2 DW Overview
2 DW Overview
2 DW Overview
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Design Techniques: Creative
Indexes
SELECT *
FROM Locations, States, Countries
where Locations.State_Id = States.State_Id
AND Locations.Country_id=Countries.Country_Id
AND Country_Name='USA'
Location Dimension
Dim_id Loc_cd Name State_NM Country_NM
1001 IL01 Chicago Illinois USA
Loop
1002 IL02 Arlington Illinois USA
1003 NY01 Brooklyn New York USA
1004 TO01 Toronto Ontario Canada
1005 MX01 Mexico Distrito Mexico
City Federal
SELECT *
FROM Location_dim Note the
where Country_Name='USA' redundancy
Time Dimension
Dim_id Month Month- Quarter Quarter- Year
Name Name
1001 1 Jan 1 Q1 2005
1002 2 Feb 1 Q1 2005
1003 3 Mar 1 Q1 2005
1004 4 Apr 2 Q2 2005
1005 5 May 2 Q2 2005
Rule of thumb:
If we did not de-normalize
don’t use them
the dimensions
Dimensional Modeling Steps
• Identify the business process
• Identify the level of detail needed (grain)
• Identify the dimensions
• Identify the facts
Dimensional Modeling Myths
• Myth #1: Dimensional models and data marts are for
summary data only
– can’t predict all the queries users will ask, therefore information
must be stored at the detail level in a DW and summarized
levels for a DM
• Myth #2: Dimensional models and data marts are
departmental, not enterprise, solutions
• Myth #3: Dimensional models and data marts are not
scalable
• Myth #4: Dimensional models and data marts are only
appropriate when there is a predictable usage pattern
• Myth #5: Dimensional models and data marts can't be
integrated and therefore lead to stovepipe solutions.
Dimensional Modeling Pitfalls
• Pitfall 5. Make the supposedly query-able data in the presentation
area overly complex. Database designers who prefer a more
complex presentation should spend a year supporting business
users; they'd develop a much better appreciation for the need to
seek simpler solutions.
• Pitfall 4. Populate dimensional models on a standalone basis
without regard to a data architecture that ties them together using
shared, conformed dimensions.
• Pitfall 3. Load only summarized data into the presentation area's
dimensional structures.
• Pitfall 2. Presume that the business, its requirements and analytics,
and the underlying data and the supporting technology are static.
• Pitfall 1. Neglect to acknowledge that data warehouse success is
tied directly to user acceptance. If the users haven't accepted the
data warehouse as a foundation for improved decision making, then
your efforts have been exercises in futility.
Dimensional Modeling Pitfalls
• Pitfall 10. Become overly enamored with technology and data
rather than focusing on the business's requirements and goals.
• Pitfall 9. Fail to embrace or recruit an influential, accessible, and
reasonable management visionary as the business sponsor of the
data warehouse.
• Pitfall 8. Tackle a galactic multiyear project rather than pursuing
more manageable, while still compelling, iterative development
efforts.
• Pitfall 7. Allocate energy to construct a normalized data structure,
yet run out of budget before building a viable presentation area
based on dimensional models.
• Pitfall 6. Pay more attention to backroom operational performance
and ease of development than to front-room query performance and
ease of use.