Goal
The path to "System Kaihatsu, Sasshin no Tame no Data Model Taizen (The Complete Book of Data Models for System Development and Renewal)"
Here is the reading path leading up to this book, derived from its dependencies and ordered from the fundamentals.
The path so far (4 books)
Why read this first: After you can make SQL 'run', the next goal is to internalize why tables are split this way and why we normalize—grounded in relational theory. Okuno's book reconstructs Codd's relational model in practitioner's terms, giving your syntax knowledge a theoretical backbone.
Why read this first: After going through the design process from requirements to operations once, you will want to dig into the judgment criteria for choosing between normalization and denormalization. 'DB Design Mastery Guide' covers the conversion process from logical to physical design along with its trade-offs, letting you relearn each stage touched on in the beginner book with concrete decision criteria.
Why read this first: Once you have internalized relational and normalization theory, the next stage is translating it into real table design. This Japanese book concretizes theory—normalization, primary keys, foreign keys—into the practical steps of logical and physical design, bridging theory and practice. Hence it is placed as a required prerequisite.
Why read this first: After grasping general design guidelines, move to a catalog of modeling patterns specific to business systems. This Japanese data-model compendium covers proven patterns for standard domains—ordering, inventory, accounting—expanding your repertoire of reusable, battle-tested structures instead of designing from scratch each time.