The Data Model Toolkit

Adopting the latest technological and data related innovations has caused many organisations to realise they don’t have a firm grasp on their basic operational data. This is a problem that Logical Data Models are uniquely qualified to help them solve. The realisation of the need to define a Logical Data Model may be driven by any number of reasons including; trying to link Big Data Analytics to operational data, plunging into Digital Marketing, choosing the best SaaS solution, carrying out a core Data Migration, developing a Data Warehouse, enhancing Data Governance processes, or even just trying to get everyone to agree on their Product specifications! This book will provide you with the skills required to start to answer these and many similar types of questions. It is not written with a focus on IT development, so you don’t need a technical background to get the most from it. But for any professional working in an organisation’s data landscape, this book will provide the skills they need to define high quality and beneficial data models quickly and easily. It does this using a wealth of practical examples, tips and techniques, as well as providing checklists and templates. It is structured into three parts: The Foundations: What are the solid foundations necessary for building effective data models? The Tools: What Tools are required to enable you to specify clear, precise and accurate data model definitions? The Deliverables: What processes will you need to successfully define the models, what will they deliver, and how can we make them beneficial to the organisation? “In this data-rich era, it is even more critical for organisations to answer the question of what their data means and the value it can bring. Those who can, will gain a competitive advantage through their use of data to streamline their operations and energise their strategies. Core to revealing this meaning, is the data model that is now, more than ever, the lynchpin of success. The Data Model Toolkit provides the essential knowledge and skills that will ensure this success.” – Reem Zahran, Global IT Platform Director, TNS “We work with many enterprise customers to help them transform their technology and it always starts with data. The key is a clear definition of their data quality, completeness and governance. This book shows you step by step how to define and use Data Models as powerful tools to define an organisation’s data and maximise its business benefit.” – John Casserly, CEO, Xceed Group

This old edition was published in 2002. The current and final edition of this book is The Data Warehouse Toolkit: The Definitive Guide to Dimensional Modeling, 3rd Edition which was published in 2013 under ISBN: 9781118530801. The authors begin with fundamental design recommendations and gradually progress step-by-step through increasingly complex scenarios. Clear-cut guidelines for designing dimensional models are illustrated using real-world data warehouse case studies drawn from a variety of business application areas and industries, including: Retail sales and e-commerce Inventory management Procurement Order management Customer relationship management (CRM) Human resources management Accounting Financial services Telecommunications and utilities Education Transportation Health care and insurance By the end of the book, you will have mastered the full range of powerful techniques for designing dimensional databases that are easy to understand and provide fast query response. You will also learn how to create an architected framework that integrates the distributed data warehouse using standardized dimensions and facts.

Updated new edition of Ralph Kimball's groundbreaking book ondimensional modeling for data warehousing and businessintelligence! The first edition of Ralph Kimball's The Data WarehouseToolkit introduced the industry to dimensional modeling,and now his books are considered the most authoritative guides inthis space. This new third edition is a complete library of updateddimensional modeling techniques, the most comprehensive collectionever. It covers new and enhanced star schema dimensional modelingpatterns, adds two new chapters on ETL techniques, includes new andexpanded business matrices for 12 case studies, and more. Authored by Ralph Kimball and Margy Ross, known worldwide aseducators, consultants, and influential thought leaders in datawarehousing and business intelligence Begins with fundamental design recommendations and progressesthrough increasingly complex scenarios Presents unique modeling techniques for business applicationssuch as inventory management, procurement, invoicing, accounting,customer relationship management, big data analytics, and more Draws real-world case studies from a variety of industries,including retail sales, financial services, telecommunications,education, health care, insurance, e-commerce, and more Design dimensional databases that are easy to understand andprovide fast query response with The Data WarehouseToolkit: The Definitive Guide to Dimensional Modeling, 3rdEdition.

Adopting the latest technological and data related innovations has caused many organisations to realise they don’t have a firm grasp on their basic operational data. This is a problem that Logical Data Models are uniquely qualified to help them solve. The realisation of the need to define a Logical Data Model may be driven by any number of reasons including; trying to link Big Data Analytics to operational data, plunging into Digital Marketing, choosing the best SaaS solution, carrying out a core Data Migration, developing a Data Warehouse, enhancing Data Governance processes, or even just trying to get everyone to agree on their Product specifications! This book will provide you with the skills required to start to answer these and many similar types of questions. It is not written with a focus on IT development, so you don’t need a technical background to get the most from it. But for any professional working in an organisation’s data landscape, this book will provide the skills they need to define high quality and beneficial data models quickly and easily. It does this using a wealth of practical examples, tips and techniques, as well as providing checklists and templates. It is structured into three parts: The Foundations: What are the solid foundations necessary for building effective data models? The Tools: What Tools are required to enable you to specify clear, precise and accurate data model definitions? The Deliverables: What processes will you need to successfully define the models, what will they deliver, and how can we make them beneficial to the organisation? “In this data-rich era, it is even more critical for organisations to answer the question of what their data means and the value it can bring. Those who can, will gain a competitive advantage through their use of data to streamline their operations and energise their strategies. Core to revealing this meaning, is the data model that is now, more than ever, the lynchpin of success. The Data Model Toolkit provides the essential knowledge and skills that will ensure this success.” – Reem Zahran, Global IT Platform Director, TNS “We work with many enterprise customers to help them transform their technology and it always starts with data. The key is a clear definition of their data quality, completeness and governance. This book shows you step by step how to define and use Data Models as powerful tools to define an organisation’s data and maximise its business benefit.” – John Casserly, CEO, Xceed Group

