Data Warehousing for Dummies

In Data Warehousing For Dummies, data warehousing expert Alan R. Simon takes a practical inventory of state-of-the-art data warehousing. He covers all the essential technologies and strategies, including

• Using relational databases to get at warehoused data
• Going through data warehousing middleware to make access consistent and efficient
• Transforming warehoused data into business intelligence
• Mining data for the nuggets of information that can make a difference in your organization's operations
• Implementing executive information systems
• Putting together a successful team of information systems professionals
• Managing vendors who promise to solve all your data warehousing problems
• Looking ahead to techniques for managing multimedia data

Author Alan R. Simon presents his specialty plainly and practically, so that you and the other Information Systems professionals in your organization can cobble together a sensible strategy for data warehousing.

Table of contents

Introduction

Why I Wrote This Book
How to Use This Book

Part I: The Data Warehouse: Home for Your Secondhand Data
Part II: Data Warehousing Technology
Part III: Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing: Not a Contradiction in Terms
Part IV: Data Warehousing Projects: How to Do Them Right
Part V: Data Warehousing: The Big Picture
Part VI: Data Warehousing in the Not-Too-Distant Future
Part VII: The Part of Tens

Icons Used in This Book
A Word about the Product References in This Book

Chapter 1: What's in a Data Warehouse?
The Data Warehouse: A Place for Your Used Data
More Formal Definitions

Today's data warehousing defined
A broader, forward-looking definition

A Brief History of Data Warehousing

The 1970s
The 1980s
The 1990s

Is a Bigger Data Warehouse a Better Data Warehouse?
Realizing That a Data Warehouse (Usually) Has a Historical Perspective
It's Data Warehouse, Not Data Dump

Chapter 2: What Should You Expect from Your Data Warehouse?
Using the Data Warehouse to Make Better Business Decisions
Finding Data at Your Fingertips
Facilitating Communications with Data Warehousing

IT-to-business-organization communications
Communications across business organizations

Facilitating Business Change with Data Warehousing

Chapter 3: Have It Your Way: The Structure of a Data Warehouse
Ensuring That Your Implementations Are Unique
Classifying the Data Warehouse

The data warehouse lite
Subject areas
Data sources
Database
Data content
Tools
Data extraction, movement, and loading
Architecture
The data warehouse deluxe
Subject areas
Data sources
Database
Data content
Tools
Data extraction, movement, and loading
Architecture
The data warehouse supreme
Subject areas
Data sources
Database
Data content
Tools
Data extraction, movement, and loading
Architecture
Double data warehouse with cheese

To Centralize or Distribute, That Is the Question

Chapter 4: Data Marts: Your Retail Data Outlet
The Idea behind Data Marts
Architectural Approaches to Data Marts

Data marts sourced by a data warehouse
Tactical, quick-strike data marts
Bottom-up, integration-oriented data marts

What Should Be in a Data Mart

Geography-bounded data
Organization-bounded data
Function-bounded data
Competitor-bounded data
Answers to specific business questions
Anything!

Implementing a Data Mart -- Quickly

Chapter 5: Relational Databases and Data Warehousing
The Old Way of Thinking

A technology-based discussion: The roots of relational database technology
The OLAP-only fallacy

The New Way of Thinking

Understanding how RDBMSs were enhanced to support data warehousing
Handling the very large database (VLDB) problem -- and getting the RDBMS answer

Designing Your Relational Database for Data Warehouse Usage

Looking at why traditional relational design techniques don't work well
Explaining normalization in plain language (or trying to)
The side effect of normalization
Exploring new ways to design a relational-based data warehouse

Relational Products and Data Warehousing

IBM DB2 family
Informix
Microsoft SQL Server
Oracle
Red Brick
Sybase

Chapter 6: You're Entering a New Dimension: Multidimensional Databases
The Idea behind Multidimensional Databases

Facts
Dimensions
The basics
"Is there a limit to the number of dimensions?"
"How should I choose the levels in a hierarchy?"
Physical database structures in an MDDB

Are Multidimensional Databases Still Worth Looking At?
Other Specialized Database Technology for Data Warehousing

Sybase IQ
In-memory databases: Is anything really there?

Chapter 7: Stuck in the Middle with You: Data Warehousing Middleware
What Is Middleware?
Middleware for Data Warehousing

The services
Should you use tools or custom code?

What Each Middleware Service Does for You

Data selection and extractions
Data quality assurance (QA), Part I
Data movement, Part I
Data mapping and transformation
Data quality assurance (QA), Part II
Data movement, Part II
Data loading

Replication Services for Data Warehousing
Vendors with Middleware Products for Data Warehousing

Carleton Corporation
Evolutionary Technologies International (ETI)
Informatica
Platinum Technology
Praxis International
Prism Solutions
Reliant Data Systems
Sagent Technology
VMARK

Chapter 8: An Intelligent Look at Business Intelligence
The Four Main Categories

Querying and reporting
OLAP
Data mining
Executive Information Systems (EIS)

Other Types of Business Intelligence

Statistical processing
Geographical information systems

Business Intelligence Architecture and Data Warehousing

Chapter 9: Simple Database Querying and Reporting
What Functionality Does a Querying and Reporting Tool Provide?

