business rules: the promise of data warehousing. in the beginning: formulating business rules the...
TRANSCRIPT
Business Rules: The Promise of Data Warehousing
In the Beginning: Formulating Business Rules
• The Business Objectives • The Promise (Data Warehousing)
– What Exactly is Data Warehousing? – How Data Warehousing overcomes those obstacles
• The Map – Planning – Discover Business Needs – Model the Business
• The Business Rules • The Future
– Active Data Warehousing • The Conclusion
– Delivering on the Promise
Key Business Objectives
• Improve Business Efficiency • Flexibility to develop new revenue streams • Improve the Customer Experience • Promote brand strength and market position
Business Imperatives
• Must get closer to the customer ! • Must improve productivity of knowledge workers ! • Must be able to integrate new technologies
quickly ! • Must become flexible to facilitate rapid market
changes !
BUSINESS RULES are a foundational element of achieving these objectives.
Obstacles to Meeting Business Objective
Getting the Wrong Answer...
The Solution: A Single Source...
The Problem: Incomplete Answers
The Solution: Integrated Historical Data
The Solution: Integrated Historical Data
The Promise of Data Warehousing
• One Corporate Version of the Truth – Speaking one language – No dueling numbers
• Single Source – One stop shopping – Saves user time by eliminating need to obtain multiple
interfaces and files • Accessibility and timeliness of information – Allows End-User access without IT dependence – Reporting takes minutes or hours not weeks or months
The Promise of Data Warehousing
• Cost avoidance – Multiple applications access the same data – Offloads Legacy systems for DSS reporting – Avoids development of standalone applications to address
specific data needs – Eliminates redundant systems
• Infrastructure to integrate future corporate acquisitions and data growth – Platform proven, highly scalable
• Ability to anticipate and respond to changes in the competitive marketplace
Attributes of the Optimum Solution
What is an Enterprise Data Warehouse?
Business Analysis – Which Environment supports your Business Objectives?
Data Warehouse Core Issues
• Scalability – Ability to meet increasing demands for:
• Data Volumes • Concurrent Users • Complex Queries
• Accessibility – Ability to ask any question, at any time, of any data– Currency of data to meet demands
• Manageability – Low maintenance requirements – Integrated, parallel utilities
Where Do I Start?
Types of Business Rules
• Constrains information on the behalf of the business event – Constraints are mandatory – Guidelines are suggestive
• Enables other action on behalf of the business event – Action enabling rules
• Creates new information on the behalf of the business event– Computations – Inferences
Definitions
• Term: A noun or noun phrase with an agreed upon definition– Customer – Credit Rating Code – Female – Days of the American work week
• Fact: A statement that connects terms, through prepositions and verbs, into sensible business relevant observations – Customer can place order – Order is for line item – Line item is for order – customer qualifies for customer credit rating code
Definitions and Examples of Rules
Model the Business
• Business information MODELING – Determined by BUSINESS RULES & VISION – The ER MODEL NEVER changes UNLESS
• Underlying way of doing business changes, or • Adding NEW subject areas to MODEL will not impact existing
model
What is a Logical Data Model (LDM)?
• A Logical Data Model (LDM) is the result of information modeling
• A LDM is a diagram which shows: – Entities (data of importance to the organization)– Attributes (properties of the data) – Relationships between entities
• LDMs are completely technology independent of any particular database or hardware platform
A schematic view of the environment and a mock-up representation of something in the real world.
Opportunity Analysis
Information Evolution in an Active Data Warehouse Environment
What Drives Active Data Warehouse Evolution?
• Customer Relationship Management is the primary relationship driving the next generation of data warehousing… business rules are critically important in a CRM environment.
A Complex Operational Topology
An Enterprise Active Warehouse