Impossible Data Warehouse Situations: Solutions from the Experts (Addison-Wesley Information Technology Series) (Paperback)

by Sid Adelman (Author), Joyce Bischoff (Author), Jill Dyché (Author), Douglas Hackney (Author), Sean Ivoghli (Author), Chuck Kelley (Author), David Marco (Author), Larissa T. Moss (Author), Clay Rehm (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This book takes a unique approach to the problems faced by data warehouse professionals. The author and the contributors have gathered over 90 situations that they have been asked about in their seminars and presentations, that they have faced in their own work, and that have been submitted to the very popular "Ask the Experts" forum at DMReview. These are all real situations, but they have been disguised to protect the guilty. Topics covered include staffing, budgeting, security, vendors, architecture, and data quality. Each of the "impossible" situations will have one or more solutions contributed by the expert panel. Their different answers and viewpoints, especially when they disagree with one another, provide enlightening reading, as well as useful ideas. This approach should appeal to a broad range of people involved in all aspects of Data Warehouses.

From the Back Cover

A functional data warehouse is vital to an organization's success, but building and maintaining any data warehouse is fraught with managerial and technical pitfalls. Impossible Data Warehouse Situations introduces possible solutions to ninety-one common crises that confront companies of all types, sizes, and structures. Nine leading data warehousing experts provide the thoughtful and detailed guidance corporate executives, IT managers and staff, and end-users need to prevent and survive seemingly impossible situations.

This book serves as a quick reference for resolving specific data warehouse problems and as a practical introduction to the realities of data warehousing not covered in basic texts. Part I addresses management issues, including weak organizational support, unrealistic schedules, and personnel problems. Part II focuses on technical challenges, such as security, integration, and performance. In both sections, Sid Adelman and his coauthors provide multiple perspectives and solutions illustrated by practical examples. Also included are recommendations for further reading and glossaries covering technical terminology and acronyms as well as colloquial English.

Drawing upon their combined 142 years of experience with data warehouse implementations, Sid Adelman, Joyce Bischoff, Jill Dyche, Douglas Hackney, Sean Ivoghli, Chuck Kelley, David Marco, Larissa Moss, and Clay Rehm offer invaluable advice on:

• Management issues
• Changing objectives and requirements
• Budget
• Organization and staffing
• User and team issues
• Product planning and schedules
• Data warehousing standards
• Tools and vendors
• Security
• Data quality
• Integration
• Data warehousing architecture
• Performance

Readers gain access to data warehousing's top minds and learn how to thrive in seemingly impossible situations.

0201760339B09112002

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Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional (October 11, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201760339
• ISBN-13: 978-0201760330
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #722,361 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Dilbert on steroids for the BI professional., December 5, 2008

By	Redneck (Tejas, USA) - See all my reviews

I agree with the other reviewers, but I really come at this book from another angle. I see it as a comedy book. Having lived the Data Warehousing/Business Intelligence Architect life since, well, since before general industry acceptance of the term "BI", I have seen some pretty ludicrous situations. This book lets me know I'm not alone, it's not just my company, stupidity and politics is rampant everywhere. OK, OK, some of the situations in here are not that other-worldly, but those that are can be quite funny (assuming you're not the one faces with the problem). And it actually *can* be professionally useful to see the different approaches the panel of respected DW/BI pros advise to tackle the issues presented in this book. Some approaches you'll agree with, some you wont, but they should all make you think about how to best approach your unique situation.

If you're a BI professional, especially if you have management or project management responsibilities, buy this book. It might give you some ideas to deal with goofy political or business realities that threaten DW/BI implementations. If not, you'll at least find more than a few humorous situations that would resemble Dilbert cartoons if Scott Adams transferred Dilbert & crew to the BI Dept.

;-{>

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 91 data warehouse situations, October 6, 2004

By	Gary Sprandel (Frankfort, Kentucky) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

More than anything this book helps you realize that you are not alone in your problems. I recognized (too) many problems in our warehouse project and the advice offered was helpful. The book is evenly divided into "impossible management situations" and "impossible technical situations". Ninety-one problems are presented, with common themes including tension between operational data and the warehouse, lack of clear business sponsor and clear requirements, use of consultants, lack of sharing of data and stovepipes, and quality issues in both the warehouse and the source operational data. Each problem is asked of the nine experts and the answers have a lot of redundancy, and occasionally interesting disagreements. In some cases I would have preferred the editor either integrating the answers or allowing a dialogue between the experts. This book does not present an introduction to data warehousing, and is most geared toward the data warehouse project manager.

3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceeded my expectations!, December 1, 2002

By	Larry R. Mintun (Valencia, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I love the format. This format is very powerful because I can go right to the problems that are relavent to my company and review the suggested solutions. The suggested solutions are based on a lot of experience in the Data Warehouse field from a number of experts, not just one person. You can glean many good ideas from this book.

I have found this Sid Adelman book to be just as useful as his first book,"Data Warehouse Project Management", written with Lorissa Moss.