This is an advanced workshop covering the subject of multi-dimensional modeling (MDDM), consisting of two parts. Part 1 presents all of the basic MDDM concepts, terminology, and techniques, including guidelines, heuristics and metrics where appropriate. Part 2 of the workshop further extends the coverage of MDDM modeling, by investigating a well-chosen set of advanced modeling techniques, which are representative of situations where the models have to be built for large (corporate) data warehouses or broad-scope data marts. In Part 1, you will be able to produce Star- and Snowflake models, corresponding to a given set of end-user requirements, basically expressed as queries and hypothesis for which the DW should provide an answer. By taking part in this part of the course, you will also understand the differences and the positioning/mapping between E/R modelling, Data Warehouse modeling, and multi-dimensional modeling. The advanced MDDM techniques in the Part 2 workshop have several major advantages, up and above the learning of the techniques themselves: Studying advanced modeling issues and their solutions is highly advantageous for understanding the positioning of Star- and Snowflake modeling in the company's overall (corporate) data architecture. Similarly, advanced MDDM modeling techniques are very instrumental for studying the positioning of Temporal E/R models (in most cases, the base technique for corporate warehouses) versus dimensional models and for understanding when and how BOTH approaches may be combined. For a detailed survey of the techniques covered by both parts of the workshop, please refer to the topical course description and agenda available below. The workshop is designed as a highly interactive workshop. In the first part, approximately half of the time spent on the subject is in applying the techniques in exercises which are part of a consistently developed, non-trivial case study. This case study is most likely to be a "Supply and Inventory Management" warehouse development project. The second part of the workshop consists of individually developed case study investigations of advanced MDDM modeling techniques. In this sense, the workshop becomes easily adaptable to specific customer contexts. The workshop is designed so that it can be used in a standard classroom setting as well as in the context of given data mart development projects (mentored data warehouse development projects). |
