Week 10: Clear

This week I've been working on something special. If spreadsheets get you excited, hold on to your magic carpet, because this week was all about database software! I know this is the moment you've all been waiting for... Now, even though I know none of you were anticipating this particular blog post, database software is a pretty powerful tool in the business environment. This week, I was able to work and learn with FileMaker Pro.

This software is much more powerful than a traditional spreadsheet. One of the capabilities I really loved was the ability to sort through massive amounts of data so easily. Whether it be quantitative or qualitative data, you can find what you need FAST.

Going into this week, I had no experience with database software whatsoever. It was completely new to me. Excel was the paragon of data organization. FileMaker Pro really opens the door to a whole new world (Cue Disney music) of capabilities. Seriously, cue the music...

A couple of the things FileMaker Pro can do that leave Excel behind are:

• Safer Databases and Tables- Now when I say safer, I mean that there are less possibilities for mistakes. There is a fancy trick called "Validations" where only certain values are allowed in certain columns. This greatly cuts down the number of mistakes. In a way, it is a built in proof read.
• Queries or Finds- This makes it much easier to sort through massive amounts of data. You have a class of 500 students and you want to see how many of them are Freshman? Simple. You want to see of those Freshman, how many received an A for their course grade? No problem. Finding information has never been easier. 
• Forms- A wonderful way to sift through more detailed information of a specific field. You can easily see all the grades a certain student received on every assignment throughout the semester. Cluttered data suddenly becomes clear. 
• Reports- Simple procedure to get summary statistics of large groups of data. You can get the summary statistics of a certain field, the whole set of data, or even both on the same sheet of paper. 

Database software goes above and beyond spreadsheet software in so many ways. In baseball terms, spreadsheets are the minor leagues and database software is the "the show". If you want to be apart of the major leagues of business, you should really know your way around database software. It improves efficiency and clarity in ways I could only imagine before this week.