Visible Solutions

Critical Success Factors

for Data Warehouse Engineering
By Alan Perkins
Chief Solutions Architect
ASG Federal
This paper describes critical success factors for developing, implementing, and
managing data warehouses and data marts for strategic information
management.

Table of Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1
Critical Success Factors (CSF) ..................................................................................................... 1
CSF: Sponsorship and Involvement .......................................................................................... 1
CSF: Business Requirements.................................................................................................... 2
CSF: Enterprise Architecture ..................................................................................................... 3
CSF: Data Warehouse Architecture and Design ....................................................................... 4
CSF: Data Warehouse Technology ........................................................................................... 9
CSF: Information Quality.......................................................................................................... 12
CSF: Development Environment ............................................................................................. 13
Summary ..................................................................................................................................... 15

Copyright 2003 Alan Perkins. Reprinted with Permission

DATA WAREHOUSE CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS

- ALAN PERKINS

Introduction
A data warehouse is more than an archive for corporate data and more than a new way of
accessing corporate information. A data warehouse is a subject-oriented repository designed for
enterprise-wide information access. It provides tools to satisfy the information needs of
enterprise managers at all organizational levels not just for complex data queries, but as a
general facility for getting quick, accurate, and often insightful information. A data warehouse is
designed so that its users can recognize the information they want and access that information
using simple tools.
One of the principal reasons for developing a data warehouse is to integrate operational data
from various sources into a single and consistent structure that supports analysis and decisionmaking within the enterprise. Operational (legacy) systems create, update and delete production
data that "feed" the data warehouse.
A data warehouse is analogous to a physical warehouse. Operational systems create data
parts that are loaded into the warehouse. Some of those parts are summarized into information
components that are stored in the warehouse. Data warehouse users make requests and are
delivered information products that are created from the stored components and parts.
A data warehouse is typically a blending of technologies, including relational and
multidimensional databases, client/server architecture, extraction/transformation programs,
graphical user interfaces, and more.
Data warehousing is one of the hottest industry trends for good reason. A well-defined and
properly implemented data warehouse can be a valuable competitive tool.
A data warehouse has its own unique peculiarities and characteristics that make developing a
data warehouse unlike developing just another application. Not every enterprise is able to
successfully develop an effective data warehouse -- in fact there are many more failures than
successes.

Critical Success Factors (CSF)

The critical success factors for data warehouse engineering are:

Sponsorship and Involvement

Business Requirements

Enterprise Architecture

Data Warehouse Architecture and Design

Data Warehouse Technology

Information Quality

Development Environment

CSF: Sponsorship and Involvement

Enterprise executives and managers must sponsor data warehouse development. Equally
important, all potential users must be involved in data warehouse engineering. Without both
management sponsorship and near universal involvement, enterprise-wide data warehouse
projects usually fail.

Management
Enterprise management must fully sponsor data warehouse development and usage.
Sponsorship includes ensuring sufficient resources are available. Sponsorship also
- 1 -

DATA WAREHOUSE CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS

- ALAN PERKINS

means consistent commitment to implementing a data warehouse that is the single

source for corporate measurement and decision support data.
Data warehouse development and usage often requires significant culture change. This
cannot happen without management commitment.
Managing internal change,
particularly culture change, requires three things: management commitment, universal
approval, and appropriate measures and rewards.
Management Commitment: In order for anything to happen in an enterprise,
including change, executives and managers must be consistently committed to
making it happen. Only enterprise leaders can ensure that resources necessary
to effect the change are available. Consistent commitment means that the
change becomes both an enterprise strategy and an enterprise goal that leaders
continuously and obviously support. The visibility of leadership support is a
primary factor in achieving universal approval for change.
Universal Approval: Change is successful only when the people involved
approve of the change. They understand the need for the change. They believe
the change is good for the enterprise and good for them. They agree that the
change being undertaken is the right change. Peter Senge, in his book The Fifth
Discipline, describes the need for universal approval in order to implement
systemic change: People want change, they dont want to be changed.
Measures and Rewards: Getting everyone to want change is difficult. It
requires a level and degree of communication and cooperation not found in most
enterprises. Maintaining universal approval is even more difficult. The best way
to achieve and maintain universal approval is to ensure that the process and
results of change are measured appropriately and accurately and communicated
enterprise-wide. Good results and changed behavior must be rewarded. At the
same time, unchanged behavior and poor results should not be rewarded.
Employees will not work toward change if they continue to be rewarded for old
practices.

