A Comprehensive Method for Data Warehouse Design

A data warehouse (DW) is a complex information system primarily used in the decision making process by means of On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP) applications. Although various methods and approaches have been presented for designing di erent parts of DWs, such as the conceptual and logical schemas or the Extraction-TransformationLoading (ETL) processes, no general and standard method exists to date for dealing with the whole design of a DW. In this paper, we ll this gap by presenting a method based on the Uni ed Modeling Language (UML) that allows the user to tackle all DW design phases and steps, from the operational data sources to the nal implementation and including the de nition of the ETL processes. The main advantages of our proposal are: the use of a standard modeling notation (UML) in the models accomplished in the di erent design phases, the integration of di erent design phases in a single and coherent framework and the use of a grouping mechanism (UML packages) that allows the designer to layer the models according to di erent levels of detail. Finally, we also provide a set of steps that guide the DW design.