Oracle® Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence Solutions

Chapter 5. Designing for Usability

Business analysts and designers use data modeling to represent ideas about information in a uniform and organized manner. Data models expose an abstraction of business processes, events, and time to provide a comprehensive view of the business. Relational database technology enables data modelers to focus on creating logical representations of the business that remain independent of physical storage and access methods. While such logical abstractions are envisioned to withstand the test of time, continued enhancements in database technology enable evolving physical design approaches that offer better flexibility and performance. Therefore, there is an increasing emphasis on physical design to ensure that business requirements are satisfied. With many design alternatives available for performance and usability, it is important to select an approach that is flexible to meet today's needs and future requirements.

This chapter highlights the approaches and principles used in designing business intelligence solutions in an Oracle environment. These principles for physical database design support a full spectrum of uses including predefined reporting, ad-hoc queries, trending, and forecasting analysis. Although this chapter does not address the techniques and benefits associated with logical data modeling, it will highlight the necessary constructs and best practices common in successful implementations. In addition, we will discuss the advantages and ...