A quick and reliable way to build proven databases for core business functions Industry experts raved about The Data Model Resource Book when it was first published in March 1997 because it provided a simple, cost-effective way to design databases for core business functions. Len Silverston has now revised and updated the hugely successful 1st Edition, while adding a companion volume to take care of more specific requirements of different businesses. This updated volume provides a common set of data models for specific core functions shared by most businesses like human resources management, accounting, and project management. These models are standardized and are easily replicated by developers looking for ways to make corporate database development more efficient and cost effective. This guide is the perfect complement to The Data Model Resource CD-ROM, which is sold separately and provides the powerful design templates discussed in the book in a ready-to-use electronic format. A free demonstration CD-ROM is available with each copy of the print book to allow you to try before you buy the full CD-ROM.

Wouldn't it be great to understand all the data in your organisation? Just imagine being able to define, agree and manage information concepts that impact on business strategy? Then image that these information concepts can be linked to the physical database attributes that ultimately are used to create them. That's what this book is about. It focuses on the data model as the foundation for achieving this understanding. This book provides a framework for the enterprise data model, the business reasons behind it and the differences between conceptual, logical and physical data models. The question of how, and why, to use a data model artifact as part of the data governance toolkit for the whole enterprise is also addressed. This publication is not an in-depth manual on how to model data for a new database system or your next design project. It instead focuses at a level above these implementation projects and addresses the issues that organisations typical struggling with such as: * How do we provide a framework within which we can manage our data assets? * How do we develop applications that adhere to a set of data standards; without creating a nightmare of administration and governance that is both unwieldy and unusable? * How can we get business value from our enterprise data? Chapter headings are: * Chapter 1 - Introduction * Chapter 2 - Information and Data * Chapter 3 - Pillars of Value * Chapter 4 - An Overview of Data Modelling * Chapter 5 - Data Architecture * Chapter 6 - The Enterprise Data Model * Chapter 7 - Build the Model one Project at a Time * Chapter 8 - Master Data * Chapter 9 - Data Governance * Chapter 10 - The Enterprise Data Framework This 2nd edition revises the original text to add extra details around key areas such as the enterprise data model framework and the pillars of value. It also improves the quality of the original text.

The Multi-dimensional Data Modeling Toolkit represents over 15 years of hands-on experience developing multidimensional analytic applications for over a dozen companies in a variety of application areas. Written in a tutorial style, this book gives, in plain English, a step-by-step development of the defining principles of OLAP analysis through the lens of the programming language at the heart of Oracle's OLAP database option. You will find this book packed with examples, tricks and techniques, concrete illustrations of the programming elements needed to implement. The basics will all be there as well as advanced techniques that you can use to address the most demanding requirements. OLAP will be addressed as an analysis platform. You will learn how to make business intelligence applications smarter by upping the analytical octane. You will learn both the classic applications of OLAP analysis as well as more exotic approaches. You will learn where OLAP fits in among other analytical approaches such as statistics and data mining. So whether you are a developer wanting to learn Oracle's counterpart to Microsoft's MDX, or an analyst wanting to understand the quantitative possibilities of OLAP, The Multi-dimensional Data Modeling Toolkit will show you what you need to know to go from beginner to expert in the application of OLAP analytics with Oracle OLAP DML.

"A comprehensive, thoughtful, and detailed book that will be of inestimable value to anyone struggling with the complex details of designing, building, and maintaining an enterprise-wide decision support system. Highly recommended." -Robert S. Craig, Vice President, Application Architectures, Hurwitz Group, Inc. In his bestselling book, The Data Warehouse Toolkit, Ralph Kimball showed you how to use dimensional modeling to design effective and usable data warehouses. Now, he carries these techniques to the larger issues of delivering complete data marts and data warehouses. Drawing upon their experiences with numerous data warehouse implementations, he and his coauthors show you all the practical details involved in planning, designing, developing, deploying, and growing data warehouses. Important topics include: * The Business Dimensional Lifecycle(TM) approach to data warehouse project planning and management * Techniques for gathering requirements more effectively and efficiently * Advanced dimensional modeling techniques to capture the most complex business rules * The Data Warehouse Bus Architecture and other approaches for integrating data marts into super-flexible data warehouses * A framework for creating your technical architecture * Techniques for minimizing the risks involved with data staging * Aggregations and other effective ways to boost data warehouse performance * Cutting-edge, Internet-based data warehouse security techniques The CD-ROM supplies you with: * Complete data warehouse project plan tasks and responsibilities * A set of sample models that demonstrate the Bus Architecture * Blank versions of the templates and tools described in the book * Checklists to use at key points in the project