tatements have a tendency to be confusing, ambiguous, or vague; they do more to obscure the purpose of the database than to clarify it. The following sentence is an example of a typical mission statement:
             "The purpose of the New Starz Talent Agency database is to maintain the data we use and provide the information we need to run the day -to-day affairs of our business."
             This mission statement is well defined and uncluttered by any unnecessary statements or details. It is a very general statement, just as it should be. Think of a mission statement as the flame of a candle located at the end of a dark tunnel. The light produced by the flame guides you to the end of the tunnel, so long as you focus on it. In the same manner, the mission statement guides you to the end of the "tunnel," that is, the database design process. Guided by your mission statement, you can focus on designing a database structure that will support the declared purpose of the database.
             A well-written mission statement is free of any phrases or sentences that explicitly describe specific tasks. If your mission statement contains any such phrases or sentences, remove them and rewrite the statement. Be sure to keep the discarded phrases handy, though, because you may be able to use them to formulate mission objectives. (Mission objectives are discussed in the next section.) The following sentence is an example of a poorly worded mission statement:
             "The purpose of the Whatcom County Hearing Examiner's database is to keep track of applications for land use, maintain data on applicants, keep a record of all hearings, and maintain data for office use."
             It should be immediately apparent that there are a few things wrong with this mission statement.
             • It's slightly verbose. Remember that the ideal mission statement should be succinct and to the point.
             • The specific purpose of the database is unclear. The manner in which this mission statement is ...