A configuration approach for selecting a data warehouse architecture

Living in the Information Age, organisations must be able to exploit their data alongside the traditional economic resources of man, machine and money. Accordingly, organisations implement data warehouses to organise and consolidate their data, which creates a decision support system that is “subject oriented”, “time variant”, “integrated” and “non-volatile”. However, the organisation's ability to successfully exploit their data is determined by the degree of strategic alignment. As such, this study poses the question: how can a data warehouse be successfully and demonstrably aligned to an organisation's strategic objectives? This thesis demonstrates that strategic alignment can be achieved by following a new "top down" data warehouse implementation framework, the Configuration Approach, which is based upon determining an organisation's target configuration. This was achieved by employing Miles and Snow's Ideal Types to formulate a questionnaire that reveals an organisation's target configuration in terms of its approach to the Entrepreneurial, Administration and Information Systems challenges. Crucially, this thesis also provides the means to choose a data warehouse architecture that is wholly based on the organisation's target configuration. The Configuration Approach was evaluated using a single case study undergoing a period of strategic transformation where the implementation of a data warehouse was key to its strategic ambitions. The case study illustrated how it is possible to articulate an organisation's strategic configuration, which becomes the key driver for building a warehouse that demonstrably supports the resolution of its Entrepreneurial and Administration challenges. Significantly, the case study also provides a unique opportunity to demonstrate how the target configuration helps organisations to make the right choice of data warehouse architecture to satisfy the Information Systems challenge. In this case, the Configuration Approach provides a basis for challenging the architectural choices made by a consultancy on behalf of the participating organisation. Accordingly, it can be asserted that data warehouses are strategic investments, if implemented using the Configuration Approach.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

A configuration approach for selecting a data warehouse architecture

Living in the Information Age, organisations must be able to exploit their data alongside the traditional economic resources of man, machine and money. Accordingly, organisations implement data warehouses to organise and consolidate their data, which creates a decision support system that is “subject oriented”, “time variant”, “integrated” and “non-volatile”. However, the organisation's ability to successfully exploit their data is determined by the degree of strategic alignment. As such, this study poses the question: how can a data warehouse be successfully and demonstrably aligned to an organisation's strategic objectives? This thesis demonstrates that strategic alignment can be achieved by following a new "top down" data warehouse implementation framework, the Configuration Approach, which is based upon determining an organisation's target configuration. This was achieved by employing Miles and Snow's Ideal Types to formulate a questionnaire that reveals an organisation's target configuration in terms of its approach to the Entrepreneurial, Administration and Information Systems challenges. Crucially, this thesis also provides the means to choose a data warehouse architecture that is wholly based on the organisation's target configuration. The Configuration Approach was evaluated using a single case study undergoing a period of strategic transformation where the implementation of a data warehouse was key to its strategic ambitions. The case study illustrated how it is possible to articulate an organisation's strategic configuration, which becomes the key driver for building a warehouse that demonstrably supports the resolution of its Entrepreneurial and Administration challenges. Significantly, the case study also provides a unique opportunity to demonstrate how the target configuration helps organisations to make the right choice of data warehouse architecture to satisfy the Information Systems challenge. In this case, the Configuration Approach provides a basis for challenging the architectural choices made by a consultancy on behalf of the participating organisation. Accordingly, it can be asserted that data warehouses are strategic investments, if implemented using the Configuration Approach.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

A Data Warehouse Solution Emphasizing the Use in Geographic Information Systems

This paper will explore use of a data warehouse solution for an electric utility that generates and transmits power across four US states. The pseudonym Utility will be used to represent the electric utility for security reasons. At Utility X several systems store information that is managed in silos that, in some cases, operate on proprietary database formats. This type of usage is identified as a barrier in the development of an enterprise-wide data source. A data warehouse can ultimately help to bridge the Utility X information gap, and provide added accessibility for the company to further develop technology, such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The use of a data warehouse can create an environment that increases the usability and accessibility of data. This project will focus on a method of using a data hub; data warehouse; and extract, transform, and load (ETL) processes to compile data from the proprietary equipment maintenance database, the meter system database, and the plant information database to provide one cohesive dataset in a data warehouse, which would ensure easier access to sets of processed electric meter data. The combination of these three sources offers advantages to other departments within the company that need meter information. A data warehouse does not require alteration of source systems that would cause deviation from their primary functions. For example, when a data warehouse solution is not used, there is pressure for existing databases to conform to new uses, such as GIS applications. This adaptation can include costly new system changes, database changes, and interface changes. However, a system that is set up for one purpose might also contain data that is useful for another purpose. By leveraging a data warehouse solution and developing a new use of the existing data, the company can avoid changing the current system configuration. This research will define an approach to building a data warehouse based on qualitative action research methods. Research was conducted at the company by using an iterative interview process wherein information from interviews was gathered and classified based on information from primary sources on the topic of data warehousing. An example using electric meter data from the company was identified that showed several solutions to problems by use of a data warehouse environment

A configuration approach for selecting a data warehouse architecture

Living in the Information Age, organisations must be able to exploit their data alongside the traditional economic resources of man, machine and money. Accordingly, organisations implement data warehouses to organise and consolidate their data, which creates a decision support system that is “subject oriented”, “time variant”, “integrated” and “non-volatile”. However, the organisation's ability to successfully exploit their data is determined by the degree of strategic alignment. As such, this study poses the question: how can a data warehouse be successfully and demonstrably aligned to an organisation's strategic objectives? This thesis demonstrates that strategic alignment can be achieved by following a new "top down" data warehouse implementation framework, the Configuration Approach, which is based upon determining an organisation's target configuration. This was achieved by employing Miles and Snow's Ideal Types to formulate a questionnaire that reveals an organisation's target configuration in terms of its approach to the Entrepreneurial, Administration and Information Systems challenges. Crucially, this thesis also provides the means to choose a data warehouse architecture that is wholly based on the organisation's target configuration. The Configuration Approach was evaluated using a single case study undergoing a period of strategic transformation where the implementation of a data warehouse was key to its strategic ambitions. The case study illustrated how it is possible to articulate an organisation's strategic configuration, which becomes the key driver for building a warehouse that demonstrably supports the resolution of its Entrepreneurial and Administration challenges. Significantly, the case study also provides a unique opportunity to demonstrate how the target configuration helps organisations to make the right choice of data warehouse architecture to satisfy the Information Systems challenge. In this case, the Configuration Approach provides a basis for challenging the architectural choices made by a consultancy on behalf of the participating organisation. Accordingly, it can be asserted that data warehouses are strategic investments, if implemented using the Configuration Approach

Class-based storage location assignment : an overview of the literature

Storage, per se, is not only an important process in a warehouse, also it has the greatest influence on the most expensive one, i.e., order picking. This study aims to give a literature overview on class-based storage location assignment (CBSLAP). In this paper, we discuss storage policies and present a classification of storage location assignment problem. Next, different configuration of classes are presented. We identify the research gaps in the literature and conclude with promising future research directions