Chapter 3 BI

Performing extensive ________ to move data to the data warehouse may be a sign of poorly managed data and a fundamental lack of a coherent data management strategy.

(ETL) Extraction Transformation and Load

There are several basic information system architectures that can be used for data warehousing. What are they?

- Two-tier Architecture - Three-tier Architecture - One-tier Architecture

Why is a performance management system superior to a performance measurement system?

because measurement alone has little use without action

In which stage of extraction, transformation, and load (ETL) into a data warehouse are anomalies detected and corrected?

cleanse

A large storage location that can hold vast quantities of data (mostly unstructured) in its native/raw format for future/potential analytics consumption is referred to as a(n)

data lake.

The three main types of data warehouses are data marts, operational ________, and enterprise data warehouses.

data stores

A(n) ________ data mart is a subset that is created directly from the data warehouse..

dependent

Six Sigma rests on a simple performance improvement model known as DMAIC. What are the steps involved?

1. Define : Define the goals / objectives / boundaries of the improvement activity 2. Measure : Establish quantitative measures that gives valid data 3. Analyze : identify ways to eliminate the gap by finding ways to improve 4. Improve : initiate the action to improve 5. Control : Institutionalize Improved system

A common way of introducing data warehousing is to refer to its fundamental characteristics. Describe three characteristics of data warehousing.

1. Subject oriented : Data is organized by detailed subject , such as the sales , products , or customers , containing data relevant for decision support. 2. Integrated : Must place data from different sources into consistent format . To do so they have to deal with various conflicts. 3. Nonvolatile : After the data is entered into the data warehouse , users cannot change the data or update it. Changes are recorded as new data .

________ describe the structure and meaning of the data, contributing to their effective use.

Metadata

The ________ data warehouse architecture involves integrating disparate systems and analytical resources from multiple sources to meet changing needs or business conditions.

federated

Which data warehouse architecture uses metadata from existing data warehouses to create a hybrid logical data warehouse comprised of data from the other warehouses?

federated architecture

All of the following are benefits of hosted data warehouses EXCEPT

greater control of data.

A(n) ________ architecture is used to build a scalable and maintainable infrastructure that includes a centralized data warehouse and several dependent data marts.

hub-and-spoke

Which data warehouse architecture uses a normalized relational warehouse that feeds multiple data marts?

hub-and-spoke data warehouse architecture

Data warehouses provide direct and indirect benefits to organizations. Which of the following is an indirect benefit of data warehouses?

improved customer service

Which kind of data warehouse is created separately from the enterprise data warehouse by a department and not reliant on it for updates?

independent data mart

Data ________ comprises data access, data federation, and change capture.

integration

Real-time data warehousing can be used to support the highest level of decision making sophistication and power. The major feature that enables this in relation to handling the data is

speed of data transfer.

When representing data in a data warehouse, using several dimension tables that are each connected only to a fact table means you are using which warehouse structure?

star schema

A Web client that connects to a Web server, which is in turn connected to a BI application server, is reflective of a

three-tier architecture.

Online ________ is a term used for a transaction system that is primarily responsible for capturing and storing data related to day-to-day business functions such as ERP, CRM, SCM, and point of sale.

transaction processing

Mention briefly some of the recently popularized concepts and technologies that will play a significant role in defining the future of data warehousing.

- Advanced Analytics - SaaS - Real Time-data warehousing - Cloud Computing

Oper marts are created when operational data needs to be analyzed

multidimensionally.

Mehra (2005) indicated that few organizations really understand metadata, and fewer understand how to design and implement a metadata strategy. How would you describe metadata?

Metadata is data about the data. So the Metadata can measure if the data is effective or not.

The role responsible for successful administration and management of a data warehouse is the ________, who should be familiar with high-performance software, hardware, and networking technologies, and also possesses solid business insight.

Data Warehouse Administrator (DWA)

Briefly describe four major components of the data warehousing process.

Data sources : Data is sourced from multiple independent operational "legacy systems" . In addition , data may also come from an OLTP or ERP system . Data Extraction and transformation : Data is extracted and properly transformed using ETL . Data loading : Loaded into a staging area were it is cleansed . The data is ready to be loaded into the ( DM ) or data warehouse. Comprehensive Database: Providing relevant summarized info. originating from multiple sources . Metadata : Metadata is kept to be assessed by personal and users. Middleware tools : Enable access to the data warehouse ( users can write SQL code to query / there are many front end applications that business user can use to interact with the data ).

________ modeling is a retrieval-based system that supports high-volume query access.

Dimensional

________ is a mechanism that integrates application functionality and shares functionality (rather than data) across systems, thereby enabling flexibility and reuse.

Enterprise application integration

________ is a mechanism for pulling data from source systems to satisfy a request for information. It is an evolving tool space that promises real-time data integration from a variety of sources, such as relational databases, Web services, and multidimensional databases.