Potential Users
All potential users of the data warehouse, even executives, from every organizational
unit and level, must be actively involved in data warehouse design, development, and
management. Data warehouse users will have the most influence on acceptance of the
warehouse, so it is imperative that their needs are addressed. They are also the
"owners" and "stewards" of operational data and thus are the best source for subject
matter expertise.

CSF: Business Requirements

Developing a data warehouse without first determining strategic business requirements is a sure
recipe for failure. The best source for these requirements is the enterprise strategic plan and
the performance measures identified in the plan. These become the basis for the enterprise
architecture as well as the data warehouse architecture and design (other critical success factors
described later in this paper). An enterprise should never undertake system development efforts,
particularly engineering a data warehouse, without first determining its strategic business and
information requirements.

Strategic Plan
A strategic plan outlines an enterprises mission and purpose, goals, strategies and
performance measures (business requirements). Properly used, a strategic plan is the
tool with which effective managers guide their organizations and ensure corporate
success.
- 2 -

DATA WAREHOUSE CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS

- ALAN PERKINS

An enterprises strategic plan not only provides a guide for effective management; it also
provides the guiding force for internal change and the guidelines for responding to
external change. Through the strategic planning process, the enterprise defines and
documents its purpose, goals, and objectives, along with strategies for achieving them.
Included in the process is an assessment of external opportunities and threats as well as
an assessment of internal strengths and weaknesses.
The most useful strategic plans are multi-dimensional, incorporating the enterprises
overall plan with the subordinate plans of every enterprise element, and including
performance measures for every critical outcome.

Performance Measures
Establishing the right performance measures is the key to successful enterprise
management. An enterprise must be able to tell whether progress is being made on its
critical goals and whether stakeholder expectations are being met.
The most effective and useful performance measures are cross-functional and are linked to
the appropriate strategies, objectives, and performance criteria. Management's targets and
thresholds for the measures, often based upon external benchmarks, form the structure for
an enterprise performance measurement system.
Performance measurement documentation should include not only the content of reports
and queries, but also document the path of the data from source to ultimate information
recipient. The combination of all the reports of all the performance measures becomes the
basis for a data warehouse and a Strategic Information System that is truly tailored to the
enterprise's requirements.
Executives and managers use the information produced from the data warehouse to
reinforce initiatives, reward behavior and change strategies. Employees use it to adjust
operations and respond to strategic needs. Linking timely accurate measures to specific
goals and objectives begins to make enterprise management more of a science and less of
an art.

CSF: Enterprise Architecture

Linking the enterprise business architecture (EBA) (strategic plans, goals, objectives,
measures) with its enterprise information architecture (EIA), enterprise service component
architecture (ESA) and enterprise technical architecture (ETA) results in enterprise
architecture. This architecture is a logical organization of corporate information requirements,
descriptions of application systems that support the enterprises strategic requirements. It
includes the relationships between application systems via shared software components and
shared data elements. The enterprise information architecture also establishes guidelines,
standards, and operational services that define the enterprises computing technology
environment.
Before an enterprise can define, design, and implement the architecture for its strategic
information management systems, including data warehouse, data mart, decision support, and
executive information systems, it must first document the environment in which these systems will
be implemented.

Enterprise Information Architecture

The EIA is a fully normalized data model that describes all the data and information
necessary to the enterprise. It includes relationships between "business data objects,"
business rules concerning usage of the data elements, and identification of the "owner"
of the data. In addition, it is important for the model to indicate the circumstances (who,
when, where, how) for creating, updating, using, and deleting enterprise data. For ease
- 3 -

DATA WAREHOUSE CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS

- ALAN PERKINS

of use, subsets of the enterprise data architecture model should be established. These
subsets, or views, can represent functions, organizations, regions, systems, and any
other significant grouping of information.

Enterprise Service Component Architecture

The ESA documents all the information systems in use by the enterprise to create, read,
update, and delete enterprise data. In order to be useful, the information systems should
be linked to appropriate data elements in the Enterprise Information Architecture. Every
system should also be linked to appropriate elements of the enterprise technology
architecture.

Enterprise Technical Architecture

This third segment of the Enterprise Architecture documents the enterprise's hardware
platforms, operating systems, and telecommunications infrastructure. The ETA is also
where guidelines, standards, and operational services that define the enterprises
systems development environment are documented.
More detail concerning "Enterprise Architecture Engineering" can be found in the authors White
Paper with that title.

