Data Warehousing Fundamentals for IT Professionals

Data Warehousing Fundamentals for IT Professionals

Released May 2010
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9780470462072

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Book description

Cutting-edge content and guidance from a data warehousing expert—now expanded to reflect field trends

Data warehousing has revolutionized the way businesses in a wide variety of industries perform analysis and make strategic decisions. Since the first edition of Data Warehousing Fundamentals, numerous enterprises have implemented data warehouse systems and reaped enormous benefits. Many more are in the process of doing so. Now, this new, revised edition covers the essential fundamentals of data warehousing and business intelligence as well as significant recent trends in the field.

The author provides an enhanced, comprehensive overview of data warehousing together with in-depth explanations of critical issues in planning, design, deployment, and ongoing maintenance. IT professionals eager to get into the field will gain a clear understanding of techniques for data extraction from source systems, data cleansing, data transformations, data warehouse architecture and infrastructure, and the various methods for information delivery.

This practical Second Edition highlights the areas of data warehousing and business intelligence where high-impact technological progress has been made. Discussions on developments include data marts, real-time information delivery, data visualization, requirements gathering methods, multi-tier architecture, OLAP applications, Web clickstream analysis, data warehouse appliances, and data mining techniques. The book also contains review questions and exercises for each chapter, appropriate for self-study or classroom work, industry examples of real-world situations, and several appendices with valuable information.

Specifically written for professionals responsible for designing, implementing, or maintaining data warehousing systems, Data Warehousing Fundamentals presents agile, thorough, and systematic development principles for the IT professional and anyone working or researching in information management.