The role of SQL
The idea of managed queries and reports

Is This All You Need?
Designing a Relational Database for Querying and Reporting Support
Vendors with Querying and Reporting Products for Data Warehousing

Andyne
Business Objects
Cognos Corporation
Information Builders
Microsoft Corporation
Seagate Software

Chapter 10: Online Analytical Processing (OLAP)
What Is OLAP?
The OLAP Acronym Parade
First, an Editorial
OLAP Features: An Overview

Drill-down
Drill-up
Drill-across
Drill-through
Drill-bit
Pivoting
Trending

Vendors with OLAP Products for Data Warehousing

Arbor Software
Brio Technology
Gentia
Information Advantage
Informix
MicroStrategy
Oracle Corporation
Seagate Software

Chapter 11: Data Mining: Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, It's Off to Mine We Go
Data Mining without the Hype

The "Tell me what may happen" role
The "Tell me something interesting" role

Data Mining in Specific Business Missions
Haven't I Heard This Before?
Data Mining and Artificial Intelligence
Data Mining and Statistics
Some Vendors with Data Mining Products

CrossZ Software
DataMind Corporation
HNC Software
IBM
NeoVista Solutions
Thinking Machines Corporation

Chapter 12: Executive Information Systems (EIS)
EIS Principles
The Relationship between EIS and the Other Parts of Business Intelligence
EIS and Key Indicators
The Briefing Book
The Command Center
Who Produces EIS Products

Chapter 13: Data Warehousing and Other IT Projects: The Same but Different
Why a Data Warehousing Project Is (Almost) Like Any Other Development Project
How to Apply Your Company's Best Development Practices to Your Project
How to Handle the Uniqueness of Secondhand Data
Why Your Data Warehousing Project Must Have Top-Level Buy-In
How Do I Conduct a Large, Enterprise-Scale Data Warehousing Initiative?

Top-down
Bottom-up
Mixed-mode

Chapter 14: Building a Winning Data Warehousing Project Team
Don't Make This Mistake!
The Roles You Have to Fill on Your Project

Project manager
Technical leader
Chief architect
Business requirements analyst
Data modeler and conceptual/logical database designer
Database administrator and physical database designer
Front-end tools specialist and developer
Middleware specialist
Quality assurance (QA) specialist
Source data analyst
User community interaction manager
Technical executive sponsor
User community executive sponsor

And Now, the People

Chapter 15: Analyzing Data Sources
Begin with Source Data Structures, but Don't Stop There
Identify What Data You Need to Analyze
Line Up the Help You'll Need
Techniques for Analyzing Data Sources and Their Content
Analyze What's Not There: Data Gap Analysis
Determine Mapping and Transformation Logic

Chapter 16: User Testing, Feedback, and Acceptance
Recognizing That Early User Involvement Is Critical to Data Warehousing Success
Using Real Business Situations
Ensuring That Users Provide Necessary Feedback
After the Scope: Involving Users during Design and Development
Understanding What Determines User Acceptance

Chapter 17: Dealing with External Data
Identifying Data You Need from Other People
Recognizing Why External Data Is Important
Viewing External Data from a User's Perspective
Determining What External Data You Really Need
Ensuring the Quality of Incoming External Data
Filtering and Reorganizing Data after It Arrives
Restocking Your External Data
Acquiring External Data

Finding this type of information
Gathering general information
Cruising the Internet

Maintaining Control over External Data
Staying on Top of Changes
Knowing What to Do with Historical External Data
Determining When New External Data Sources Are Available
Switching from One External Data Provider to Another

Chapter 18: Data Warehousing and the Rest of Your Information Systems
A Data Warehouse Does Not Stand Alone
The Infrastructure Challenge
Strategic Initiatives: Watch Out!
Internal Standards and How They Affect Your Data Warehousing Environment
Dealing with Conflict: Special Challenges to Your Data Warehousing Environment

Chapter 19: The View from the Executive Boardroom
What Does Top Management Need to Know?

Tell them this
Keep selling the data warehousing project

Data Warehousing and the Business Trends Bandwagon
Data Warehousing in a Cross-Company Setting

Chapter 20: Surviving in the Computer Industry (And Handling Vendors)
Help -- I'm Up to My Armpits in Hype!
How to Be a Smart Shopper at Conferences and Trade Shows

Do your homework first
Ask lots of questions
Be skeptical
Don't get rushed into a purchase

Dealing with Data Warehousing Product Vendors

Check out the product and the company before you begin discussions
Take the lead during the meeting
Be skeptical -- again
Be a cautious buyer

A Look Ahead: Mainstream Technologies and Vendors

Chapter 21: Existing Sort-of Data Warehouses: Upgrade or Replace?
What's Out There?