CSF: Data Warehouse Architecture and Design

The key to success in scaleable data warehouse development and the single factor that
contributes most to data warehousing success is a data warehouse architecture.
The architecture and design of an enterprises data warehouse should reflect the performance
measurement and business requirements of the enterprise. Its data model, structure,

BLUEPRINT FOR A DATA WAREHOUSE

"Engineering" a data warehouse is like engineering a physical warehouse. Both involve a
rigorous development cycle and require the right tools.
A building is constructed using architectural diagrams (blueprints) that clearly depict the
building's infrastructure (structural elements, walls, electrical wiring, plumbing, etc.). The best
data warehouses are built from architectural models of enterprise infrastructure (policies, goals,
measures, critical success factors, etc.).
Blueprints are also used to enlarge a building or make any significant modifications. Without a
diagram of the infrastructure, such changes are quite difficult and very costly and can even be
dangerous. It is the same with data warehouses. First update the enterprise's data warehouse
architecture model so that it reflects changes (e.g., new performance measures, product lines,
or services) and then modify the data warehouse to support the changed enterprise.
Data warehouse engineering is easier and less costly when based upon an accurate
architectural model of the enterprise. Further, a data warehouse is easier to use and
consistently produces desired outcomes when decision-makers have access to an enterprise
architecture (metadata) that accurately reflects enterprise infrastructure.

components, and metadata should all be based upon internal information requirements -- not
specific technologies.

- 4 -

DATA WAREHOUSE CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS

- ALAN PERKINS

Data Warehouse Data Model

A data model documents the data elements whose values at any point in time are
necessary to tell data warehouse users how well their enterprise is performing. The data
warehouse model provides a clear and unambiguous definition of every key data entity,
describing the way each is used, as well as defining derivation formulas, aggregation
categories, and refreshment time periods. The data warehouse model, linked with the
enterprise information architecture, becomes both requirement documentation and a
source for communicating the contents of the data warehouse to its users and
developers. Issues that must be addressed in the data model include what legacy data
will be used to populate the data warehouse, how data will be moved from legacy
environments to the data warehouse, and how the legacy data will be integrated or
transformed to ensure data quality and integrity in the data warehouse. The two most
important issues for any data warehouse are data quality and data access.

Data Warehouse Metadata

Metadata, or data about data, is the nerve center of a data warehouse. Metadata is
essential to all levels of the data warehouse, but exists and functions in a different
dimension from other warehouse data. Metadata used to manage and control data
warehouse creation and maintenance resides outside the data warehouse, often in a
digital repository. Metadata for data warehouse users is part of the data warehouse itself
and is available to control access and analysis of the data warehouse. To a data
warehouse user, metadata is like a "card catalog" to the subjects contained in the data
warehouse. The two types of data warehouse metadata are called structural and
access.
Structural metadata is used for creation and maintenance of the data
warehouse. It fully describes data warehouse structure and content. The basic
building block of structural metadata is the data warehouse model that describes
its data entities, their characteristics, and how they are related to one another.
The way potential data warehouse users currently use, or intend to use,
enterprise measures provides insight into how to best serve them from the data
warehouse; i.e., what data entities to include and how to aggregate detailed data
entities. The data warehouse model provides a means of documenting and
identifying structural metadata. This includes both strategic and operational uses
of enterprise measures, as well as multi-dimensional summarization. Structural
metadata also includes performance metrics for programs and queries so that
users and developers know how long programs and queries should run. Data
warehouse performance tuning also uses these metrics.
Access metadata is the dynamic link between the data warehouse and end-user
applications. It generally contains the enterprise measures supported by the
data warehouse and a dictionary of standard terms including user-defined
custom names and aliases. Access metadata also includes the location and
description of data warehouse servers, databases, tables, detailed data, and
summaries along with descriptions of original data sources and transformations.
Access metadata provides rules for drill up, drill down and views across
enterprise dimensions and subject hierarchies like products, markets, and
customers.
Access metadata also allows rules for user-defined custom
calculations and queries to be included. In addition, access metadata contains
individual, work group, and enterprise security for viewing, changing, and
distributing custom calculations, summaries, or other analyses.

- 5 -

DATA WAREHOUSE CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS

- ALAN PERKINS

Data Warehouse Components

The data warehouse architecture also contains descriptions data warehouse
components: current detail, summarized data, and archives as well as systems of
record and integration/transformation programs.

