An Intuitive Data Mart Built with Confusing Tools and Technologies

Presentation Summary

Daniel Riehs, Boston College

During the past year, Boston College has been in the midst of an extensive effort to improve its data warehouse by building two new data marts, each with specific business users and purposes. A goal of the project was to construct intuitive systems that would not require users to be familiar with technical data warehouse concepts, such as fact and dimension tables. This presentation will detail some of the strategies used to make this possible, as well as the obstacles that were faced. Special attention will be given to situations where we were impeded by the tools used to construct the data marts, as well as the tension discovered when functionality that should be driven by business users, such as meta-data and documentation, is included in applications created for technical audiences. The presentation should appeal to anyone interested in developing well-documented reporting environments, but particularly helpful for those using Cognos and FrameWork Manager.