Data Warehousing Fundamentals : A Comprehensive Guide for IT Professionals

Rating:
Summary: Keep this Book at Your Desk-if you can afford it!
Review: A great companion to books by Kimball and Inmon. Helps to clarify some areas where they may be vague or confusing. Includes info from other BI industry thought leaders. Used as a textbook at some universities. Loaded with diagrams and tables. Helps to bridge the gap between techies and management.
NOT as techy as Kimball so it won't lead you through a project or show you how to design databases, ETL or BI apps. A little more real-world examples than Inmon. Does not mention Inmon's CIF architecture by name, but it does explain a similar architecture.
A little too Expensive to buy without skimming through it first (go to a local book store and spend 30 to 60 minutes with it before you decide to order).

Rating:
Summary: Keep this Book at Your Desk-if you can afford it!
Review: A great companion to books by Kimball and Inmon. Helps to clarify some areas where they may be vague or confusing. Includes info from other BI industry thought leaders. Used as a textbook at some universities. Loaded with diagrams and tables. Helps to bridge the gap between techies and management.
NOT as techy as Kimball so it won't lead you through a project or show you how to design databases, ETL or BI apps. A little more real-world examples than Inmon. Does not mention Inmon's CIF architecture by name, but it does explain a similar architecture.
A little too Expensive to buy without skimming through it first (go to a local book store and spend 30 to 60 minutes with it before you decide to order).

Rating:
Summary: Superb & filled with useful and practical info
Review: This is one of the best introductory books on data warehousing I've read. The authors make few assumptions of reader knowledge beyond the fact that they are IT professionals who have a technical background that doesn't necessarily include database and data warehouse knowledge. They do assume a basic knowledge of IT operations, project management skills and systems analysis and design - skills that IT professionals are expected to have.

The book is divided into five parts: Overview and Concepts, Planning and Requirements, Architecture and Infrastructure, Data Design and Data Preparation, and Implementation and Maintenance. These follow a development life cycle, making the structure of the book easy to follow.

What I like about this book is it doesn't just cover the theory and concepts (which it does do well), but sets data warehousing in the context of a larger architecture designed to meet specific business requirements. I also like the way the authors address real world issues such as planning and managing a data warehouse project, and the issues and factors surrounding adding a data warehouse into an existing technical architecture. This information is what IT professionals are seeking when they are faced with a technology with which they may not have strong knowledge, and it makes this book useful to the intended audience.

Among the chapters that I most liked are: Principles of Dimensional Modeling, Data Extraction, Transformation, and Loading, and Data Quality: A Key to Success. These capture the essence of data warehousing in my opinion and are topics that IT professionals without a data background need to understand. I also thought that each of the appendices were useful. They provided a finishing touch by covering project life cycle steps and checklists, critical success factors and guidelines for evaluating vendor solutions - each of which provide practical information.

Rating:
Summary: Superb & filled with useful and practical info
Review: This is one of the best introductory books on data warehousing I've read. The authors make few assumptions of reader knowledge beyond the fact that they are IT professionals who have a technical background that doesn't necessarily include database and data warehouse knowledge. They do assume a basic knowledge of IT operations, project management skills and systems analysis and design - skills that IT professionals are expected to have.

The book is divided into five parts: Overview and Concepts, Planning and Requirements, Architecture and Infrastructure, Data Design and Data Preparation, and Implementation and Maintenance. These follow a development life cycle, making the structure of the book easy to follow.

What I like about this book is it doesn't just cover the theory and concepts (which it does do well), but sets data warehousing in the context of a larger architecture designed to meet specific business requirements. I also like the way the authors address real world issues such as planning and managing a data warehouse project, and the issues and factors surrounding adding a data warehouse into an existing technical architecture. This information is what IT professionals are seeking when they are faced with a technology with which they may not have strong knowledge, and it makes this book useful to the intended audience.

Among the chapters that I most liked are: Principles of Dimensional Modeling, Data Extraction, Transformation, and Loading, and Data Quality: A Key to Success. These capture the essence of data warehousing in my opinion and are topics that IT professionals without a data background need to understand. I also thought that each of the appendices were useful. They provided a finishing touch by covering project life cycle steps and checklists, critical success factors and guidelines for evaluating vendor solutions - each of which provide practical information.