A project in the money world
Your teacher says the project is set in the finance sector. You use a banking app, but you have never seen how a bank looks after its numbers.
You get a little time to find out first. Where do you start? You start with six good questions about data.
Key words
| Word | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | a group of businesses that do the same kind of work | banking |
| Regulator | a public body that checks firms follow the rules | the FCA, for money firms |
| Personal data | facts about a living person who can be named | a name and a balance |
| Dataset | a collection of data about one subject, often rows and columns | a list of deposits |
| Source | where a fact comes from | a regulator's web site |
| Context | the facts about the place where the work happens | who the customers are |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
By the end of this lesson
Note
I can find the facts about how a finance business uses data, and write them in a notes table that I can use later.
Starter
Have a go
Starter
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.
This is practice
Important
The real task comes from the exam board. This lesson uses an invented organisation and its own made-up data. Your teacher tells you how the real tasks are set and what you may bring.
Six questions to ask about the data
Ask the same six questions about any business that you must learn fast.
- What data does it keep?
- Where does the data come from?
- How right must it be?
- Who may see it?
- Which rules and laws apply?
- What decisions does it help to make?
The answers become the context for your project.
Worked example: Oakfield Savings Club
| Question | What you might find out | What it means for the project |
|---|---|---|
| What data? | Members, deposits, withdrawals and branch names | Each is a table of rows to design |
| Where from? | Paper slips at two branches, typed in later | Typing mistakes are likely |
| How right? | Every penny must match the member's own record | Check the data before any report |
| Who may see it? | Staff see their branch. Members see their own balance | Limit who can open which data |
| Which rules? | Data protection law and the regulator's rules | Keep personal data safe and only as long as needed |
| Which decisions? | How much cash each branch keeps in the safe | Reports must be on time and correct |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Check
Have a go
Check
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.