Multidimensional Reference Models for Data Warehouse Development

In the area of Data Warehousing the importance of conceptual modelling increases as it gains the status of a critical success factor. Nevertheless the application of conceptual modelling in practice often remains undone, due to time and cost restrictions. Reference models seem to be a suitable solution for this problem as they provide generic models which can be easily adapted to specific problems and thus decrease the modelling outlay. This paper identifies the requirements for multidimensional modelling techniques whose fulfillment are a prerequisite for the construction of reference models. Referring to the ME/RM, the concrete implementation of these requirements will be illustrated.