How would you use test data to test the control that every new employee is assigned to a valid department?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

To evaluate how to test the control that assigns every new employee to a valid department, I will examine each option in turn and discuss what it tests and whether it aligns with the intended control.

Option a: 'Use a valid code test to ensure that employees can only be entered into the system if their employee number is already present in the departments table.' This focuses on ensuring the employee number exists in the departments table, which is conceptually wrong because employee numbers are not the link to departments. The key relationship is that the department number for an employee must reference an existing department. This option tests a referential integrity constraint in the wrong direction and does not directly test that the department field on a new employee is valid. It misses validating the department reference itself.

Option b: 'Use cascading updates to ensure that when a department number is changed in the departments table that all records in the employees table have their departments numbers changed to the new number.' This describes a cascade update behavior, which is about maintaining consistency when a department’s identifier changes. While related to referential integrity, it is not a test of how a new employee is assigned to a valid department. It tests an update propagation scenario rather than input validation at creation time. It also assumes the department number could change, which is less about creating a valid assignment and more about keeping existing records in sync.

Option c: 'Create a new employee record in the employees table and enter an invalid department number in the department field and see if the computer rejects it. Then create a new employee record with a valid department number and see if the computer accepts it.' This directly targets the core control: when inserting a new employee, the department reference must be validated. The test first checks that invalid input is rejected (ensuring validation exists), then verifies that valid input is accepted (positive path). This approach exercises both negative and positive scenarios for the department foreign key and confirms proper enforcement of the valid-department constraint.

Option d: 'Create a new employee record in the employees table and check that the department number is autonumbered.' If the department number were autonumbered, that would imply the system automatically assigns a department value, which is not typical for a foreign key relationship where the department must be chosen from existing departments. This option describes automatic generation rather than validating a given department value, and it ignores the requirement that the department be valid. It also could introduce referential integrity issues if the autonumbering semantics are not aligned with the departments table.

In summary, option a misinterprets the referential link, option b focuses on cascading updates rather than creation-time validation, option d describes an unrelated autopopulation behavior, and option c directly tests the essential validation of the department foreign key during new employee creation, including both invalid and valid inputs. The reasoning above shows why each incorrect choice fails to address the control, while option c aligns with the intended testing goal of ensuring that only valid departments are assigned to new employees.

Dashboard Quiz Two

How would you use test data to test the control that every new employee is assigned to a valid department?

View Explanation

Log in for full answers

Similar Questions

What is the purpose of enforcing Referential Data Integrity in a relationship between two tables in Access?

You must always use the Relationships tool in Microsoft Access to enforce referential integrity between two related tables

If Referential Data Integrity is enforced and Cascade Delete Related Fields is active, then what happens if the primary key, that this constraint is related to, is deleted?

Assume you have identified a referential integrity problem with your Microsoft Access database. What could the source of your issue be? [Select all that apply]

Identify the bond angle and molecular shape of H2O.

Using Dalton's Atomic theory, explain the following observation. Hint: DO NOT answer with a law! The mass of the products at the end of the reaction was the same as the mass of the reactants at the beginning.

The number of valence electrons in a sulfur atom is 16.

If matter is uniform throughout and can be separated into multiple substances by physical means, it is called a(n) ________________.

More Practical Tools for International Students

Exam Browser Assistant

Stylized Writing Assistant

Plagiarism Checker Assistant

Citation Assistant

In-Class Translation Assistant

Class Notes Assistant

Quiz Search Assistant

Past Exam Questions by School

Smart Practice Assistant

Adaptive Practice

Making Your Study Simpler