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedicaion
  5. Contents
  6. PREFACE
    1. THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU
    2. THE SCENARIO
    3. CHANGED ROLE OF IT
    4. WHAT THIS BOOK CAN DO FOR YOU
    5. ENHANCEMENTS IN THIS SECOND EDITION
    6. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  7. PART 1: OVERVIEW AND CONCEPTS
    1. CHAPTER 1: THE COMPELLING NEED FOR DATA WAREHOUSING
      1. CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
      2. ESCALATING NEED FOR STRATEGIC INFORMATION
      3. FAILURES OF PAST DECISION-SUPPORT SYSTEMS
      4. OPERATIONAL VERSUS DECISION-SUPPORT SYSTEMS
      5. DATA WAREHOUSING–THE ONLY VIABLE SOLUTION
      6. DATA WAREHOUSE DEFINED
      7. THE DATA WAREHOUSING MOVEMENT
      8. EVOLUTION OF BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
      9. CHAPTER SUMMARY
      10. REVIEW QUESTIONS
      11. EXERCISES
    2. CHAPTER 2: DATA WAREHOUSE: THE BUILDING BLOCKS
      1. CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
      2. DEFINING FEATURES
      3. DATA WAREHOUSES AND DATA MARTS
      4. ARCHITECTURAL TYPES
      5. OVERVIEW OF THE COMPONENTS
      6. METADATA IN THE DATA WAREHOUSE
      7. CHAPTER SUMMARY
      8. REVIEW QUESTIONS
      9. EXERCISES
    3. CHAPTER 3: TRENDS IN DATA WAREHOUSING
      1. CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
      2. CONTINUED GROWTH IN DATA WAREHOUSING
      3. SIGNIFICANT TRENDS
      4. EMERGENCE OF STANDARDS
      5. OLAP
      6. WEB-ENABLED DATA WAREHOUSE
      7. CHAPTER SUMMARY
      8. REVIEW QUESTIONS
      9. EXERCISES
  8. PART 2: PLANNING AND REQUIREMENTS
    1. CHAPTER 4: PLANNING AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT
      1. CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
      2. PLANNING YOUR DATA WAREHOUSE
      3. THE DATA WAREHOUSE PROJECT
      4. THE DEVELOPMENT PHASES
      5. THE PROJECT TEAM
      6. PROJECT MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
      7. CHAPTER SUMMARY
      8. REVIEW QUESTIONS
      9. EXERCISES
    2. CHAPTER 5: DEFINING THE BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS
      1. CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
      2. DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS
      3. INFORMATION PACKAGES–A USEFUL CONCEPT
      4. REQUIREMENTS GATHERING METHODS
      5. REQUIREMENTS DEFINITION: SCOPE AND CONTENT
      6. CHAPTER SUMMARY
      7. REVIEW QUESTIONS
      8. EXERCISES
    3. CHAPTER 6: REQUIREMENTS AS THE DRIVING FORCE FOR DATA WAREHOUSING
      1. CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
      2. DATA DESIGN
      3. THE ARCHITECTURAL PLAN
      4. DATA STORAGE SPECIFICATIONS
      5. INFORMATION DELIVERY STRATEGY
      6. CHAPTER SUMMARY
      7. REVIEW QUESTIONS
      8. EXERCISES
  9. PART 3: ARCHITECTURE AND INFRASTRUCTURE
    1. CHAPTER 7: ARCHITECTURAL COMPONENTS
      1. CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
      2. UNDERSTANDING DATA WAREHOUSE ARCHITECTURE
      3. DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS
      4. ARCHITECTURAL FRAMEWORK
      5. TECHNICAL ARCHITECTURE
      6. ARCHITECTURAL TYPES
      7. CHAPTER SUMMARY
      8. REVIEW QUESTIONS
      9. EXERCISES
    2. CHAPTER 8: INFRASTRUCTURE AS THE FOUNDATION FOR DATA WAREHOUSING
      1. CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
      2. INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORTING ARCHITECTURE
      3. HARDWARE AND OPERATING SYSTEMS
      4. DATABASE SOFTWARE
      5. COLLECTION OF TOOLS
      6. DATA WAREHOUSE APPLIANCES
      7. CHAPTER SUMMARY
      8. REVIEW QUESTIONS
      9. EXERCISES
    3. CHAPTER 9: THE SIGNIFICANT ROLE OF METADATA
      1. CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
      2. WHY METADATA IS IMPORTANT
      3. METADATA TYPES BY FUNCTIONAL AREAS
      4. BUSINESS METADATA
      5. TECHNICAL METADATA
      6. HOW TO PROVIDE METADATA
      7. CHAPTER SUMMARY
      8. REVIEW QUESTIONS
      9. EXERCISES
  10. PART 4: DATA DESIGN AND DATA PREPARATION
    1. CHAPTER 10: PRINCIPLES OF DIMENSIONAL MODELING
      1. CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
      2. FROM REQUIREMENTS TO DATA DESIGN
      3. THE STAR SCHEMA
      4. STAR SCHEMA KEYS
      5. ADVANTAGES OF THE STAR SCHEMA
      6. STAR SCHEMA: EXAMPLES
      7. CHAPTER SUMMARY
      8. REVIEW QUESTIONS
      9. EXERCISES
    2. CHAPTER 11: DIMENSIONAL MODELING: ADVANCED TOPICS
      1. CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
