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Design Tip #164 Have You Built Your Audit Dimension Yet?
Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. One of the most effective tools for managing data quality and data governance, as well as giving business...
View ArticleDesign Tip #165 The Hyper-Granular Active Archive
Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. Data warehouse archiving has traditionally been a low priority topic for data warehouse architects, but the...
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Design Tip #166 Potential Bridge (Table) Detours
Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. Dimensional designs often need to accommodate multivalued dimensions. Patients can have multiple diagnoses....
View ArticleDesign Tip #167 Complementary Fact Table Types
Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. There are three fundamental types of fact tables in the data warehouse presentation area: transaction fact...
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Design Tip #165 The Hyper-Granular Active Archive
Data warehouse archiving has traditionally been a low priority topic for data warehouse architects, but the landscape is changing rapidly. The passive, off-line archive of carefully selected data sets...
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Design Tip #166 Potential Bridge (Table) Detours
Dimensional designs often need to accommodate multivalued dimensions. Patients can have multiple diagnoses. Students can have multiple majors. Consumers can have multiple hobbies or interests....
View ArticleDesign Tip #167 Complementary Fact Table Types
There are three fundamental types of fact tables in the data warehouse presentation area: transaction fact tables, periodic snapshot fact tables, and accumulating snapshot fact tables. Most DW/BI...
View ArticleDesign Tip #168 What’s in a Name?
It seems like a small thing, but names are important. Good names for tables and columns are particularly important for ad hoc users of the DW/BI system who need to find the objects they’re looking for....
View ArticleDesign Tip #169 New Directions for ETL
This Design Tip reflects on the remarkable durability of the basic Extract-Transform-Load paradigm, while at the same time recognizing some profound changes that must be addressed. These changes are...
View ArticleKimball Group Retiring in December 2015
During the past three decades, we have worked with hundreds of clients, written thousands of pages, taught tens of thousands of students, and flown millions of miles. It’s been incredibly rewarding and...
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Warren Thornthwaite 1957-2014
We’re sad to tell you that Warren passed away yesterday. He was diagnosed with an aggressive glioblastoma multiforme brain tumor nearly 14 months ago. Warren and his wife Elizabeth fought the disease...
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Design Tip #170 Leverage Process Metadata for Self-Monitoring DW Operations
In most cases, metadata is a neglected area of the DW/BI system; however, an increasing number of DW/BI teams have made positive strides in delivering business metadata to their users. This Design Tip...
View ArticleKimball University 2015 “Final Tour”
Registration is now open for our 2015 classes — act quickly to reserve your spot! We’ll honor 2014 prices for all registrations paid for by December 31, 2014. Kimball University offers the following...
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Design Tip #171 Unclogging the Fact Table Surrogate Key Pipeline
We characterize the ETL system as a back room activity that users should never see nor touch. Even so, the ETL system design must be driven from user requirements. This Design Tip looks at the design...
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Design Tip #172 Leverage Your Dimensional Model for Predictive Analytics
Predictive analytics is the name for a broad range of analysis techniques used for making predictions about future behavior. Credit scoring, risk analysis, and promotion selection are among the many...
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Design Tip #173 Risky Project Resources are Risky Business
Over the years, we’ve worked with countless exemplary DW/BI project team members: smart, skilled, dedicated, and motivated, coupled with a healthy dose of mutual trust, respect, and camaraderie with...
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Design Tip #174 Does Your Organization Need an Analytic Sandbox?
Countless organizations have created mature dimensional data warehouses that are considered tremendous successes within their organizations. These data warehouse environments support key reporting and...
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Design Tip #175 There is No Database Magic
An ever-growing set of data storage technologies offer advantages to the data warehouse architect that look pretty magical. How can you figure out what to do? Should you stick to the tried-and-true...
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Design Tip #176 Dimensional Models – Logical or Physical?
Dimensional data models have been around for a very long time, almost certainly tracing their lineage back to the original Data Cube project between Dartmouth and General Mills in the late 1960s. The...
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Design Tip #177 Final Word of the Day: Collaboration
For my final Design Tip, I’m returning to a fundamental theme that’s not rocket science, but too often ignored: business-IT collaboration. If you buy into the proposition that the true measure of...
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