In SSMS use Tools | Options | Designers | Table and Database Designers to uncheck 'Prevent saving changes that require table re-creation The # in the author's data model is part of the attribute name, the * indicates the identifier / primary key For 'numeric' fields like phone number, zip code, SSN and the like, best to use character data types; year is borderline on this Identity column concept: the DBMS generates a unique (typically sequential) integer for an attribute (typically the primary key) Default value concept: set a value for a field when none is provided on insert OK to assume: phone is always exactly 10 digits state is 2 characters (US only abbreviations) yeargoal and amount whole dollars <= 9,999,999,999 so DECIMAL(10,0) works