Databases Reference
In-Depth Information
of the project. The following sections describe the partnership roles that each
level within the business community is responsible for filling.
Business Executives and Senior Management
Every data warehouse project needs to have executive-level buy-in and sup-
port. At least one person should serve as the executive business sponsor. This
does not mean that all other executives and senior managers do not have to
play a role. The entire senior staff should have a basic understanding of data
warehousing principles, as presented in Chapter 1. These executives need to
grasp the organization's strategic vision for data warehousing, and some of
them will play key roles in shaping that strategic vision and presenting it to the
senior staff in a clear, concise manner. Development of this vision is primarily
a systems function and is discussed in Chapter 9.
Implementing a successful data warehouse strategy does not happen with
one monolithic project but rather through a series of individual projects. There
must be executive support for both each of these projects and the overall vision.
Once the first data warehouse project is complete, it is important for senior
management to have continued involvement in order to ensure long-term
success. This includes encouraging their staff to use the data warehouse for
business analysis, and using reports or a dashboard themselves. As part of
supporting the overall data warehouse strategy, senior staff members need
to set long-term priorities and strategic direction for the data warehouse
environment.
The Executive Business Sponsor
This is one of the most critical roles for ensuring a successful data warehouse
project. Without executive support, many projects chew up a lot of time and
money but never deliver anything of value to the company. The executive
business sponsor must be someone who sees the value in managing data
as a corporate asset and wants this opportunity to guide the process. An
effective partnership between business and IT must start with the executive
business sponsor. You cannot simply assign a title to someone and consider
the role to be filled. The most effective executive business sponsors take time
to learn about data warehousing and understand the value it can have to the
organization.
For example, it might mean taking the time to understand how the data
warehouse can be used to streamline vendor contract negotiations using
historical performance and projected demand. Taking this further, it might
entail understanding how the data warehouse can help track the timeliness
and quality of vendor deliveries. An effective executive business sponsor truly
believes in the data warehouse and has a vision for how it can be used to help
the organization.
