Databases Reference
In-Depth Information
DESIRED CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SOURCE SYSTEM ANALYST
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Strong problem-solving skills
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Persistence to work through complex issues and design challenges
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Patience to support detailed, field by field analysis
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Willing to put forth extra effort to help the data warehouse initiative
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Understands the critical nature of his or her knowledge
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Able to juggle multiple priorities, including communicating to
management concerns about the scheduling of their own time
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Shows interest in learning about data warehousing
Data Modeler/Data Architect
The data architect's responsibilities are to develop a big picture strategy for
how data will be handled, stored, and processed to support the requirements of
a specific project and to accommodate the requirements across the enterprise.
This is the heart of the data warehouse. The data architect sets this vision. This
includes driving or participating in the following:
Defining the data structures and philosophy for the staging area
Defining the data structures and philosophy for the data warehouse
Participating in the requirements gathering process
Understanding specific project requirements
Gathering or researching enterprise data requirements and standards
Ensuring that the data warehouse architecture fits in the overall enterprise
data vision
Data modeling takes things to a lower level of detail. This entails under-
standing individual data elements and how they relate to each other; and
then applying what was learned during the requirements gathering process
in order to develop data models to support the business. There may be a need
for detailed data modeling to support the staging and preparation processes.
There is also a need for a dimensional model to reflect the specific data needed
to support the business objectives of the project. The model must also be
flexible enough to be extended as new data and requirements are discovered
over time. The basics of a well-designed dimensional model should be able to
sustain a data warehouse for years. The data modeler will be responsible for
the following:
