Data Warehouse Development Methods

Now that we have reviewed the life cycle of a traditional system, let’s take a look at how a data warehouse systems development is different from traditional systems. When we examine the differences between a traditional systems development project and a data warehouse project, we need to start at a very high level and examine the major steps that are undertaken in the project. If we compare the development life cycle of a data warehouse with the development of a traditional MIS system, we see some parallels and some surprising differences.

In general, all projects consist of five main phases: feasibility study, systems analysis, systems design, implementation, and ongoing maintenance. Data warehouse projects also have these phases, but there are some differences in the goals in each phase.
In traditional development, the greatest share of effort is generally spent in the implementation phase (see Figure 2.1). In addition, the benefits from the project do not begin until the complete system is delivered.

Figure 2.1 The traditional systems development life cycle.

To understand all of the steps that occur between the inception of a warehouse project and the delivery of the finished system, let’s take a quick look at the overall phases of a data warehouse development project. Later in this chapter, we’ll take a more in-depth look at each phase.

This is an excerpt from "High Performance Data Warehousing", copyright 1997.

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