The first step: Cataloguing the extract files, who uses them, and why
And then, the review

Decisions, Decisions

Choice 1: Get rid of it
Choice 2: Replace it
Choice 3: Retain it

Caution: Migration Is Not Development -- It's Much More Difficult
Beware: Don't Take Away Valued Functionality

Chapter 22: Working with Data Warehousing Consultants
Do You Really Need Consultants to Help Build a Data Warehouse?
Watch Out, Though!
A Final Word about Data Warehousing Consultants

Chapter 23: The Operational Data Store ("I Need Information Now!")
The ODS Defined
An ODS Example

The complications
The ODS solution

ODS Architectural Challenges

The basics: Warehouse-enabled applications
Messaging
Feedback loops
Data message hubs

Chapter 24: Show Me the Pictures: Incorporating Multimedia
Traditional Data Warehousing Means Analyzing Traditional Data Types
"It's a Multimedia World, after All...."
How Will Multimedia Business Intelligence Work?
An Alternative Path: From Unstructured Information to Structured Data

Chapter 25: Virtual Data Warehousing: Hype or Trend?
Looking at the Basics of Virtual Data Warehousing

Background
Market repositioning
Challenges

Examining Why Traditional Virtual Data Warehousing Doesn't Work

The architecture
The synthesis service
Other services

Facing the Infrastructure Challenge
Making Virtual Data Warehousing a Reality in Your Organization

Chapter 26: Ten Vital "Deliverables" for the End of Your Project Scope
A Complete, Prioritized List of Functionality to Be Provided
A Complete List of All Candidate Data Sources
A Design-Phase Project Plan
The Names and Respective Roles of Your Design-Phase Project Team
A Complete Budgetary Estimate
Consensus about the Mission
Risk Assessment and a Plan to Manage Risk
A Gap Analysis
Tentative Executive-Level Support
Logistical Requirements and Support Plans

Chapter 27: Ten Questions to Consider When You're Selecting User Tools
Can Users Easily Build Their Own Query and Report Screens?
Can a User Stop a Runaway Query or Report?
How Does Performance Differ with Varying Amounts of Data?
Can Users Access Different Databases?
Can Data Definitions Be Easily Changed?
Does the Tool Fit into Your Organization's Standard Desktop Configuration?
How Does Performance Change with a Large Number of Users?
What Online Help and Assistance Is Available, and How Good Is It?
Does the Tool Support Interfaces to Other Products?
What Happens When You Pull the Plug?

Chapter 28: Ten Secrets to Managing a Project Successfully
Tell It Like It Is
Put the Right People in the Right Roles
Be a Tough but Fair Negotiator
Deal Carefully with Product Vendors
Watch the Project Plan
Don't Micromanage
Use a Project Notebook
Don't Overlook the Effect of Organizational Culture
Don't Forget about Deployment and Operations
Take a Breather Occasionally

Chapter 29: Ten Sources of Up-to-Date Information about Data Warehousing
The Data Warehousing Institute
The Data Warehousing Information Center
The OLAP Report
Datamation
data-warehouse.com
Data Warehousing on the World Wide Web
The International Data Warehousing Association
Industry Analysts' Web Sites
Cambridge Technology Partners
Product Vendors' Web Sites

Chapter 30: Ten Mandatory Skills for a Data Warehousing Consultant
Broad Vision
Deep Technical Expertise in One or Two Areas
Communications Skills
The Ability to Analyze Data Sources
The Ability to Distinguish between Requirements and Wishes
Conflict-Resolution Skills
An Early-Warning System
General Systems and Application Development Knowledge
The Know-How to Find Up-to-Date Information
A Hypefree Vocabulary

Chapter 31: Ten Signs of a Data Warehousing Project in Trouble
The Project's Scope Phase Ends with No General Consensus
The Mission Statement Gets Questioned after the Scope Phase Ends
Tools Are Selected without Adequate Research
People Get Pulled from Your Team for "Just a Few Days"
You're Overruled When You Attempt to Handle Scope Creep
Your Executive Sponsor Leaves the Company
You Overhear, "This Will Never Work, but I'm Not Saying Anything"
You Find a Major "Uh-Oh" in One of the Products You're Using
The IT Organization Responsible for Supporting the Project Pulls Its Support
Resignations Begin

Chapter 32: Ten Signs of a Successful Data Warehousing Project
The Executive Sponsor Says, "This Thing Works -- It Really Works!"
You Receive a Flood of Suggested Enhancements and Additional Capabilities
User Group Meetings Are Almost Full
The User Base Keeps Growing and Growing and Growing
The Executive Sponsor Cheerfully Volunteers Your Company as a Reference Site
The Company CEO Asks, "How Can I Get One of Those Things?"
The Response to Your Next Funding Request Is "Whatever You Need -- It's Yours"
You Get Promoted -- and So Do Some of Your Team Members
You Achieve Celebrity Status in the Company
You Get Your Picture on the Cover of Rolling Stone
Chapter 33: Ten Subject Areas to Cover with Product Vendors
The Product's Chief Architect
The Development Team
Customer Feedback
Employee Retention
The Marketplace
Product Uniqueness
Clients
The Future
Internet Approach
Integrity

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