Books, articles and columns published by Michelle Poolet and Michael Reilly of Mount Vernon Data Systems

"Michelle Poolet is a consummate and experienced professional. She has the skills for conceptualizing, analysis, design, development, integration, data quality and data control—as well as the interpersonal skills—necessary for a leadership or technical role in any database project. In addition to many successful database projects, she has written numerous articles and designed and taught well–received graduate course sequences in database.

"Michelle and I worked together on a data warehouse to track and analyze the enrollment patterns and retention in a constantly changing population of about 5,000 university students spread across several variable–length programs, class formats and delivery locations. Michelle had complete responsibility for data modeling, database design, data cleansing, reformatting and update. She also supervised data extraction from the university's transactional system.

"Michelle was my principal database instructor in the Master of Computational Information Systems program at the University of Denver. She designed the database concentration and its five courses, prepared publishable book–length instructor notes, mentored several other instructors and taught several well–received courses each quarter."

C. Mike Fligg, Jr.
Principal Consultant, Servant Systems and Director (retired) CIS Division, University College, University of Denver


	A database that functions well supports your business operations—and improves your profit margin.
	Below are topics and links to columns written by Michelle Poolet for SQL Server Magazine that illustrate this in a range of business situations. Contact Michael at mdudziak@penton.com to obtain a copy of a single article. (A note for the user: SQL Server Magazine, in both print and electronic formats, is sold on a subscription basis. A subscription to the magazine is needed to access the full content of the columns, or purchase an online pass for $5.95 a month). Books Authored By Michelle Poolet and Michael Reilly Click Here to see them. SQL Server Magazine column exerpts by Michelle Poolet Designing for Performance: NULL or NOT NULL? May 2006 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine The useful NULL condition lets you represent unknown values in a database, but you might worry about its effect on database performance. Never fear: You can use NULL sensibly. take a look subscribe NULL Overhead May 2006 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Learn about how the use of the NULL condition affects SQL Server performance. take a look subscribe NULL and the CLR May 2006 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Find out why the Common Language Runtime (CLR) environment in Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 makes it easier to incorporate nullability checks in your code. take a look subscribe Brush Up on Design Essentials with the SQL Diagrammer April 2006 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Data modeling lets you optimize database performance, share your schema, and archive and track database changes. But often, this important basic design step is left out. See how SQL Server's in-the-box data-modeling tool can get you started. take a look subscribe Why Model? February 20, 2006 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine A good database model gives you better performance, a visual representation of your data, a data inventory you can use for regulatory compliance, and a way to quickly modify your database. take a look subscribe Describe and Design February 20, 2006 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Different data modeling software packages provide different features that let you describe and design your databases. The SQL Server Digrammer isn't the most sophisticated modeling software, but it gets you started. take a look subscribe Design Tip: Choosing a Primary Key for a Web-Customer Table February 3, 2006 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine What to do—and not to do—when choosing a primary key for a table containing your Web-site customers. take a look subscribe Design Tip: Defining a Customer February 3, 2006 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine When designing a customer table, make sure your design differentiates a Web customer (essentially a prospect) from a true customer. take a look subscribe Designing for Performance: Lookup Tables February 2006 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Exploring recent proposals promoting all-in-one lookup tables and how that design stacks up to the more traditional approach of using multiple tables. take a look subscribe Solutions by Design: Data Modeling 2005 December 2005 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine SQL Server 2005 won't change things much for data modelers, but make sure your CASE software supports the new database version's new features. take a look subscribe Performance-Tuning the Data Model: Thinner is Better September 2005 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine In an optimized data model, thin tables give good performance because lean tables require fewer I/O rounds and less storage space. To improve your database performance, take a look at the “thinner is better” concept and learn how to put tables on a diet. take a look subscribe What To Do