Considerations for designing a Data Warehouse (part II)

Design | data
End Users

The end users are whom you are designing and building the Data Warehouse for? Your customers. They rely on the information They extract, the warehouse in order to work more effectively and efficiently. They also ultimately determine whether or not your Data Warehouse project met its stated goals. For these reasons, your project must is built around providing the end users with the information they need in a User-fri endly fashion.

The primary end users ' for data warehouse information are and query recipients. They provide the results of their work to the decision makers, who determine the course your.

Recipients

The recipients are the end users most dependent upon the information of the from the data extracted. They include business analysts, financial analysts, mid-level managers, senior managers and executives. Although some of the "recipients'll have participated in the" design process, they'll have different As end users. They would have the greatest interests in the content format and requirements, time frame and update frequency, ad hoc q Uery capabilities and drill down/drill through requirements.

The content and format requirements define what information is presented and arranged. Your end users would each have a special perspective on what information be important in the periodic reports they. Many times They'll need similar source data, but the reports'll contain different values and calculated S. Even when they agree on what information must is present, they each have a different the set of requirements when it comes To how the information is arranged. Each of the views must is taken into consideration when defining your project requirements.

Query Designers

Query designers are technically competent people who are tasked with building the queries. They have to, recipients while working under those limitations imposed by the structure and content of th e Data Warehouse.

The query designers are a valuable resource in the same areas as those by the "the", represented from a di Fferent perspective. They frequently ask your to include calculated columns The "Recipients Don don't know. are necessary. They also ask for simpler structure in many areas, so as to make their query designs more manageable and also demand Y denormalized tables wherever possible.

Management

Management would typically provide the most demanding and least detailed set of requirements from the Data Warehouse Projec T. You can expect such requests as, ' I need to know how profitable we are on a quarterly basis. ' or ' Who are my top C Ustomers? " You'll then have to work to define profitability and top customer in terms the can is applied to the data warehouse.

Management requirements usually fall into three general categories:strategic reporting and projections, tactical reportin G and enterprise standards compliance.

Strategic Reporting and projections

Strategic reporting and projection are long term processes aimed at positioning the Organization to remain competitive in The marketplace. Strategy is defined as a, designed to place, organization in, advantageous position to prior. From this we can be information needed to support strategic initiatives concerns long-term trend and market pene Tration analysis, long-term raw material inventory availability and usage, changes in the technical environment, work E projections and customer demographic information. Each management team would have its own list of specific information they need in order to help them formulate or adjust th E Corporate strategy.

Tactical Reporting

Tactical reporting deals with understanding and day-to-day operations meeting are strategic. These are short-term reports may consist's daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or annual analyses of the "current state of Affai RS within the organization. These reports'll contain operational information on sales statistics, workforce utilization, inventory management and Me Asures specific to each industry. The timeliness of these reports requires information are made available as rapidly as possible after it is captured. It isn't unusual for management to require this daily reports being available when they arrive for work on the following day , or that weekly reports is available by 9:00 AM on Monday morning. Your Data Warehouse'll have to is tuned to provide the required levels of performance.

Enterprise Standards Compliance

Enterprise standards compliance consists of insuring that all parts of the organization are working in the accepted . The reports that help management determine the extent to which this are true can range from very simple, and only a few RO WS, each containing only four or five columns, to complex, multi-page reports, supported by Pivot tables and charts. The extent to which your management team wishes to track standards compliance'll effect the level of detail L need to capture. For instance, should the management team want to insure this each workgroup are complying with corporate standards Regardin G work hours and break times, your warehouse'll have to contain all of pertinent data on each employee World抯 schedule over a Specified period of time. You'll also have to build summary tables to support more general analyses.

Systems Staff

Your Systems staff members would help identify the best hardware, software and connectivity configurations for Your Sing operation. They also'll help you identify the risks and limitations presented by each possible.