Data Warehouse
Components
Summarized
Data

Summarized
Data

Data Warehouse
Architecture
(Metadata)

Current
Detail

M/D

Operational
Systems of
Record

Integration/
Transformation
Programs

Archives
M/D

The heart of a data warehouse is its current detail. It is the place where the
bulk of data resides. Current detail comes directly from operational systems and
may be stored as raw data or as an aggregation of raw data. Current detail,
organized by subject area, represents the entire enterprise, rather than a given
application. Current detail is the lowest level of data granularity in the data
warehouse. Every data entity in current detail is a snapshot, at a moment in
time, representing the instance when the data are accurate. Current detail is
typically maintained for two to five years, but some enterprises may require detail
data for significantly longer periods. When initially implemented, a data
warehouse may include current detail more than two years old, but the often
questionable quality of older data must be considered and measures taken to
ensure its validity. Current detail refreshment occurs as frequently as necessary
to support enterprise requirements.
Lightly summarized data are the hallmark of a data warehouse. All enterprise
elements (department, region, function, etc.) do not have the same information
requirements, so effective data warehouse design provides for customized,
lightly summarized data for every enterprise element (see Data Mart, below). An
enterprise element may have access to both detailed and summarized data, but
typically much less than the total stored in current detail.
Highly summarized data are primarily for enterprise executives. Highly
summarized data can come from either the lightly summarized data used by
enterprise elements or from current detail. Data volume at this level is much less
than other levels and represents an eclectic collection supporting a wide variety
of needs and interests. In addition to access to highly summarized data,
executives also should have the capability of accessing increasing levels of detail
through a "drill down" process.

- 6 -

DATA WAREHOUSE CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS

- ALAN PERKINS

Data warehouse archives contain old data (normally over two years old) of
significant, continuing interest and value to the enterprise. There is usually a
massive amount of data stored in the data warehouse archives that has a low
incidence of access. Archive data are most often used for forecasting and trend
analysis. Although archive data may be stored with the same level of granularity
as current detail, it is more likely that archive data are aggregated as they are
archived. Archives include not only old data (in raw or summarized form); they
also include the metadata that describes the old data's characteristics.
A system of record is the source of the best or "rightest" data that feed the data
warehouse. The "rightest" data are those which are most timely, complete,
accurate, and have the best structural conformance to the data warehouse.
Often the "rightest" data are closest to the source of entry into the production
environment. In other cases, a system of record may be one containing already
summarized data. Often, rightest data is created from diverse sources through
a reconciliation process.

Data Warehouse Structure

A data warehouse may have any of several structures. The structure that best meets
the data warehouse needs of an enterprise is fully dependent upon the enterprise
business, data, and access requirements. The basic data warehouse structures are:
Physical Data Warehouse - physical database in which all the data for the data
warehouse are stored, along with metadata and processing logic for scrubbing,
organizing, packaging and processing the detail data.
Logical Data Warehouse - also contains metadata including enterprise rules
and processing logic for scrubbing, organizing, packaging and processing the
data, but does not contain actual data. Instead it contains the information
necessary to access the data wherever they reside. This structure is possible
only when operational systems exactly reflect the enterprise data architecture
and system capacities can support both operational and management functions.
Data Mart - subset of an enterprise-wide data warehouse. Typically it supports
an enterprise element (department, region, function, etc.). The organization of
data in a data mart reflects the needs of the enterprise element it supports, and
may be different from the organization of the enterprise data warehouse.
Specific data elements may be stored redundantly in both the data mart and the
data warehouse. As part of an iterative data warehouse development process,
an enterprise builds a series of physical data marts over time and links them via
an enterprise-wide logical data warehouse or feeds them from a single physical
warehouse.
Both within the Data Warehouse as a whole and within the individual Data Marts,
different groups of users have needs for differing slices of data. For example,
users at a branch generally need the horizontal slice of data that pertains to
their branch (i.e. they need all the data elements - tables and columns - but only
the rows pertaining to their branch). Other users need vertical slices or a
combination of horizontal and vertical slices.
The general approach is to try to make data that are needed by a user group
available on a machine that is as close to the users as is feasible -- a Data Mart
server. Only that slice of data that is regularly used by the user group should be
on their Data Mart server. All other data accessible to the user group should be
available on other machines in the network when needed.
The major issues to be addressed in implementing a particular data warehouse structure
involve data distribution and data replication. How much data? How often? Detail or

- 7 -

DATA WAREHOUSE CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS

- ALAN PERKINS

summarized? Uni-directional or bi-directional update? Data distribution and replication

decisions will also have application implications.
Distribution refers to the parceling out of segments of the data to distinct multiple
independent computers (or clusters). Replication refers to the copying of portions of the
data in one (or more) databases to a second database (often on a different computer)
and guaranteeing that whenever the data is changed that all the replicas implement the
change in order to stay in synchronization.
The challenges of distribution and replication are not only exist in developing the initial
design, but also the ongoing management and maintenance of the overall system. Data
Warehouse architecture design must take into account the following:
Replication: An effective design must consider

From what database and to what servers is the data moving? Is the data
moved one-way or bi-directionally?