About Fat Albert? September 2005 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Learn to slim down fat tables by using data-model optimization techniques. take a look subscribe Performance-Tuning the Data Model: Configuring the Database July 2005 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine You can improve performance by retrofitting a database with indexes and more powerful hardware, but you can never completely compensate for a bad data model. Performance-tuning SQL Server starts with a sound database configuration and data model. take a look subscribe Running SQL Server on RAID July 2005 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine If you can afford it, RAID is the easiest and best way to implement fault tolerance. take a look subscribe Time-Recording Schemes May 2005 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Data modeling is a design discipline and a design activity. A data modeler is an architect who can bridge the gap between the business world and the technical world by correctly interpreting corporate data. take a look subscribe 7 Steps to Database Change Control March 2005 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Change control isn't just for application development. Database schemas need change control... take a look subscribe Practicing Data Porting February 2005 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine In my work, I routinely redesign and redeploy production databases, and to do so, I write programs that transfer data from the old database to the new one. Readers have asked me to share data-transfer tips and techniques, so this month, I respond to that request. take a look subscribe The Search Path Less Traveled December 2004 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine You've been using keywords to help you locate data since you were a kid. Maybe you used a card catalogue the first time you went to your local library, or maybe the nuances of online search engines taught the youthful you about keywords. However you learned about them, you probably use keywords for database design, sorts, and searches in your daily work. take a look subscribe Design Testing with Questions and Views November 2004 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Traditional database design techniques such as the Systems Design Life Cycle (SDLC), also known as the Yourdon Waterfall method, and Information Engineering (IE) were created to make design a manageable process, complete with tools, milestones, and reviews. A design-testing phase is a crucial methodological step in any formal process, but often designers neglect testing when timelines grow short and budgets shrink. take a look subscribe Modernizing Memberships August 2004 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Managing a nonprofit organization's rapidly changing membership database was a challenge for one DBA. Learn how she simplified her job by aligning her database design with members' real needs. take a look subscribe Materialize Your Views June 2004 \| Focus \| SQL Server Magazine Everyone knows how views can bring information together and how they can drag down query performance. But materialized, or indexed, views--when used with care--can give your transactional database a big query... take a look subscribe Recursive Relationships May 2004 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Supporting a bill-of-materials is a common but complex task. With careful modeling and an understanding of recursive relationships, you can avoid the redundancy and update problems that often occur in a... take a look subscribe Tracking Infectious Diseases January 2004 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Few medical research organizations have funds to purchase and maintain elaborate database systems for tracking diseases, so many researchers must devise their own tracking systems. For these people, an effective database design is literally a lifesaver. take a look subscribe The Case of the Overlapping Subtype November 2003 \| Solutions By Design \| SQL Server Magazine A database designer has a problem with her supertype–subtype database design, and the simple answers she finds don't work for her. Find out how she learns that even less–than–ideal solutions can work in the right circumstances. take a look subscribe A New Lease on Life September 2003 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Typically, DBAs use database partitioning to improve performance or enforce security on large databases. However, in this case study, a company used partitioning to improve performance on its small database with great success. take a look subscribe Redesigning a Catalog July 2003 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Catalog inventory management can be one of the most complex challenges for database designers and developers because inventory is constantly growing and changing. Here's a basic ERD model that can adapt to a company's changing inventory. take a look subscribe What's in a Name? May 2003 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” but when you change a database object’s name, you can create confusion and poor performance. Here are some tips for choosing and using a good naming convention. take a look subscribe Web-Host Invoicing March 2003 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine In a goods-and-services business, a complicated database structure