ABSTRACT
Introduction Database Design is the first true design activity of a data warehouse (Figure 5.1). In the preceding chapter, Source System Analysis was the primary analysis activity. The information provided by this analysis, describing and defining the entities and processes within the enterprise, is the information on which the Database Design is based. A data warehouse designer organizes the entities and processes of the enterprise, via the principles in the Data Warehouse Philosophy, in the form of databases, tables, and views. Equally important is the usage patterns by which data warehouse customers will use a data warehouse. Discussed in Chapter 10 (Data Warehouse Customers), customers and their usage patterns also influence the design of a data warehouse. These two considerations, Source System Analysis and customer usage patterns, taken together identify the resources (i.e., source data) and requirements (i.e., usage patterns) of a data warehouse.