How many replicas will be needed and are they all identical?

By operational application, how much data - whole databases or selected

sets of fields - will be moved throughout the network?

By application, how time sensitive is the data?

How is data delivery guaranteed? Who is responsible for the guarantee?

What should be done if the data to be replicated cannot be delivered due to

temporary problems?

How is data replication tracked?

Network: The network issues that revolve around distribution and replication
include

What are the physical characteristics of the network architecture that

connects the data sources to the replicas? Can its bandwidth handle the
amount to data to be transferred?

What is the overall processing speed of each component of the network?

How fast can data effectively move between each node?

What type of replication process will be implemented (synchronous or

asynchronous)? Will it require 100% availability of the network? How is the
replication process affected if the network is temporarily down? How will
failed replication attempts be managed?

Data Warehouse Application(s): Applications must be designed to be aware of

the replicas available.

Each application at each site must know where to find the data (preferred
site)

If the data is not available at the preferred site, how does the application
detect the problem?

Should the application have the ability to switch to an alternate site from
which to retrieve the data?

Scheduling: Efficient scheduling of replication must consider

What events or conditions will trigger a dynamic data transfer? How much
data is transferred during a triggered data move?

How long will it take to perform the data transfer under various conditions?
Can the required time be minimized through better scheduling
- 8 -

DATA WAREHOUSE CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS

- ALAN PERKINS

What time zones play an important consideration when moving data?

Change Management: Replication is not a static concept. Ongoing changes

must be anticipated in the overall replication strategy.

What technological changes could impact the operation or performance of

the current replication strategy? What investments will improve the strategic
business impact of the data?

What organizational, product, service, regulatory, market, competitive, or

other environmental changes could impact the operation or performance of
the present replication strategy?

Does the replication strategy fit todays users needs?

Distribution and replication of data warehouse data is primarily a physical architecture

design and implementation issue.

CSF: Data Warehouse Technology

Only after the data warehouse architecture has been defined should an enterprise begin
selecting and implementing its data warehouse technology. Otherwise, there is a high probability
that the technology will not support enterprise requirements. Further, if the enterprise data
warehouse solution is designed for a specific technology it will be difficult, if not impossible, to
change technologies as requirements change and as technologies improve and mature. There
are more and more technologies available to support enterprise data warehousing. They can be
conveniently grouped into user interfaces, warehouse engines, hardware platforms, system
software, and security.

User Interface(s)
Data Warehouse users get useful information from the data warehouse and data marts
through user interfaces. It is these user interfaces that have the most impact on how
effective and useful the data warehouse will be perceived. Therefore, users must be
actively involved in selecting their own interface to the data warehouse. Two primary
criteria for selecting an effective user interface are ease of use and performance. For
ease of use, most enterprises turn to graphical user interfaces. For performance,
developers must ensure that the hardware/software platform fully supports and is
optimized for every chosen user interface. The most important selection criteria for user
interfaces are the information needs and the level of computer literacy of potential users
who will retrieve the information they need from the data warehouse. The following data
warehouse user categories are based on levels of literacy and information needs:
Information Systems Challenged - - data warehouse users who are totally
uninvolved with information systems. In management roles they rely on their
secretaries or assistants to retrieve information for them. These users need an
extremely easy to use and highly graphical interface or standard queries and
reports with a limited number of parameters.
Variance Oriented - users who are focused on the variances in numbers over
time. These users mainly want a set of standard reports that they can generate
or receive periodically so that they can perform their analyses.
Number Crunchers - users who are spreadsheet aficionados. They will take
whatever data are available and refine it, re-categorize it and derive their own
numbers for analyzing and managing the enterprise. Their needs can best be
met by providing a spreadsheet extract output format for any reports or ad hoc
queries provided.

