The Microsoft® Data Warehouse Toolkit: With SQL Server™ 2005 and the Microsoft® Business Intelligence Toolset

11.1. The Current State of Affairs

A healthy DW/BI system grows and changes. In our consulting practice we often speak with CIOs who want to know when the data warehouse project will be "done" and resources can be redeployed. Although the initial development phase will eventually end, it's important to understand that the best DW/BI systems will have a permanent level of development activity. As the business changes, especially in a company that enters new markets or engages in mergers and acquisitions, the DW/BI system must evolve in step.

Even the best-designed DW/BI systems can start to experience trouble as they mature. In an article titled "Data Warehouse Check-Ups," Margy Ross and Ralph Kimball outlined some common disorders and solutions. We're adapting and extending this list to discuss how to use SQL Server 2005 to revitalize your DW/BI system.

NOTE

See the article "Data Warehouse Check-Ups" by Margy Ross and Ralph Kimball,Intelligent Enterprise(June, 2004). A link to the article is available at www.kimballgroup.com/html/articlesbydate/articles2004.html.

11.1.1. Data Quality

The most serious and common data disorders are poor quality data, incomplete data, and late data. Frequently we find that data quality and delivery problems lead to business users' unwillingness to accept the BI/DW system: The business users simply don't trust the data. Often for good reason.

The good news is that you seldom need to do a lot of research to find out where data quality is suffering. ...