– Part III
3
Chapter 31 Data Warehousing Concepts
Review Questions
31.1 Describe what is meant by the following terms, when describing the characteristics of the data
in a data warehouse:
31.2 Discuss how Online Transaction Processing (OLTP) systems differ from data warehousing
systems.
See Section 31.1.4
31.3 Discuss the main benefits and problems associated with data warehousing.
31.4 Present a diagrammatic representation of the typical architecture and main components of a
data warehouse.
31.5 Describe the characteristics and main functions of the following components of a data
warehouse.
31.6 Describe the processes associated with data extraction, cleansing, and transformation tools.
The extraction step targets one or more data sources for the EDW; these sources typically
include OLTP databases but can also include sources such as personal databases and
31.7 Describe the specialized requirements of a database management system suitable for use in a
data warehouse environment.
See Section 31.4.2
31.8 Discuss how parallel technologies can support the requirements of the data warehouse.
31.9 Discuss the importance of managing metadata and how this relates to the integration of the
data warehouse.
See Section 31.4.3.
31.10 Discuss the main tasks associated with the administration and management of a data
warehouse.
The data warehouse administration and management tools must be capable of supporting the
following tasks:
monitoring data loading from multiple sources;
data quality and integrity checks;
31.11 Discuss how data marts differ from data warehouses and discuss the main reasons for
implementing a data mart.
– Part III
31.12 Describe the features of Oracle that support the core requirements of data warehousing.
See Section 31.6.
Exercises
31.13 You are asked by the Managing Director of DreamHome to investigate and report on the
applicability of data warehousing for the organization. The report should compare data
warehouse technology with OLTP systems and should identify the advantages and
disadvantages, and any problem areas associated with implementing a data warehouse. The
report should reach a fully justified set of conclusions on the applicability of a data warehouse
for DreamHome.
31.14 The purpose of this exercise is to present a scenario that requires you to act in the
role of business intelligence (BI) consultant for your university (or college) and
produce a report to guide management on the opportunities and issues associated
with the business intelligence.
The Scenario
The senior management team of a university (or college) have just completed a five-
year plan to implement university-wide computing systems to support all core
business processes such as a student management information system, payroll and
– Part III
6
this chapter, and then supplement this information, using external sources such as
vendor Web sites (e.g., www.ibm.com, www.microsoft.com, www.oracle.com,