FREE DM Review Site Registration!
Sign-up today and access DM Review on the Web!

Your FREE registration entitles you to:
FREE email newsletters

FREE access to all DM Review content

FREE access to web seminars, resource portals, our white paper library and more!

   

How do you decide on the roles and responsibilities of operational or analytical reporting teams?

Question: Operational and IW reporting are done by two separate teams. The team that supports the transaction system also is responsible for operational reporting. I am curious about your views on this division. This always raises the issue of how do you decide if a request for information is operational or analytical. The next question is from where should the report be sourced: the operational system or the IW? And what reporting tools should be used? We are a mainframe shop and still use a lot of Easytrieve. We also have Business Objects and Crystal. I have my own opinions but would love to hear from the experts.

Chuck Kelley's Answer: If your information warehouse (IW) is loaded daily and your reporting needs data as of the moment, then reporting should be done on the transaction system. I am a big believer that if all the data required is in the IW, then use it. If the data required is only in the operational system and the IW, then you have a choice of using just the operational system (I prefer not to do this) or use a combination of the two (my preference). I prefer my transaction system be lean of data and not keep the history (once the IW is in place and working) in it, unless it is absolutely needed.

Sid Adelman's Answer : Operational information runs the business, sometimes the day-to-day operations and it also produces periodic reports (daily, weekly, monthly). Analytical information is produced to answer what-if questions, to support a hypothesis and to delve into why something is happening.

It's not unusual that those supporting the transaction systems to also produce the operational reports. However, now that you have a data warehouse and robust BI tools, there's no reason that the people who produce the operational reports should not take advantage of the DW and the BI tools. The tools will make them more productive and the DW will, in many cases, provide a trusted and consistent source of data meaning there should be fewer instances of needing to reconcile inconsistent results.

Clay Rehm's Answer: It sounds like that a reporting team was established many years ago, but the responsibility of reporting has not kept up with the current needs of the organization.

It also sounds like the division of operational and analytical reporting has something to do with power users in the organization, or lack there of.

No matter what tools are used or how the data is stored, there should be one division or one team responsible for reporting. The team would determine the best data source and tool for the specific request. Both data sources are required, and the source will be determined by the type of request.


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.

Chuck Kelley is an internationally known expert in database and data warehousing technology. He has 30 years of experience in designing and implementing operational/production systems and data warehouses. Kelley has worked in some facet of the design and implementation phase of more than 50 data warehouses and data marts. He also teaches seminars, co-authored four books on data warehousing and has been published in many trade magazines on database technology, data warehousing and enterprise data strategies. He can be contacted at chuckkelley@usa.net.

Clay Rehm, CCP, PMP, is president of Rehm Technology (www.rehmtech.com), a consulting firm specializing in data integration solutions. Rehm provides hands-on expertise in project management, assessments, methodologies, data modeling, database design, metadata and systems analysis, design and development. He has worked in multiple platforms and his experience spans operational and data warehouse environments. Rehm is a technical book editor and is a co-author of the book, Impossible Data Warehouse Situations with Solutions from the Experts. In addition, he is a Certified Computing Professional (CCP), a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Computer Science and a Masters Degree in Software Engineering from Carroll College. He can be reached at clay.rehm@rehmtech.com.

For more information on related topics, visit the following channels:



Industry Vendors