Best Practices for Building a Warehouse Quickly

Best Practices Building a Data Warehouse Quickly October 16, 2009 | Florida Chapter Presented by Raphael Klebanov, WhereScape USA Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide # Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software

Key factors that influence a successful data warehouse task Implementing the True Development Approach Choosing a Rapid Development Product Ensuring Data Availability Involving Key Users throughout the whole project Relying on a Pragmatic Governance Framework Utilizing experienced Team Members Selecting the right Hardware , Infrastructure Technology Abstract Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

Unreliable or unattainable user requirements Quality of the data that feeds the source system Changing source or target requirements Why do Data Warehouse projects fail? Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

Unreliable or unattainable user requirements Quality of the data that feeds the source system Changing source or target requirements Poor development productivity Why do Data Warehouse projects fail? Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

Unreliable or unattainable user requirements Quality of the data that feeds the source system Changing source or target requirements Poor development productivity High TCO (Total Cost of Ownership Why do Data Warehouse projects fail? Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

Unreliable or unattainable user requirements Quality of the data that feeds the source system Changing source or target requirements Poor development productivity High TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) Poor documentation Why do Data Warehouse projects fail? Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

Unreliable or unattainable user requirements Quality of the data that feeds the source system Changing source or target requirements Poor development productivity High TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) Poor documentation “… over 50% of data warehouse projects fail or go wildly over budget – they blame data quality…” The real problem is project approach. Source: Gartner. Magic Quadrant for Data Integration Tools, 2007 Why do Data Warehouse projects fail? Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

Strong sponsorship of the DW from the business Divide and Conquer approach Iterative Development approach Productive development tools DW Project Components Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

Strong sponsorship of the DW from the business Divide and Conquer approach Iterative Development approach Productive development tools Real data to populate the prototype DW Project Components Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

Strong sponsorship of the DW from the business Divide and Conquer approach Iterative Development approach Productive development tools Real data to populate the prototype Access to SME during development DW Project Components Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

Strong sponsorship of the DW from the business Divide and Conquer approach Iterative Development approach Productive development tools Real data to populate the prototype Access to SME during development Compact teams DW Project Components Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

Strong sponsorship of the DW from the business Divide and Conquer approach Iterative Development approach Productive development tools Real data to populate the prototype Access to SME during development Compact teams Sturdy development hardware DW Project Components Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

The data warehouse should be owned by the business – not IT A successful project depends upon creating a partnership with the business Business Ownership Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

The data warehouse should be owned by the business – not IT A successful project depends upon creating a partnership with the business Prioritization of project phases or agreement on a data dictionary should be agreed by the business Business Ownership Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

The data warehouse should be owned by the business – not IT A successful project depends upon creating a partnership with the business Prioritization of project phases or agreement on a data dictionary should be agreed by the business Without a strong, high level business sponsor(s) the project is likely to hit problems Business Ownership Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

The data warehouse should be owned by the business – not IT A successful project depends upon creating a partnership with the business prioritization of project phases or agreement on a data dictionary to should be agreed by the business Without a strong, high level business sponsor(s) the project is likely to hit problems If sponsorship is present then the data warehouse project can be broken down into a set of smaller projects Business Ownership Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

The Data Warehouse lifecycle …as we know it

A ‘ big bang ’ approach to data warehousing has almost always ended in disaster The project phases and the order in which they are developed should be decided by the data warehouse sponsors Divide and Conquer Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

A ‘ big bang ’ approach to data warehousing has almost always ended in disaster The project phases and the order in which they are developed should be decided by the data warehouse sponsors Momentum is paramount for keeping the required focus Divide and Conquer Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

A ‘ big bang ’ approach to data warehousing has almost always ended in disaster The project phases and the order in which they are developed should be decided by the data warehouse sponsors Momentum is paramount for keeping the required focus Rapid prototyping and tight development cycles are vital for successful warehouse Divide and Conquer Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

A ‘ big bang ’ approach to data warehousing has almost always ended in disaster The project phases and the order in which they are developed should be decided by the data warehouse sponsors Momentum is paramount for keeping the required focus Rapid prototyping and tight development cycles are vital for successful warehouse Keep in view the bigger picture Divide and Conquer Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

A ‘ big bang ’ approach to data warehousing has almost always ended in disaster The project phases and the order in which they are developed should be decided by the data warehouse sponsors Momentum is paramount for keeping the required focus Rapid prototyping and tight development cycles are vital for successful warehouse Keep in view the bigger picture Use smaller phases to fund the project adequately Divide and Conquer Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

Getting the business reps to use working prototypes to share an understanding of the scope Collect detailed user requirements is exactly the wrong start to a data warehouse project The True Project Approach Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

Getting the business reps to use working prototypes to share an understanding of the scope Collect detailed user requirements is exactly the wrong start to a data warehouse project Showing business users the data and relationships that are available to them in a working, populated prototype The True Project Approach Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

Getting the business reps to use working prototypes to share an understanding of the scope Collect detailed user requirements is exactly the wrong start to a data warehouse project Showing business users the data and relationships that are available to them in a working, populated prototype A better place to start is to collect KPIs and source system technical documentation The True Project Approach Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

Getting the business reps to use working prototypes to share an understanding of the scope Collect detailed user requirements is exactly the wrong start to a data warehouse project Showing business users the data and relationships that are available to them in a working, populated prototype A better place to start is to collect KPIs and source system technical documentation OLAP technology and user workshops are key tools in allowing the business to get their hands on the data The True Project Approach Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

