The data warehouse toolkit: the complete guide to dimensional modeling, 2nd Edition

Overview Most of the books on data warehousing and business analysis automation are typically concerned with technical issues. Certain books also attempt to describe the overall organization of a data warehousing project – a challenging process that usually requires extraordinary skills and significant efforts. But there is the vital element of data warehousing methodology that makes DWs valuable for analysts and managers and connects the essence of business-phenomena with corresponding IT-solutions. This backbone of all data warehouses is a multidimensional data model. The problem of dimensional modeling usually remains beyond the scope of references, textbooks and formal methodologies dedicated to data warehousing (probably, due to its complexity). Usually it is assumed that developers and future users should determine dimensional structure during the development process in accordance with business requirements elicited. This assumption is correct, but only up to a point: dimensional structures of different data warehouses in different organizations may be (and should be) different. But at the same time developers should be knowledgeable about certain methodological principles of dimensional modeling that are universal and do not vary from project to project and from company to company. The development of a such methodology and the summarization of experience in this area are challenging tasks, and only few authors have attempted to cover this complicated subject. " The Complete Guide to Dimensional Modeling " is probably one of the best books, dedicated to this problem, which is written by skilled and clever practitioner.