Chapter 5

Planning for a Successful Warehouse

Financial Justification

Intangible Benefits (45%) - Remain competitive - Respond to changing business conditions - Support reorganization

Better Data and Better Decision Making (25%)

- Reduce IS costs - Better response time - Rigorous reportingProductivity or ROI (30%) - For internal users - For external users

ROI and Associated Costs

Build a strong case

- Costs - ROI - Profitability - Efficiency - Objectives

Consider - Impact of time for ETT - Additional storage requirements - Cost of redundant data - Cost of database, software licenses, labor

Funding the ProjectState that initial systems integration costs

are high.Determine who funds the project: - Information systems--development group - Department--users

Informationsystems

Selectedsubject for

pilot

Department

Department

DepartmentMore subjects

funds by end-userorganizations

Small staffShort duration

Charging Back Costs

Some warehouses do not charge initially.Benefits:

- Encourages efficient use - Provides shared costsDrawbacks: - Users cannot dwell on detail - Users try to reduce costs - Machine resources are taken up monitoring use.

Obtaining Business Commitment

Ensure that the warehouse: - Has total support - Is driven by the businessResearch the problemIdentify goals, visions, prioritiesResearch the solutionIdentify the benefitsIdentify the constraints

Data Warehouse Champion

Maintains intergroup communicationSettles conflictsIdentifies and solves issuesArticulates the visionBrings in business expertiseOrganizes and supports the teamCommunicates progressBrings the data warehouse to life

Steering Committee

Business executives Information systems

representativesKnowledge workers

Provides directionDecides upon implementation issuesSets prioritiesAssists with resource allocationCommunicates to all levels at all times

Warehouse Data Ownership

Users must own the dataUsers must be involved throughoutUsers must be part of the steering

committee: - Enhances cooperation - Reduces friction - Helps meet requirements - Enhances feedback

Managing a Warehouse Project

Determine organizational readiness for the warehouse

Adopt an incremental approach to warehouse development

Set expectationsManage expectationsAssemble the project teamEstimate the data warehouse projectRecognize critical success factors

Determining Organizational Readiness for the Warehouse

1.Are the objectives and business drivers clearly defined, compelling, and agreed upon?

2. Have you selected a methodology for design, development, and implementation?

3. Is the project scope clearly defined, with a focus on business rather than technology?

4. Is there strong support from a business management sponsor?

5. Does the business management sponsor have specific expectations?

Determining Organizational Readiness for the Warehouse

6. Are there cooperative relations between business and Information Systems staff?

7. Have you identified which source data will be used to populate the data warehouse?

8. What is the quality and “cleanliness” of the source data?9. Are you authorized to choose and acquire hardware and

software to implement the warehouse?10. Are you prepared to select and train your implementation team?

Setting Expectations

IncrementalScope

Rollout timePhases

Managing Expectations

DocumentingInforming sponsorsReporting progress to end users

Assembling the Project Team

Project manager/Project leaderArchitectExecutive sponsorData analystDatabase or system administrator

Estimating the Data Warehouse Project

Bottom-Up Project Estimate

Percentage of Project Effort A B C D E F TotalRequirements definition 3.2 0.25 0.79 4.10%Data acquisition 0.74 0.23 1.36 6.69 6.26 0.85 16.10%Architecture 1 0.59 0.84 2.22 5.28 9.90%Data quality 0.2 0.32 0.39 3.22 0.2 4.30%Administration 0.3 0.12 0.23 4.51 5.84 11.00%…

Recognizing Critical Success Factors

Focus on the business, not the technology

Use an iterative development methodology

Include end users on the project team

Identifying Planning Phases

Strategy

Analysis

Design

Build

Production

Scope

Strategy Phase Deliverables

Strategy

Analysis

Design

Build

Production

Scope

Phases

Business goals and objectives

Data warehouse purpose, objectives, and scope

Incremental milestones

Source system data flows

Subject area gap analysis

Data acquisition strategy

The Strategy Phase

Strategy Phase Deliverables

Strategy

Analysis

Design

Build

Production

Scope

Phases

Data warehouse architecture

Technical infrastructure

Data quality strategy

Data warehouseadministration strategy

Metadata strategy

Training strategy

The Strategy Phase

Defining the Warehouse Project Scope

Focus on the business, not the technology

Break down the project into manageable phases

Encourage rapid turnaround on deliverables

Always include the end users on the team

Strategy

Analysis

Design

Build

Production

Scope

Phases

Scope Phase Deliverables

Strategy

Analysis

Design

Build

Production

Scope

PhasesBusiness requirements

definition

Data sources

Load and refresh plans

Technical architecture

Data warehouse architecture

The Scope Phase

Scope Phase Deliverables

Strategy

Analysis

Design

Build

Production

Scope

PhasesBusiness requirements

definition

Data sources

Load and refresh plans

Technical architecture

Data warehouse architecture

The Scope Phase

Scope Phase Deliverables

Strategy

Analysis

Design

Build

Production

Scope

Phases

Data Quality

Warehouse administrationplan

Metadata integration plan

Data access plan

Training plan

The Scope Phase

Summary

This lesson discussed the following topics:Cultivating management support, both

financial and political, for the warehouseDeveloping a realistic scope that products

deliverables in short time frames to help ensure success

Assessing your organization’s readiness for a data warehouse

Setting realistic expectations