[AccessD] Double Data Entry Requirement

I've seen this kind of requirement before.  It's a holdover from the
green screen days when operators did heads down data entry all day and
there was little or no validation at data entry and the terminal
keyboard was limited.  QA relied on data being entered twice to make
sure it matched and then handling exceptions.  It doesn't make a lot of
sense in the newer languages, and I have dealt with it in the past by
suggesting that if the business rules were clearly defined, the data
could be verified in code either before or after being committed.  A
couple of problems with double entry verification are that the second
time could be incorrect or both could be incorrect but might match.  At
that point you have validated garbage.  This criteria is often suggested
by people who have no clue as to how validation can be done in code or
by the input form itself.

Charlotte Foust


-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Hewson [mailto:JHewson at karta.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, April 20, 2005 10:52 AM
To: AccessD
Subject: [AccessD] Double Data Entry Requirement


Has anyone done this before?

I am working on a proposal and one criteria is to "provide for the entry
of... data twice to ensure accuracy." I thought of three methods of
doing this. 1. Create a table for the second data entry and then compare
the record with the first table.  Delete the record(s) of the second
table when they match. 2.  Use an unbound form for the second data entry
and compare the results with the table to ensure they match then delete
the data. 
3.  Recommend the second person print the record and compare the
documents without doing a double data entry.  Suggesting it would take
less time and therefore save money.  There is the issue of paper,
printing, etc.....

Thoughts!

Thanks,

Jim