Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 2
A Big-Picture Overview
Eschew the monumental. Shun the Epic. All the guys who can paint great big pictures can paint
great small ones.
—Ernest Hemingway
Having a clear overview of how a BI solution is constructed can be one of the most important tasks to ensure a BI
solution's success. To understand how a BI solution works, it is important not only to understand its individual
projects but to comprehend how these projects integrate into a solution. Jumping into the intricate details
without having a full understanding of where each piece of the puzzle fits is setting yourself up for failure. In
other words, before starting work on any part of the solution, you need to see and comprehend the big picture.
The process of learning to create a BI solution is not much different. Therefore, to avoid the mistake of
jumping in to create the individual projects that make up the solution, in this chapter we walk you through an
entire BI solution from start to finish. You will see how each component is integrated and how they function
together as a complete solution. Later, as you progress through the other chapters of this topic, you will delve
deeply into each of the component projects. This overview will help you understand the big picture.
The 10,000-Foot View
To start, let us list the steps that you will be performing in this solution. You begin building the solution by looking
at the solution requirements and isolating the data you will be working with. You then move onto documenting
the requirements and building your data warehouse. When the data warehouse is complete, you fill it up with
data using a SQL Server Integration Service (SSIS) package. After filling the data warehouse, you create a cube
and finally a report against the cube you have created.
Figure
2-1
shows a representation of these components. There are icons in the upper left of the figure
representing the original source of the data. These original sources may be database tables or files, but in
either case, you must review these objects in order to isolate the data you need for your particular BI solution.
Afterward, move the data from its original source location into a data warehouse database.