Enterprise information integration

________ is an evolving tool space that promises real-time data integration from a variety of sources, such as relational databases, Web services, and multidimensional databases.

Enterprise information integration (EII)

Because the recession has raised interest in low-cost open source software, it is now set to replace traditional enterprise software.

False

Bill Inmon advocates the data mart bus architecture whereas Ralph Kimball promotes the hub-and-spoke architecture, a data mart bus architecture with conformed dimensions.

False

Data warehouse administrators (DWAs) do not need strong business insight since they only handle the technical aspect of the infrastructure.

False

Data warehouses are subsets of data marts.

False

Moving the data into a data warehouse is usually the easiest part of its creation.

False

OLTP systems are designed to handle ad hoc analysis and complex queries that deal with many data items.

False

Organizations seldom devote a lot of effort to creating metadata because it is not important for the effective use of data warehouses.

False

Properly integrating data from various databases and other disparate sources is a trivial process.

False

Subject oriented databases for data warehousing are organized by detailed subjects such as disk drives, computers, and networks.

False

The BPM development cycle is essentially a one-shot process where the requirement is to get it right the first time.

False

Two-tier data warehouse/BI infrastructures offer organizations more flexibility but cost more than three-tier ones.

False

User-initiated navigation of data through disaggregation is referred to as "drill up."

False

With the balanced scorecard approach, the entire focus is on measuring and managing specific financial goals based on the organization's strategy.

False

How does the use of cloud computing affect the scalability of a data warehouse?

Hardware resources are dynamically allocated as use increases.

________ (also called in-database analytics) refers to the integration of the algorithmic extent of data analytics into data warehouse.

In-database processing

The ________ Model, also known as the EDW approach, emphasizes top-down development, employing established database development methodologies and tools, such as entity-relationship diagrams (ERD), and an adjustment of the spiral development approach.

Inmon

What is the definition of a data warehouse (DW) in simple terms?

Is a pool of data that is produced to support decision making , and it is also a repository of current and historical data of potential to managers.

More data, coming in faster and requiring immediate conversion into decisions, means that organizations are confronting the need for real-time data warehousing (RDW). How would you define real-time data warehousing?

Is the process of loading and providing data via the data warehouse as they become available.

What is the definition of a data mart?

It is known as a departmental data warehouse that stores only relevant data.

The ________ Model, also known as the data mart approach, is a "plan big, build small" approach. A data mart is a subject-oriented or department-oriented data warehouse. It is a scaled-down version of a data warehouse that focuses on the requests of a specific department, such as marketing or sales.

Kimball

________, or "The Extended ASP Model," is a creative way of deploying information system applications where the provider licenses its applications to customers for use as a service on demand (usually over the Internet).

SaaS

What are the four processes that define a closed-loop BPM cycle?

Strategize : This process is defined as the process of identifying and stating the organizations vision , mission and objectives and the plans to achieve the objectives. Plan : when an op manager understands the strategy they will come up with the tactics and initiative of how to put it into play. Monitor/Analyze : In this process when the operation and financial plans are underway a framework is made to monitor performance. Act and Adjust : Adjusting action and adjusting current action.

Because of performance and data quality issues, most experts agree that the federated architecture should supplement data warehouses, not replace them.

True

One way an operational data store differs from a data warehouse is the recency of their data.

True

The "islands of data" problem in the 1980s describes the phenomenon of unconnected data being stored in numerous locations within an organization.

True

The data warehousing maturity model consists of six stages: prenatal, infant, child, teenager, adult, and sage.

True

The hub-and-spoke data warehouse model uses a centralized warehouse feeding dependent data marts.

True

With key performance indicators, driver KPIs have a significant effect on outcome KPIs, but the reverse is not necessarily true.

True

Without middleware, different BI programs cannot easily connect to the data warehouse.

True

What is Six Sigma?

a methodology aimed at reducing the number of defects in a business process

When querying a dimensional database, a user went from summarized data to its underlying details. The function that served this purpose is

drill down.

Which approach to data warehouse integration focuses more on sharing process functionality than data across systems?

enterprise application integration

All of the following are true about in-database processing technology EXCEPT

it is the same as in-memory storage technology.

A(n) ________ data store (ODS) provides a fairly recent form of customer information file.

operational

Which of the following BEST enables a data warehouse to handle complex queries and scale up to handle many more requests?

parallel processing

In ________ oriented data warehousing, operational databases are tuned to handle transactions that update the database.

product

Operational or transaction databases are product oriented, handling transactions that update the database. In contrast, data warehouses are

product-oriented and nonvolatile.

Most data warehouses are built using ________ database management systems to control and manage the data.

relational

Given that the size of data warehouses is expanding at an exponential rate, ________ is an important issue.

scalability