Data Gathering Application - Architecture Question

Question

I'm working on revising an existing application that's used to collect data gathered by users from various sources (various computer systems, paper files, discussions/interviews with other employees, etc.) which is then used for analysis and reporting of level of compliance with mandates at various levels (overall, location, individual).
The existing application gathers data via two basic form types: one is for a specific individual having multiple data points; the other is for everyone in the location with multiple data points. For example, type 1 looks like:
Person
Question 1 Response 1
Question 2 Response 2
Question N Response N
While the Type 2 form looks like:
Location
Person 1 Question 1 Question 2 ... Question N
Person 2 Question 1 Question 2 ... Question N
Person N Question 1 Question 2 ... Question N
The questions are grouped by types of information being analyzed, so that those questions appear on different pages and may apply to different sets of individuals or locations. Not all locations are required to gather information on the same questions, depending on their compliance level last year. So, location A may have to answer questions 1, 2 and 3, while location B may answer questions 1, 3 and 4.
My question is this: The table used to store the data is structed like:
Person ID, location, page, q1, q2, ..., qN
To continue the above example of locations A and B, both locations would store the responses in columns q1, q2, and q3 since they had three questions that applied to them. We can then reconstruct which question the response applies to by checking which questions applied to the location. We're using the apex api in the query to generate select-list items for the questions with the valid responses for each question (some are yes/no, others allow NA, a number 1-3, or a typed-in positive integer for a couple of questions).
Since we need to maintain the data from two forms (either for an individual or for all individuals at a location), would it be easier to maintain in APEX using a table that stores each question in a separate row?
PersonID, location, Page, question, response
Further, we want to simplify the application which currently uses a separate page for each item type which is customized to the max number of questions for that page for the year. Instead we want to make a more generic set of pages that can at least handle an arbitrary number of items or, ideally, however many questions may be applicable in the future. While we can assume that the practical upper limit would be 30 questions, in the future it is possible we could be mandated to ask several times that number, maybe 100 or more.
The main goal is to make the application robust to handle the questions consistenly, no matter how many are defined for a type and no matter how many are required for the selected individual or location.
I'm already working on the page simplification process by replacing literals with session-state and application items, and realize that to make the pages robust we'll have to convert from static queries to generating the query from plsql using generic columns for the report in APEX.
If anyone could share their thoughts/experience with this type of application, your input is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Richard

Answer 1

Hi Richard,
I find it bad practice to make a table PersonId, location, page, q,q1 .. qN
it will do more harm in analysing the data than you will benefit in collecting the information.
In my opinion you should normalize it a bit more. Seperate table for Person, with it's attributes. and if it is a 1 to 1 relation, also an locationId. Then a seperate table to hold the location information. Then you are having questions and awnsers. based on compliance level of the location persons may answer these questions. So in my opinion, youre location-table will have an attribute 'compliance_level' and in the question table also an attribute, like minimum compliance level. so this could be an criteria for showing questions or not.
To register the answers done bij a person, also an awnser-table will be nesseccary, with relation to the specific question and the personId who answer it. Because of the 1 to 1 relation between person and location, this information does not have to be registerd with the anwsers.
so in short:
5 tables =>
Person (id, name, locationId, etc. )
Location (id, locationName, complianceLevel)
Question(id, quetion, minCompliance)
Anwser(id, questionId, personId, answerId)
In order to create these forms, i guess a master-detail form will be in place. where for one master (person in this case), the details can be shwon (question) in a tabular form with input for the answers.
hope this will help!