Getting the business reps to use working prototypes to share an understanding of the scope Collect detailed user requirements is exactly the wrong start to a data warehouse project Showing business users the data and relationships that are available to them in a working, populated prototype A better place to start is to collect KPIs and source system technical documentation OLAP technology and user workshops are key tools in allowing the business to get their hands on the data Data quality should not be addressed in the DW; problem should be fixed on the source system The True Project Approach Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

Scrutinize Extract/Transform and Load (ETL) tools when considering building a DW. ETL tools do not provide the ability to build a working prototype and work in short development cycles Rapid Development Product and ETL Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

Combining processing and design Ability to enable, manage fast iterations of the prototype Environment migration Version control Automatic documentation Rapid Development Product Enables: Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

Single Development Interface Documentation Automated Table Generation Automated Code Generation Metadata Migration Version Control The Features of a DWLC Tool Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

Single Development Interface Documentation Automated Table Generation Automated Code Generation Metadata Migration Version Control Object Checkout The Features of a DWLC Tool Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

Single Development Interface Documentation Automated Table Generation Automated Code Generation Metadata Migration Version Control Object Checkout Leverage Existing Core Skills. The Features of a DWLC Tool Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

Single Development Interface Documentation Automated Table Generation Automated Code Generation Metadata Migration Version Control Object Checkout Leverage Existing Core Skills Consistent Framework The Features of a DWLC Tool Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

Single Development Interface Documentation Automated Table Generation Automated Code Generation Metadata Migration Version Control Object Checkout Leverage Existing Core Skills Consistent Framework Extensibility The Features of a DWLC Tool Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide # Try to get it right first time: The SDLC approach But: Tools and operators in silos – inflexible Hard to engage business users, no shared understanding Locked in requirements that can’t be met Redevelopment 120 day cycle Risky, expensive, never OTTB & never finished No documentation, so hard to support The Traditional Approach

Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide # Prototype and iterate to prove a design with users Supported by: Integrated toolset and metadata repository – maximum flexibility Continuous business engagement, shared understanding No ambiguity or disagreement about scope Successful phase completion Complete, OTTB, user expectations exceeded Documented solution that is easy to support The Rapid Development Approach 5 day cycle

A DWLC Tool would save a huge amount of development time and effort , and would enable the approach required to deliver a successful outcome The DWLC methodology is a child concept for Agile Development Methodology also known as Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) The Features of a DWLC Tool Slide #

The lack of good quality live data will have a major impact on the success of Iterative project approach The DW’s capacity to answer BI requirements is unworkable, without sufficient data to populate the DW If a new source system is integrated into the data warehouse, the “real” data is quite essential If no “real” data for new source is available, then the significant rework will be required once the source is up and running Ensuring Data Availability Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

Representatives from the Business provide the partnership with the DW development team These reps need to be able to articulate the needs of the business to the dev. team These reps have to trust the business department behind them when it comes to making any decisions The partnership during the iterative project approach provides a reliable, successful outcome The main forum for developers to show a working prototype and get user feedback is user workshop The business Involvement for the duration of the DW development will reduce the QA overheads Involving the Business Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

Governance of the data warehouse project should operate at two levels : an enterprise level and a project level Pragmatic Governance Framework Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide # Business Requirements Technical Constraints

Governance of the data warehouse project should operate at two levels : an enterprise level and a project level Pragmatic Governance Framework Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide # Business Requirements Technical Constraints Shared understanding, Prototype and Iterate, Best possible outcome

Sponsorship is sourced from a highly-placed executive The steering committee provides: + Vision + Visibility + Priorities + Scope + Focus + Terminology Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide # The DW needs to be owned by the business

At a minimum project governance should include: A project plan , detailing (high level) scope and timelines Regular status meetings to share information Change request process documentation Standards and procedures for building a consistent DW Version control and backup procedures Ownership of specific environments and project roles Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide # Project governance

Productivity within a data warehouse implementation is dependent on having experienced team members – both on business side and also on the technical side Experienced Subject Matter Experts (SME) provide a thorough understanding of the business and its needs Experienced data warehouse developers can take those requirements and turn them into a functioning data warehouse in a rapid timeframe Utilizing Experienced Team Members Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

Sufficient hardware and technology infrastructure during development Lower productivity can translate into slower development cycles and iterations, which stands the risk of losing project momentum Trade-off between having adequately sized hardware and the cost associated with purchasing that hardware One way to mitigate undersized hardware is to use smaller subsets of data during the prototyping phase Selecting the Right Infrastructure Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

This means: focusing on iterative releases and rollouts that follow in quick succession keeping the warehouse in line with the ever changing needs of the business , instead of treating it as a one-time project In order to achieve this, a change in the development approach and tools utilized for building the data warehouse must be adopted Conclusion Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

The key factors to creating a successful data warehouse are: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Implementing the True Development Approach Choosing a Rapid Development Product Ensuring Data Availability Involving Key Users throughout the whole project Relying on a Pragmatic Governance Framework Utilizing experienced Team Members Selecting the right hardware and other related Infrastructure Technology Conclusion Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

Raphael Klebanov, Analyst at WhereScape Office Phone: 303.968.0703 Email address: rklebanov@wherescape.com Public Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelklebanov My personal information: Copyright © 2009 by WhereScape Software | Slide #

Best Practices for Building a Warehouse Quickly

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Best Practices for Building a Warehouse Quickly