- 9 -

DATA WAREHOUSE CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS

- ALAN PERKINS

Technically Oriented - users who are either already familiar with computers or
have sufficient motivation to learn and use everything they can get their hands
on. These people want to have complete control over the way they retrieve and
format information. They are often business or systems analysts who have
moved into an enterprise function. They want to have all of the tools the data
warehouse development staff uses.
Most enterprises have all of these categories of individuals. This makes it advisable to
provide each type of data warehouse user interface.
The final user interface criterion is that it supports the access metadata designed for the
data warehouse. If a user interface is easy to use, allows all potential users to get the
information they need in the format they need, and does it in an acceptable amount of
time, it is the right interface.

Data Warehouse Engine(s)

Once the information requirements and metadata for a data warehouse have been
identified and documented, user interfaces have been designed, and the data warehouse
structure has been selected, a data warehouse engine that will support the data
warehouse and all access approaches should be selected. Key issues include capability
for loading information into the data warehouse, implementing access control (security)
mechanisms and support for one or more user interface tool sets. The architecture,
performance requirements, and overall size of the data warehouse will determine
software requirements. For example, a data warehouse that includes data marts will
require not only relational technology, but also multidimensional access and a
client/server architecture. See table 1.
Feature/Function

Normalized structures

Relational

SuperRelational

MultiDimension
(logical)

MultiDimension
(physical)

9
9

Abstract data types

Parallelism

ObjectRelational

9
9

Drill-down

Rotation

Multi-dimensional
structures

Data-dependent
operations

Table 1 - Database Management System Criteria

Hardware Platform(s)
The selection of one or more hardware platforms involves answering the following
questions: How much data will be in the data warehouse and how much can the platform
economically accommodate? How scaleable is the platform? Is it optimized for data
- 10 -

DATA WAREHOUSE CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS

- ALAN PERKINS

warehouse performance? Will the platform support the software selected for the data
warehouse? How many users will simultaneously access the data warehouse? Will their
queries be simple or complex? These are the most important criteria for selecting
hardware to support a data warehouse. In answering these questions it is important to
consider all hardware platform characteristics; not just CPU speed and disk capacity, but
memory capacity and the input/output system capabilities as well. I/O capacity is often
the most critical to overall data warehouse performance. While increasing the number of
servers can usually increase memory and CPU capacity, increasing I/O capacity is not as
simple. Nevertheless, it is vital that the hardware platform(s) supporting a data
warehouse have sufficient capacity. This often requires multiple, independent I/O
channels or busses.
Data warehouse capacity planning is not an exact science. Underestimating is the rule
rather than the exception. Some experts advise doubling initial estimates of hardware
requirements because data warehouse users and query complexity increases
exponentially over the first few months after initial data warehouse implementation. Even
with sufficient initial capacity, it is critical to choose scaleable systems to support
inevitable but hard-to-quantify future growth.

LAN

SMP
Terabytes
Cluster

MPP

Despite the many vagaries of data warehousing and the relative youth of the field, early
adopters and vendors agree on a few general rules when estimating server capacity.
Small databases, simple queries -- LAN (local area network) servers, with a
single I/O bus are appropriate for data marts where the database is under 5GB.
Medium to large databases, more complex queries -- Response time is faster
on SMP (symmetric multiprocessing) systems than it is on uniprocessors, and
they tend to be more cost effective the systems where nothing is shared. Large
amounts of memory reduce outside seek time during queries, speeding
performance when querying large databases. Conventional wisdom suggests
that SMP machines begin to exceed capacity between 500GB and the low
terabyte range. Good performance for a medium-sized database also requires at
least two I/O channels. As the size of the database and complexity of queries
grows, more I/O channels are needed to maintain performance.
Very large databases, very complex queries -- very large data warehouses
(up to 5 terabytes) require clusters of SMP servers or MPP (massively parallel
processor) servers. The platforms with the best performance for very large
- 11 -

DATA WAREHOUSE CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS

- ALAN PERKINS

databases, excluding MPPs tend to be the ones with a large number of I/O
channels.
Huge databases, extremely complex queries -- data warehouses that exceed
10 terabytes may need the processing power and I/O channels provided by
mainframe systems.

For these environments

Choose

Requirements

Users

Support

Architecture

Server

DBMS

Departmental;
data analysis

Small; single
location

Minimal local;
average central

Consolidated;
turnkey package

Single
processor or
SMP

MDDB

Departmental;
analysis plus
informational

Large; analysts
at single
location;
dispersed
informational
users

Minimal local;
average central

Tiered; detail
central; summary
local

Cluster SMP
central; SP or
SMP local

RDBMS
central;
MDDB
local

Enterprise;
analysis plus
informational

Large;
geographically
dispersed

Strong central

Centralized

Clustered SMP

Objectrelational
; Web
support

Departmental;
exploratory

Small; few sites

Strong central

Centralized

MPP

RDBMS
with
parallel
support

Table 2 - System Selection Criteria

System Software
Concurrent with hardware selection is the selection of system software to support the
data warehouse. The operating systems must support the selected user interfaces, data
warehouse structure and warehouse engine.