Hardware

Hardware consists of all processing, storage and peripheral components upon-which your data warehouse operation would r Eside. Your Systems Specialists'll help your make intelligent and informed choices regarding, mainframe, mid-range or personal computer processing; Multiple processing, either parallel or distributed; distributed or concentrated storage; And all the decisions that determine the physical structure of your warehouse.

Operating System and Software

In some cases, the operating system (OS) and software choices available to you are determined by your hardware Ons. In other cases, the hardware choices would affect, but not dictate, the OS and software options available to you. Your Systems Specialists'll work with/to determine which combinations fit Your project World抯 needs while complying with C Orporate standards.

Connectivity

Connectivity deals with the components and associated communications this allow one computer to send and receive infor Mation from another. Your System team members would provide you with valuable information regarding the choices available, recommended Configura tions, currently implemented designs and any enterprise standards the project your must to.

Security Staff

Your Organization World抯 security specialists fall to two main categories, information/systems security and Facility/physical Security. In each case, these specialists would provide your team with information vital to the success of project.

Information/system Security

Information and system security issues Center in three primary categories:authentication, authorization and use control.

Authentication is the process of insuring this a particular individual is accurately identified. Authorization deals with those mechanisms this prevent a person from gaining access to applications or databases they LD not have access to, while insuring access to applications or databases they has obtained for. The use control are concerned with limiting the individual to operations this have been identified as appropriate for their Jo B and operational functions.

Facility/physical Security

Facility and physical security issues are concerned with where and if particular individuals may is in corporate IES, what they can do while there and making sure corporate the property is secured against malicious damage and theft. Three of the categories of facility and physical security are the same as those for information and system security:authe Ntication, authorization and use control as, as loss prevention.

As is the case with information and system security, authentication are the process of insuring that a individual is, in F Act, who they purport. Authorization concerns the process of allowing only those with the proper clearances to enter specific areas within Corpor ATE facilities, while providing complete and ready access for those who should is there. Use control deals with insuring each facility or physical structure are used in accordance with corporate policy, and those Present comply with the all safety and regulatory requirements. Loss prevention involves protecting both corporate and personal property from theft or Loss through other means (fire, van Dalism, etc.), as OK as providing for the safety of those individuals who are working at or visiting at the facility.

Physical Maintenance Staff

The physical maintenance staff janitors, plumbers, electricians and facilities planners? can provide additional On to your the project team. Although this group are seldom included in project requirements planning sessions and their input can be essential.

Facilities

Assessing the facilities available to your project team for the "design" and development phases, as as a, identifying the Physical locations for hardware and for the long-term warehouse operations team are vital to insuring the project can be C ompleted.

If you are are unable to find workspace and meeting rooms for your team members, the project'll is delayed at best. If you are fail to identify the room in which your database server would be located. and reserve the required space and Utiliti Es as soon as possible? You'll find yourself with a complete project plan and excellent design documentation, but with no Place to set the hardware.

You'll also need to verify which team members can access, both physically and through telecommunications, the various LOC Ations associated with your project. They also need to know the dates and times access are valid for each facility, and what, if any, prior notifications and AP Provals are necessary.

For each of the involved facilities, your need at least some participation from personnel assigned to, facility Ily the Facilities maintenance staff. These are the people who can best advise to those factors that'll limit your options in this respect.

Maintenance Schedules

The Facilities maintenance teams'll also is able to advise your team as to scheduled maintenance activities that'll AF Fect your project schedule. Such Maintenance Activities include:new construction, repairs, telecommunications updates, power grid maintenance and Lar GE scale personnel relocations.

The facilities team members would also be able to advise your project team on estimated down times for unscheduled Maintena NCE activities. These activities are typically associated with external problems completely, outside the control of your. Your organization would most likely have a plan to place for the restoration of services should any such problem. This is the information, facilities team members can provide and thus save your team the effort of reconstructing The supporting estimates and disaster recovery plans.