      2. UPDATES TO THE DIMENSION TABLES
      3. MISCELLANEOUS DIMENSIONS
      4. THE SNOWFLAKE SCHEMA
      5. AGGREGATE FACT TABLES
      6. FAMILIES OF STARS
      7. CHAPTER SUMMARY
      8. REVIEW QUESTIONS
      9. EXERCISES
    3. CHAPTER 12: DATA EXTRACTION, TRANSFORMATION, AND LOADING
      1. CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
      2. ETL OVERVIEW
      3. ETL REQUIREMENTS AND STEPS
      4. DATA EXTRACTION
      5. Source Identification
      6. DATA TRANSFORMATION
      7. DATA LOADING
      8. Fact Tables: History and Incremental Loads
      9. ETL SUMMARY
      10. OTHER INTEGRATION APPROACHES
      11. CHAPTER SUMMARY
      12. REVIEW QUESTIONS
      13. EXERCISES
    4. CHAPTER 13: DATA QUALITY: A KEY TO SUCCESS
      1. CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
      2. What Is Data Quality?
      3. DATA QUALITY CHALLENGES
      4. DATA QUALITY TOOLS
      5. DATA QUALITY INITIATIVE
      6. MASTER DATA MANAGEMENT (MDM)
      7. CHAPTER SUMMARY
      8. REVIEW QUESTIONS
      9. EXERCISES
  11. PART 5: INFORMATION ACCESS AND DELIVERY
    1. CHAPTER 14: MATCHING INFORMATION TO THE CLASSES OF USERS
      1. CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
      2. INFORMATION FROM THE DATA WAREHOUSE
      3. WHO WILL USE THE INFORMATION?
      4. INFORMATION DELIVERY
      5. INFORMATION DELIVERY TOOLS
      6. INFORMATION DELIVERY: SPECIAL TOPICS
      7. CHAPTER SUMMARY
      8. REVIEW QUESTIONS
      9. EXERCISES
    2. CHAPTER 15: OLAP IN THE DATA WAREHOUSE
      1. CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
      2. DEMAND FOR ONLINE ANALYTICAL PROCESSING
      3. MAJOR FEATURES AND FUNCTIONS
      4. OLAP MODELS
      5. OLAP IMPLEMENTATION CONSIDERATIONS
      6. CHAPTER SUMMARY
      7. REVIEW QUESTIONS
      8. EXERCISES
    3. CHAPTER 16: DATA WAREHOUSING AND THE WEB
      1. CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
      2. WEB-ENABLED DATA WAREHOUSE
      3. WEB-BASED INFORMATION DELIVERY
      4. BUILDING A WEB-ENABLED DATA WAREHOUSE
      5. CHAPTER SUMMARY
      6. REVIEW QUESTIONS
      7. EXERCISES
    4. CHAPTER 17: DATA MINING BASICS
      1. CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
      2. WHAT IS DATA MINING?
      3. MAJOR DATA MINING TECHNIQUES
      4. DATA MINING APPLICATIONS
      5. CHAPTER SUMMARY
      6. REVIEW QUESTIONS
      7. EXERCISES
  12. PART 6: IMPLEMENTATION AND MAINTENANCE
    1. CHAPTER 18: THE PHYSICAL DESIGN PROCESS
      1. CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
      2. PHYSICAL DESIGN STEPS
      3. PHYSICAL DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
      4. PHYSICAL STORAGE
      5. INDEXING THE DATA WAREHOUSE
      6. PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT TECHNIQUES
      7. CHAPTER SUMMARY
      8. REVIEW QUESTIONS
      9. EXERCISES
    2. CHAPTER 19: DATA WAREHOUSE DEPLOYMENT
      1. CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
      2. DATA WAREHOUSE TESTING
      3. MAJOR DEPLOYMENT ACTIVITIES
      4. CONSIDERATIONS FOR A PILOT
      5. SECURITY
      6. BACKUP AND RECOVERY
      7. CHAPTER SUMMARY
      8. REVIEW QUESTIONS
      9. EXERCISES
    3. CHAPTER 20: GROWTH AND MAINTENANCE
      1. CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
      2. MONITORING THE DATA WAREHOUSE
      3. USER TRAINING AND SUPPORT
      4. User Support
      5. MANAGING THE DATA WAREHOUSE
      6. CHAPTER SUMMARY
      7. REVIEW QUESTIONS
      8. EXERCISES
  13. ANSWERS TO SELECTED EXERCISES
  14. APPENDIX A: PROJECT LIFE CYCLE STEPS AND CHECKLISTS
    1. DATA WAREHOUSE PROJECT LIFE CYCLE: MAJOR STEPS AND SUBSTEPS
    2. CHECKLISTS FOR MAJOR ACTIVITIES
  15. APPENDIX B: CRITICAL FACTORS FOR SUCCESS
  16. APPENDIX C: GUIDELINES FOR EVALUATING VENDOR SOLUTIONS
  17. APPENDIX D: HIGHLIGHTS OF VENDORS AND PRODUCTS*
  18. APPENDIX E: REAL-WORLD EXAMPLES OF BEST PRACTICES *
    1. AIRLINES
    2. SPECIALTY TEXTILES
    3. TRAVEL
    4. HEALTH CARE
    5. SECURITIES
    6. INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING AND DELIVERY
    7. RAIL SERVICES
    8. PHONE SERVICE
    9. HOME IMPROVEMENT RETAIL
    10. CREDIT UNION
    11. LIFE INSURANCE
    12. TELECOMMUNICATIONS
  19. REFERENCES
  20. GLOSSARY
  21. INDEX

Product information

  • Title: Data Warehousing Fundamentals for IT Professionals
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: May 2010
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9780470462072