Databases Reference
In-Depth Information
Market Basket Analysis or Time Variant data can identify what caused
an event to occur, but rather those enterprise objects and their properties
or attributes that correlate with an event. For that reason, the discipline
of Causal Analysis goes beyond the scope and data of Time Variant data.
Causal Analysis can record and include environmental, governmental,
competitive, and economic conditions that actually caused an event to
occur. A data warehouse may be able to expand its scope to include these
data points and may be used to facilitate Causal Analysis. However, Causal
Analysis in all its meaning is a discussion for another topic. he scope and
context of this discussion of Time Variant data is limited to enterprise
transactions and enterprise objects. As such, the set of enterprise transac-
tions and enterprise objects does not include the hurricanes, tax breaks,
competitor actions, or school activities that can affect the enterprise.
excePtIoNs to the rule
For every rule there is an exception. Time Variant data in a data ware-
house is no exception to that rule. Every enterprise has anecdotes wherein
a manager benefited from the preceding manager. The preceding manager
had wonderful hiring practices, productive work policies, and therefore
a very productive workforce. The current manager required two whole
years to dismantle that workforce into a dysfunctional and unproductive
team. But, for those two years, the current manager looked very good on
paper. The reverse has also been true. A new manager of a dysfunctional
and unproductive team will look abysmal on paper until the results of
the previous ineffectual manager can be reversed. Until then, the current
manager will look bad on paper.
That sort of lagging correlation between the enterprise and its outcomes
happens frequently and ubiquitously. For that reason, the presence of
Time Variant data in a data warehouse is not an occasion for enterprise
analysts to run their Time Variant reports and blindly draw conclusions
based on the results listed in the reports. Rather, Time Variant data is a
tool within a data warehouse. Like all tools, Time Variant data must be
used intelligently and with an understanding and intuition of the enter-
prise. While Time Variant data can be very useful at finding vendors who
deliver inferior product, managers who deliver productive teams, and pro-
cesses that do or don't create products that will eventually require rework,