can make customer invoicing harder than it has to be. Here’s a real-life example of how a simpler architecture makes it easier to serve customers. take a look subscribe Indexing Dos and Don’ts January 2003 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Indexing can be a double-edged sword—you can improve performance or hinder it. Consider these nine important points as you develop your indexing strategies. take a look subscribe Seven Deadly Sins November 2002 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine In the early stages of a new career, everyone makes mistakes that prove to be costly lessons. You can shorten your adjustment period by avoiding these hidden traps. take a look subscribe A Business Metadata Repository October 2002 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine You can use extended properties in SQL Server 2000 to make a business metadata repository that will benefit everyone in your organization. take a look subscribe Understanding the Notation: Defining and Using Domains September 2002 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Use domains in lieu of regular data types when you want to maintain consistency of data types throughout a database. take a look subscribe Tracking Across Space and Time September 2002 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Learn how to take advantage of pre-existing forms of identification such as Social Security numbers, define and use domains, and pick an appropriate primary key in this multifaceted approach to tracking student movement between schools. take a look subscribe Product-Distribution Metamodel July 2002 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Would you like to know instantly how much of one wallpaper batch remains in your warehouse bin? Or how your current cost for lawn mowers matches your cost over time? The product-distribution metamodel provides the framework for these details. take a look subscribe Simple Inventory Metamodel June 2002 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine The who, what, when, where, and how of inventory control can quickly get out of hand. Take charge by applying this metamodel for basic inventory management. take a look subscribe Understanding the Notation June 2002 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine PowerDesigner 9.0's notation--including data types--converts easily to SQL Server formats. take a look subscribe PowerDesigner's Conceptual Data Model May 2002 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Here's how to interpret the Music Collection Revisited column's data model, created in Sybase’s PowerDesigner 9.0. take a look subscribe Music Collection Revisited May 2002 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Once more, with feeling: In response to a reader’s suggestion, Michelle Poolet revises the database model for a music CD collection to include storage-location data. take a look subscribe Database Harmony March 2002 \| Focus \| SQL Server Magazine Are you struggling with data-integrity losses? Learn how to balance integrity and performance with these normalization best practices that you can apply to your environment. take a look subscribe User-Schema Evaluation Checklist March 2002 \| Focus \| SQL Server Magazine Use this checklist as a guide through the steps of a user-schema evaluation. take a look subscribe Multivalued Attributes March 2002 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Multivalued attributes often mask lists and collections. Here's how to identify these normalization irregularities and correct your database design. take a look subscribe Move Up to SQL Server 2000 February 2002 \| Focus \| SQL Server Magazine If you've been putting off upgrading your SQL Server 6.5 databases, now is the time to bring them into the twenty-first century. Don't miss our tips, tricks, and advice about how to prepare for and implement an upgrade to SQL Server 2000. take a look subscribe Upgrading from SQL Server 7.0 to SQL Server 2000 February 2002 \| Focus \| SQL Server Magazine Upgrading from SQL Server 7.0 to SQL Server 2000 is much less of a hassle than upgrading from SQL Server 6.5. Here's what you need to know. take a look subscribe Surrogate Key vs. Natural Key February 2002 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Choosing between a surrogate identifier and a natural value for your table’s primary key need not be difficult. If your candidate meets the four criteria that this article presents, you have a winner. take a look subscribe Make it Short and Sweet February 2002 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine When you choose a primary key, remember that SQL Server manages simple data types more easily than variable-length character fields. take a look subscribe When Not to Normalize Your Database February 20, 2002 \| Focus \| SQL Server Magazine Normalizing your database is usually in your best interest--however, here is one notable exception, along with several references to help you with overall database design. take a look subscribe Making History January 2002 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Create a set of history tables in your database or build a separate history database without jeopardizing your database’s performance. take a look subscribe New in 2000 January 25, 2002 \| Focus \| SQL Server Magazine Here are some new features of SQL Server 2000 that you need to be aware of before you migrate your databases. take a look subscribe Before and After January 25, 2002 \| Focus \| SQL Server Magazine Before you upgrade your SQL Server 6.5 system, you need to prepare. After the upgrade, you can take several steps to utilize SQL Server 2000's new features. take a look subscribe Metamodel for Scheduling System November 2001 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Design a metamodel for scheduling a company’s employees and their work, workplaces, and work shifts. take a look subscribe Metamodel for Reservations System October 2001 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Now you can build a metamodel that’s perfect for scheduling and reservations-system databases. take a look subscribe What Makes a Good Primary Key? October 2001 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Look for these features when you select a primary key. take a look subscribe Using T-SQL to Create T-SQL August 2001 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine The rarely used cross join is an option when you need to create a large number of tables. take a look subscribe Metamodel for Contact Manager July 2001 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Use this metamodel to design your own contact manager database. take a look subscribe Metamodel for Product Assembly June 2001 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Extend the retail-sale metamodel to include product-assembly relationships. take a look subscribe Metamodel for Retail Sales May 2001 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Create a customizable entity relationship (ER) template for your complex database designs. take a look subscribe Real-Life Database Design April 2001 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine You can design a useful database for every corner of your life—including your cherished music CD collection. take a look subscribe CASE Tool: Visio 2000 March 2001 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Visio 2000 Enterprise Edition helps you model everything from databases to software applications. take a look subscribe Finding Online Help March 2001 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine take a look subscribe Data Modeling Q&A December 2000 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Michelle Poolet's readers take center stage with their questions about her data modeling series. take a look subscribe Responsible Denormalization October 2000 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Learn how to safely and successfully break the design rules of database normalization. take a look subscribe The SQLmag Database DDL Script File October 2000 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Download this Data Definition Language (DDL) script to create the SQLmag database that Michelle A. Poolet uses in her October Solutions by Design article. take a look subscribe The Physical Implementation September 2000 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine This last installment in Michelle A. Poolet's data-modeling series defines seven steps for bringing your database to life. take a look subscribe The Physical Design August 2000 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Create a physical design to document and verify all of your database's physical implementation requirements before you start implementing the live database. take a look subscribe Portable Data Types July 2000 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Portable data types are those that you can translate into any database vendor's set of physical data types without loss of meaning, content, or value. take a look subscribe Logical Modeling July 2000 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Working from the concept model, take the next step in database design and manually create a logical model of your database. take a look subscribe Entity Modeling June 2000 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine When you use entity relationship diagrams to map your business' data, the database begins to take shape. take a look subscribe Process Modeling May 2000 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Knowing how the business system works will help you build a reliable, well-functioning and long-lasting database. take a look subscribe Data Modeling April 2000 \| Solutions by Design \| SQL Server Magazine Build a more effective database by constructing a data model. take a look subscribe Solutions by Design: The Security Matrix March 2000 \| Columns \| SQL Server Magazine The security decision matrix can help you develop and document your security plan. take a look subscribe Solutions By Design: A Data Access Solution February 2000 \| Columns \| SQL Server Magazine Here are the final three steps to distribute data views to a user's desktop: creating a query file, automatically distributing that query file to every user's desktop computer, and introducing the user to this new way of accessing data on the SQL Server. take a look subscribe Solutions By Design: Accessing SQL Server Data January 2000 \| Columns \| SQL Server Magazine If everyone in a company who needs information can get to the corporate data in a timely manner and can understand what the data means, everyone can be more responsive to customer and industry challenges and can do a better job. take a look subscribe SQL By Design: The Four Integrities November 