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Is there a defined practical methodology that is helpful in implementing a data warehouse?

Q: Is there a more defined practical methodology (e.g., a step by step checklist) that is helpful in implementing a corporate data warehouse?

Sid Adelman's Answer:

Take a look at BI Roadmap by Larissa Moss and Shaku Atre.

Joe Oates' Answer:

There are several books that attempt to cover a methodology for building data warehouses and data marts for those who have never had experience implementing either a data warehouse or a data mart. I can recommend two. The first one is The Data Warehouse Lifecycle Toolkit by Ralph Kimball et al. It provides a basic course in the various aspects of building a data warehouse or data mart. It provides examples of multidimensional design and touches on ETL. It does have a reasonable project plan on the CD that accompanies the book. In addition to this book, I would recommend The Data Warehouse ETL Toolkit also by Kimball and Data Warehouse Project Management by Sid Adelman and Larissa T. Moss.

While these publications do a very good job of covering basic concepts, they are no substitute for successful experience in implementing the various aspects of a corporate data warehouse.

Anne Marie Smith's Answer:

There are five main stages to a data warehouse development: strategy, design, build, deploy and sustain.  Within each stage there are activities and each activity has one or more steps.  It would require several articles to give details on the contents of a complete data warehouse methodology, but there are several good books on data warehouse development available.  I recommend Data Warehouse Project Management by Sid Adelman (the moderator of this panel) and Building the Data Warehouse by William Inmon, the "father of data warehousing."  Each organization that builds successful data warehouses should have a methodology that is comprehensive, tailored for their needs but conforming to the best practices that have emerged over the 20+ years of data warehouse development.  For example, EWSolutions has a methodology called I3 that includes over 150 separate items covering all the stages of a data warehouse lifecycle.  For more info on EWSolutions' I3 methodology, please visit: http://www.ewsolutions.com/solutions/methodologies2/I3-data-warehousing


Anne Marie Smith is a highly acclaimed author and speaker in the fields of data stewardship, data governance, data warehousing, data modeling and metadata management. She holds a doctorate in Management Information Systems and has taught at LaSalle University. Smith serves on the board of directors of DAMA International and is an expert advisor to DM Review's Ask the Experts. Smith is the director of education at EWSolutions, a GSA schedule partner and systems integrator dedicated to providing companies and government agencies with best-in-class business intelligence solutions using data warehousing, enterprise architecture and managed metadata environment technologies (www.EWSolutions.com). She may be reached directly via email at AMSmith@EWSolutions.com.

Joe Oates is an internationally known speaker, author and consultant on data warehousing. Oates has more than 30 years of experience in the successful management and technical development of business, real-time and data warehouse applications for industry and government clients. He has designed or helped design and implement more than 30 successful data warehouse projects.

Sid Adelman is a principal in Sid Adelman & Associates, an organization specializing in planning and implementing data warehouses, in data warehouse and BI assessments, and in establishing effective data architectures and strategies. He is a regular speaker at DW conferences. Adelman chairs the "Ask the Experts" column on www.dmreview.com. He is a frequent contributor to journals that focus on data warehousing. He co-authored Data Warehouse Project Management and is the principal author on Impossible Data Warehouse Situations with Solutions from the Experts and Data Strategy. He can be reached at (818) 783-9634 or visit his Web site at www.sidadelman.com.

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