Databases Reference
In-Depth Information
Summary
This chapter has reviewed the fundamentals of data and technical architecture.
What does this mean to you? Following are some basic questions that you
should be able to answer about data warehousing in your organization:
Do you have a data warehouse architecture? Where is it documented?
Does the data warehouse architecture cover both data and technology?
Do you have a basic understanding of the DW architecture?
Who is responsible for revising and updating the architecture?
Do you know how well your project is or is not adhering to the overall
architecture? Why or why not?
How do project teams learn about and leverage the DW architecture?
Does architecture get in the way of getting things done on your project?
Does the team need to learn more about the architecture in order to
implement it effectively?
Is the architecture too rigid, not adapting to changes in goals?
Are enterprise ideas merely fleeting, with no actual follow-through?
These questions will help you gain a working understanding of where the
organization stands and how much work is yet to be done. Use this as the cata-
lyst to get something started, make adjustments mid-stream, and refine what
is already in place.
While architecture is mostly a systems responsibility, it is important that
both business and systems managers have a sound understanding of how
architecture is being used within the organization. You don't need to be able
to design one; and at the lowest level of details, you don't need to know the
specific technical specifications, but you should have a solid understanding
of the overall direction and how it will help the organization in the long run.
The next chapter looks more closely at what is involved in building the data
warehouse.