1999 \| Columns \| SQL Server Magazine Proper use of the four integrities--entity integrity, referential integrity, domain integrity, and business integrity--can ensure that your databases' content is accurate and consistent. take a look subscribe Solutions by Design: Adding a Questionnaire to a Design December 1999 \| Columns \| SQL Server Magazine The questionnaire is a popular and valuable source of data for an organization. After gathering the questionnaire data comes the inevitable question of how to integrate these questionnaires into an existing database’s design. take a look subscribe Which Path from Access 97 to SQL Server 6.5? October 1999 \| Focus \| SQL Server Magazine Are you ready to migrate your Access files to SQL Server 6.5? Here are step-by-step instructions on using the Upsizing Wizard, tips on resolving the problems that the Wizard creates, and an alternative solution to using the Upsizing Wizard. take a look subscribe SQL by Design: The Reason for NULL October 1999 \| Columns \| SQL Server Magazine The goal of a relational database is to store true and accurate data; using NULLs can help achieve this goal. take a look subscribe Data-Type Conversion October 1999 \| Focus \| SQL Server Magazine The way the Upsizing Wizard converts data types can have an enormous effect on the Access user interface and application. take a look subscribe Declarative Referential Integrity vs. Triggers October 1, 1999 \| Focus \| SQL Server Magazine How can you decide whether to use Declarative Referential Integrity (DRI) or triggers to enforce table relationships when you upsize from Access 97 to SQL Server? DRI lets you use a CREATE TABLE or ALTER TABLE statement to declare a foreign key reference. take a look subscribe SQL By Design: Views and Stored Procedures September 1999 \| Columns \| SQL Server Magazine Occasionally, when you're designing a database schema, you need to go to fifth normal form (5NF). For situations that require a 5NF database, you can minimize the performance impact of multitable joins by creating views of your data. take a look subscribe How to Read the Bird-Watchers' Database ERD September 1999 \| Columns \| SQL Server Magazine The focus of the bird-watcher's entity-relationship diagram (ERD) is Bird, which has a bird identifier attribute (BirdID) and two attributes to describe the size range typical to each bird (MinSize and MaxSize). take a look subscribe SQL By Design: The Foreign Key August 1999 \| Columns \| SQL Server Magazine A foreign key is an integral part of relational database design. It establishes relationships between tables, and it makes possible the procedures that cross-reference data stored in separate tables in the database. take a look subscribe SQL By Design: The Circular Reference July 1999 \| Columns \| SQL Server Magazine An analysis of a poor design construct called the circular reference, a recursive condition, where one table references a second table, which in turn references the first table. take a look subscribe SQL By Design: The Entity-Relationship Model June 1999 \| Columns \| SQL Server Magazine Here's the solution to capturing the proliferation of phone numbers and email addresses. take a look subscribe SQL by Design: Supertypes and Subtypes May 1999 \| Columns \| SQL Server Magazine How to accommodate all categories of people. take a look subscribe SQL by Design: How to Choose a Primary Key April 1999 \| Columns \| SQL Server Magazine Good database design starts with the right primary key. take a look subscribe SQL by Design: Why You Need Database Normalization March 1999 \| Columns \| SQL Server Magazine Database normalization is a technique to organize the contents of tables for transactional databases and data warehouses. Organizing tables properly is crucial for system accuracy and performance. take a look subscribe

	Books Authored By Michelle Poolet and Michael Reilly
	Data Modeling for the Real World Michelle Poolet August 2001 \| Mount Vernon Data Systems, Inc. SQL Server™ 2000 Overview Michelle Poolet and Michael Reilly April 2001 \| Mount Vernon Data Systems, Inc. SQL Server™ 2000 Design and T-SQL™ Programming Michelle Poolet and Michael Reilly January 2001 \| Osborne/McGraw-Hill Publishers Database Management Systems for Starters Instructor Kit Michelle Poolet May 2000. Mount Vernon Data Systems Introduction to Database Management Systems and Oracle®SQLPlus™ Programming Instructor Kit Michelle Poolet February 2000 \| Mount Vernon Data Systems Database Management Systems for Starters Michelle Poolet December 1999 \| Mount Vernon Data Systems Advanced Database Design and Internals Instructor Kit Michelle Poolet June 1999 \| Mount Vernon Data Systems Advanced Database Design and Internals Michelle Poolet and Michael Reilly June 1999 \| Mount Vernon Data Systems Introduction to Database Management Systems and Oracle®SQLPlus™ Programming Michelle Poolet April 1999 \| Mount Vernon Data Systems Get By In SQL: an SQL '92 Handbook, Third Edition Michelle Poolet December 1998 \| Mount Vernon Data Systems. Windows NT 4.0 Installation & Configuration Handbook Michelle Poolet and Michael Reilly 1996 \| Que Corporation Access™ 95 Client-Server Development Michelle Poolet and Michael Reilly June 1996 \| QUE/Macmillan Publishers. Acumen Series: From Concept to Comprehension, Access 2.0 for Windows Michelle Poolet and Michael Reilly 1995 \| boyd&fraser, an imprint of Thomson Publishing, Inc.