Security
Data warehouse security includes both user access security and physical data security.
A data warehouse is a read-only source of enterprise information; therefore developers
need not be concerned with controlling create, update and delete capabilities through
access security. But, developers do need to address the trade off between protecting a
valuable corporate asset against unauthorized access and making the data accessible to
anyone within the enterprise who can put it to good use. The best solution is to allow
everyone in the enterprise to have access to the enterprise measure definitions and
derivations, but only allow access to the underlying detailed data on an approved, needto-know basis. Developers also need to provide sufficient data security, through backup,
off-site storage, replication, fault-tolerant and/or redundant hardware, etc., to protect the
data from loss due to power failures, equipment malfunction, sabotage, and so on.

CSF: Information Quality

The single most important success factor for data warehousing is the quality of information
provided to data warehouse users. Data in the data warehouse must be of the highest possible
- 12 -

DATA WAREHOUSE CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS

- ALAN PERKINS

quality. It must be accurate, relevant, complete, and concise. It must be timely and current. It
must be presented in a way that is clear and understandable. A data warehouse that contains
trusted, strategic information, becomes a valuable enterprise resource for decision makers at all
organizational levels. If it's users discover that it contains bad data, the data warehouse will be
ignored and will fail. Worse, if it contains bad data, but its users never find out and make
decisions based upon the data, it is possible that the enterprise will fail.

Operational Data Quality

The source data that feeds the data warehouse should be of equal quality. This can be
accomplished through practices such as rigorous edits and enforcing a single point of
entry for any data element.

Extract, Transform & Load

When source data is questionable or is in many disparate sources, the ETL
process may have to be designed to ensure data warehouse information quality.
The components that link operational systems with the data warehouse are the
integration/transformation programs. Even the "rightest" operational data
cannot usually be copied, as is, into a data warehouse. Raw operational data
are virtually unintelligible to most end users. Additionally, operational data
seldom conform to the logical, subject-oriented structure of a data warehouse.
Further, different operational systems represent data differently, use different
codes for the same thing, squeeze multiple pieces of information into one field,
and more. Operational data can also come from many different physical
sources: old mainframe files, non-relational databases, indexed flat files, even
proprietary tape and card-based systems. Thus operational data must be
cleaned up, edited, and reformatted before being loaded into a data warehouse.
As operational data items pass from their systems of record to a data
warehouse, integration and transformation programs convert them from
application-specific data into enterprise data.
These integration and
transformation programs perform functions such as:

Reformatting, recalculating, or modifying key structures and other data

elements.

Adding time elements

Identifying default values

Supplying logic to choose between multiple data sources

Summarizing, tallying, and merging data from multiple sources

Reconciling data from multiple sources

When either operational or data warehouse environments change, integration

and transformation programs must be modified to reflect that change.

CSF: Development Environment

The most ignored critical success factor is the one that can have the greatest impact. In order to
consistently design, develop, and implement a data warehouse, an enterprise must have a
development environment that uses best practices and techniques. The elements of this
environment include project teams, methodology, and tools.

- 13 -

DATA WAREHOUSE CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS

- ALAN PERKINS

Data Warehouse Project Team(s)

In addition to consistent management commitment and sponsorship and data warehouse
user involvement, there is another critical enterprise culture element. The teams that will
be actually designing, developing, implementing, and managing the enterprise data
warehouse must have certain characteristics. They must understand the importance of
strategic information.
They must be able to analyze and document business
requirements in business language. They must be dedicated to the data warehousing
project. They must have sufficient resources. They must practice effective project
management. Every team member must have appropriate skills, knowledge and
experience (see below), be sufficiently familiar with the enterprise development
methodology, and be able to effectively use the enterprise data warehouse engineering
tool set.

Development Methodology
Enterprises that consistently produce quality information systems rigorously use a full life
cycle development methodology. Such a methodology is characterized by a sequence
of interrelated steps beginning with determining business requirements and resulting in
system design, development, and implementation. The Software Engineering Institute,
which established the industry-standard, software development capability maturity model
(CMM), declares that a methodology is an absolute necessity in order to be an effective
software developer.
Having a strategically-driven, customer-focused, information-centric, model-based,
disciplined, rigorous, and repeatable methodology is absolutely essential for successful
data warehouse engineering.

