions, and coupons. The discussion illustrates how a well-structured ERD supports efficient data management and business decision-making.
- Introduction: Context for business system ERD development
- Attributes of Each Entity: Attributes for all six system entities
- The Identifier Attribute: Which attributes serve as unique identifier keys
- Relationships Between Entity Types: How the six entities relate to each other
- Conclusion: Summary of ERD design and its business value
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper systematically addresses each of the six entities in turn, giving the discussion a clear and predictable structure that is easy to follow.
- It connects abstract ERD concepts (identifier keys, entity relationships) to concrete business functions, such as age-gating purchases and authenticating transactions via server records.
- The relationships section builds logically on the attributes and identifiers sections, showing how the earlier analysis supports the later relational model.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates applied systems analysis by decomposing a real-world business scenario (Petrie's Electronics) into formal data-modeling components. Rather than describing ERD theory in the abstract, the author grounds each concept — attributes, identifier keys, and entity relationships — in specific business use cases, which is a core technique in information systems coursework.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a brief introduction contextualizing business systems within technological advancement. The body is divided into three analytical sections: the first catalogs attributes for all six entities; the second evaluates which attributes qualify as identifier keys; and the third maps the relationships between entity types. A short conclusion ties the discussion back to the ERD's practical purpose. This structure mirrors standard system-design documentation.
Introduction
In the wake of technological advancements, there has been remarkable development and progression across all sectors of life. Education, political, social, and business systems are among the areas most affected by growth in the technology sector. The business sector in particular reaps immense benefits from these developments, creating a vast market for system developers who work to build tools that perform a wide variety of functions. Business analysis systems establish working and management environments that are simple and convenient to operate, helping organizations manage and analyze the data and information that concern them. The preliminary development of the entity-relationship diagram (ERD) discussed here aims to produce such a system for business management.
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