Data Warehouses

Lecture 1
Evolution of Decision Support
Systems
Overview
Most organizations began information
processing on a small scale, automating
one application at a time.
Systems tended to grow independently to
support defined functional areas.
Each functional area tended to plan and
develop systems in isolation from other
areas.
Evolution of Information Processing
File Transaction Processing
Data Based Management Systems (DBMS)
4GLs & MIS
Extract Processing
Decision Support Systems (DSS)
File Transaction Processing
The traditional approach to file
processing encouraged each functional
area to develop and maintain
specialized applications.
Individual applications ran on unique
master files.
Problems With Traditional File Processing:
Data redundancy
Lack of data integrity
Program-data dependency
Lack of flexibility
Poor security
Lack of data sharing and availability
Traditional File Processing
Data redundancy and inconsistency across files:
File A
Student ID
Name
Address
ZIP Code
Phone Number


Registration
Application
Library
Application
Financial aids
Application
Credit Records
Application
File B
Student ID
First Name
Last Name
Address & ZIP
Phone Number

File C
Student ID
First & Last Name
Address
ZIP Code
Phone Number

File D
Social Security
Name
Address
ZIP Code
Phone Number

Evolution of Information Processing
File Transaction Processing
Data Based Management Systems (DBMS)
4GLs & MIS
Extract Processing
Decision Support Systems (DSS)
Data Warehouses
OLAP
Data Mining

Data Base Management System
a single source for all processing
Registration
IS application
Library
IS application
Financial
aids application
Credit Records
IS application
DBMS- database management
system
INTEGRATED STUDENTS DATABASE
Students:
Name
Address
Credit Records:
Number of credits
Course number
Books:
Title
Author
Data Definition
Language
Data Manipulation
Language

Common
Data Dictionary

Evolution of Information Processing
File Transaction Processing
Data Based Management Systems (DBMS)
4GLs & MIS
Extract Processing
Decision Support Systems (DSS)
Data Warehouses
OLAP
Data Mining

4GLs, MIS
Fourth-Generation Languages
brought access to data and users at
the level of the end-user.
MIS focus on providing
information to support management
decisions
Evolution of Information Processing
File Transaction Processing
Data Based Management Systems (DBMS)
4GLs & MIS
Extract Processing
Decision Support Systems (DSS)
Data Warehouses
OLAP
Data Mining

Extract Programs
An attempt by IT to anticipate
somehow the types of reports that
would be requested from time to time.
IT would create and keep the extract
files to fulfill any requests for special
reports. For any reports that could not
be run off the extracted files, IT would
write individual special programs.
Evolution of Information Processing
File Transaction Processing
Data Based Management Systems (DBMS)
4GLs & MIS
Extract Processing
Decision Support Systems (DSS)
Data Warehouses
OLAP
Data Mining

Decision Support Systems
More sophisticated systems intended
to provide strategic information.
These systems were supported by
extracted files.
The systems were menu-driven and
provided online information.
Many of such decision-support
systems were for marketing.
FAILURES OF PAST DECISION-
SUPPORT SYSTEMS
IT receives too many ad hoc requests, resulting in a
large overload. With limited resources.
IT is unable to respond to the numerous requests in
a timely fashion; Moreover, the users need more
reports to expand and understand the earlier reports.
The users have to depend on IT to provide the
information. They are not able to access the
information themselves interactively.
The information environment ideally suited for
making strategic decision making has to be very
flexible and conducive for analysis.
factors relating to the inability to
provide strategic information
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OPERATIONAL VERSUS DECISION-
SUPPORT SYSTEMS
Operational systems are online transaction
processing (OLTP) systems. These are the
systems that are used to run the day-to-day
core business of the company. They are the
so-called bread-and-butter systems.
These systems typically get the data into the
database. Each transaction processes
information about a single entity such as a
single order, a single invoice, or a single
customer.
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OPERATIONAL VERSUS DECISION-
SUPPORT SYSTEMS
20
OPERATIONAL VERSUS DECISION-
SUPPORT SYSTEMS
On the other hand, specially designed and
built decision-support systems are not meant
to run the core business processes. They are
used to watch how the business runs, and
then make strategic decisions to improve the
business.
as opposed to OLTP systems that are designed
to put the data into the database. Decision-
support systems are developed to provide
strategic information.
21
OPERATIONAL VERSUS DECISION-
SUPPORT SYSTEMS
22
Operational and informational systems.
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Motivation
We need to design and build informational
systems
That serve different purposes
Whose scopes are different
Whose data content is different
Where the data usage patterns are different
Where the data access types are different
Evolution of Information Processing
File Transaction Processing
Data Based Management Systems (DBMS)
4GLs & MIS
Extract Processing
Decision Support Systems (DSS)
Data Warehouses
OLAP
Data Mining