Development Tools
A data warehouse is too complex and too massive to be developed using manual
methods. Development tools such as modeling tools, repositories and fourth/fifth
generation programming languages are useful for data warehouse engineering. In
addition, there are several Executive Information System (EIS) and Decision Support
System (DSS) tools that can help with data warehouse access. There are also many
special purpose data warehouse tools including middleware and data
integration/transformation tools.
Some combination of these tools is necessary to quickly and effectively develop and
maintain a data warehouse. The specific tool set will an enterprise uses will depend
upon its data warehousing needs. No matter what tools are used, it is important that the
tools work together and that they can be used within the enterprises chosen technology
environment.

Skills and Knowledge

A specialized set of skills and knowledge is required to efficiently develop a data
warehouse. They include experience with online analytical processing (OLAP) tools and
systems integration; strong technical background with emphasis on operating systems,
data bases, decision support tools, user interfaces and client-server; high conceptual
level of relational theory; strong communication (speaking and writing) skills; and the
ability to interact with everyone in an organization from office workers to the CEO. The
necessary skills and knowledge may be acquired by hiring experienced consultants, or
by training internal staff. The most effective approach is for consultants to begin
development while helping internal staff become skilled so that the enterprise eventually
becomes self-sufficient.

- 14 -

DATA WAREHOUSE CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS

- ALAN PERKINS

Summary
Data warehouse engineering is not like normal application development. Its scope is broader, its
visibility is greater, its user community is larger, and it is more prone to failure.
Before beginning a data warehouse project, an enterprise should evaluate whether it has
adequately addressed the critical success factors for data warehouse engineering.

Sponsorship & Involvement

Management
Potential Users

Business Requirements
Strategic Plan
Performance Measures

Enterprise Architecture
Enterprise Information
Information Systems
Enterprise Technology

Data Warehouse Architecture and Design

Data Model
Metadata
Components
Structure

Data Warehouse Technology

User Interface(s)
Warehouse Engine(s)
Hardware Platform(s)s
System Software
Security

Information Quality
Operational Data Quality
Extract, Transform & Load

Development Environment
Project Teams
Methodology
Development Tools
Skills & Knowledge

Addressing the Critical Success Factors for data warehouse engineering will help you
deliver effective strategic information that exactly meets the needs of your enterprise -public or private, large or small -- to the right people, in the right place, at the right time, in
the right format.

- 15 -

DATA WAREHOUSE CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS

- ALAN PERKINS

For more information please contact:

Visible Systems Corporation

201 Spring Street
Lexington, MA
info@visible.com

- 16 -

DATA WAREHOUSE CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS

- ALAN PERKINS

Alan Perkins has been a Systems Analyst on the White House staff, Director of the US Army
Data Processing School in Germany, Vice President of R&D for a virtual corporation, Vice
President of Consulting for a software engineering tools company, and General Manager of a
high-tech consulting firm. He has provided information and enterpris e management consulting to
numerous companies, associations and government agencies.
Mr. Perkins specializes in Enterprise Architecture Engineering. He helps clients quickly engineer
enterprise architectures that are actionable and adaptable. His approach res ults in architectures
that enable and facilitate enterprise initiatives such as Corporate Port als, Enterprise Data
Warehouses, Enterprise Application Integration, Soft ware Component Engineering, etc.

The following are papers are available at www.visible.com:

"Enterpri se Archi tecture Engineering"
"Enterpri se Archi tecture Engineering Critical Succe ss Factors"
"High-Performance Enterpri se Architecture Engineering Implementing the Zachman
Framework for Enterpri se Archi tecture"
"Enterpri se Change Management An Architected Approach"
"Getting Your Acts Together An Architected Solution for Government Transformation"
"A Strategic Approach to Data Warehouse Engineering"
"Data Warehouse Architecture A Blueprint For Success"
"Critical Succe ss Factors for Data Warehouse Engineering"
"How to Succeed in the 21st Century Critical Information Management Success Factors"
"XML Metadata Management Controlling XML Chaos"
"Busine ss Rule s Are Meta-Data"
Enterpri se System Modernization Solving ITs Bigge st Problem
"Strategic Enterpri se Application Integration"
"e-Engineering A Unified Method"
"Enterpri se Portal Engineering"
"Quality Software [Component] Engineering"
"Software Engineering Process Improvement"

- 17 -