Vendor Records Management System

[prathshingote]

Hello folks,

I'm fairly new to MS Access.

I have recently accepted a job which requires me to build a Vendor Records Management System for my boss.
Any sort of help or an outline of how I should go about this would be massively appreciated.

This project would involve building a common system of record for all the vendor files, and then adding a GUI in Java or something similar that interacts with the record system.

My boss' idea for the GUI is that he would want to follow the OCC’s Vendor Management LifeCycle:




Clicking on each phase of the lifecycle will take you to a portal that displays relevant information for that phase of vendor management. And clicking the RED hotspot at the top will generate a list of current hot topics around our vendor management program – such as a list of new vendors that are onboarding, existing vendors that are terminating, vendors that are undergoing annual reviews, etc.

The database would need to store vendor contracts, templates that we use, contract amendments, etc.

He would also like to have an ‘events’ log that keeps track of dates that we enter and triggers alerts when something is due – such as a contract us up for renewal, an MSA is about to expire, etc.

I'm in a bit of a pickle here and rather lost. I would massively appreciate any sort of guidance or help on this project.



Thank you so much.

[ItsMe]

Study operations, interview personal, create a workflow chart.

With that, list business rules. With that, start creating tables and place sample data in the tables. With that, start building queries. With that, test your queries. With that, eliminate redundant queries and create a short list of base queries. With that consider building a public interface.

Rinse and repeat until relations are normalized.

With that, begin to actually create a public interface/GUI.

[prathshingote]

Thank you so much for your response. Could you kindly recommend me some useful books to read in order to successfully execute this project? Not too many though. Haven't got too much time until the project kick starts.

Thank you!

[ItsMe]

What you are describing is a tall order. Access can help with the objectives outlined here and there are books that can teach you how to use Access. However, it would be naive to believe that Access is the sole answer. If I were tasked with such a request, yes, I would depend heavily on Access. I would also depend on infrastructure, such as hardware and human resources.

Right now, I am questioning why your boss is placing this responsibility on a new hire. You may feel you are in a pickle but, your boss may be the individual who worked their way into the barrel. I do not know the scale you are dealing with. Often, this type of thing is a team effort.

I do not know what else to add. I would think there would be a minimum of 1000 pages of reading on Access alone and then have previous experience in successfully implementing similar projects or at least a strong background in Office Management. I feel that someone at an executive or administrative level should have a better outline of how to implement the Vendor Management System and delegate specific tasks to specialists. Perhaps I am making things out to be bigger than they really are but, I would be apprehensive to accept the task. I would want a timeleine, a budget, and monetary compensation outlined in an agreement.

[prathshingote]

Thank you for your response and a heads up. Well, at least now I can be mentally prepared before jumping into this.

I'm going to try and cover 'Access 2010 All-in-one for Dummies' before starting the internship in June. My boss has insisted that I only learn Access before starting the internship. Maybe once I'm on the job, and I realize that I need a little more than Access to pull this off, I could demand more human resources and expertise to assist me with this project.

Side question - 'Access 2010 All-in-one for Dummies' should be a helpful book for starters?

Thank you.

[ItsMe]

I am going to continue to take this to the extreme...

What you described in post #1 sounds like a manager reciting what they are responsible for implementing. It does not sound like a boss delegating a task. If a manager is asking me to take on stuff like that, I expect to be treated as an equal and have a legally binding contract that defines the terms.

In order to implement these things there has to be "sponsorship". If management is not leading the way, it will not happen. If I show up (first day out of the blue) to a place of business, I will not have any "earned respect" from the people I will be depending on to implement change. I will need to hold a contract over a manager's head to drag "sponsorship" out of them. Hopefully they have the political capitol and ability to lead/sponsor the program.

What you have outlined is very broad, in my opinion. Maybe a little company, 3 employees and <500K annual revenue, would be manageable. Otherwise, it’s all about office politics and CYA. Learning Access is fine. But there is a lot to learning Access and Access is not the end all to what you are describing here.

For me, Access is two things. It is an RDBMS and it is an RAD tool. Some may argue if it is a pure RAD but.... One side is a database, it manages data (nothing else). The other side is an application development tool. The database side uses tables/relations and queries. The application development side uses Rapid Application Development tools to provide a Public Interface or GUI of sorts.

In order to begin to understand books on Access, you need to understand basics of RDBMS. In order to understand books on Access, you need to understand programing and application development or Interface Based programming. Understand the basic principles for these subjects and then read about Access.

As a general rule, for Microsoft products, I depend upon Microsoft Press. I will start by reading the "Step By Step" for a particular product/version. I will read it and not follow any tutorials, just gloss over it. Then, if I will be working intimiately with the product, I will have a paper and an electronic copy of the "Inside Out".

Most all of my recent purchases have been Microsoft press. You can find them, as well as other publishers, for purchases here.
http://www.informit.com/

Other publishers I have depended on are
Osbourne Books
Thomson Course Technology

A good intro to programming (as well as some advanced stuff) would be
http://www.learnvisualstudio.net/
Great online references for syntax are
http://msdn.microsoft.com
http://www.w3schools.com/default.asp