BI EXAM 1 REVIEW QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
What's the most important thing about a Data Warehouse? - Answer -It becomes a
single version of truth for a company.
What is a 'data warehouse'? - Answer -A physical repository where relational data are
specially organized to provide enterprise-wide, cleansed data in a standardized format
What does a data warehouse do? (3 Key Terms) - Answer -"The data warehouse is a
collection of integrated, subject-oriented databases designed to support DSS functions,
where each unit of data is non-volatile and relevant to some moment in time"
What is relational data? - Answer -Used in data warehouses. For example, in UKH
terms, a FSC has rates and J-codes. A CMP list links J-codes to rev codes or DRGs.
Therefore, two totally different systems/processes/servers (CMP v FSC) can read each
other and collaborate.
What is a data mart? - Answer -A departmental small-scale "Data warehouse" that
stores only limited/relevant data
Dependent Data Mart - Answer -A subset that is created directly from a data
warehouse
Independent Data Mart - Answer -A small data warehouse designed for a strategic
business unit or a department.
Operational Data Stores (ODS) - Answer -A database often used as an interim area for
a data warehouse.
Oper Marts - Answer -An OPERational data MART
Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) - Answer -A data warehouse for the entire
enterprise
Meta Data - Answer -Data about data. It describes the contents of a data warehouse
and the manner of its acquisition and use.
Data Warehouse Framework (30,000FT) - Answer -Data Sources -> ETL Process
(IMPORTANT, Acct No vs Customer No, etc) -> [ACCESS START] Enterprise Data
Warehouse (Meta is used to find data inside of the warehouse) -> Data marts (if
applicable, per individual department [ACCESS END] -> Applications and visualization
Types of data sources that feed a DW - Answer -ERP, Legacy, POS, Other OLTP/wEB,
External Data
, ETL Process States - Answer -Select, Extract, Transform, Integrate, Load
Typical types of Applications/visualization - Answer -Routine reports, data/text mining,
OLAP, dashboards, web reports, custom applications (Tableau)
10 factors that potentially affect the architecture selection design - Answer -Information
interdependence between organizational units
Upper management's information needs
Urgency of need for a data warehouse
Nature of end-user tasks
Constraints on resources
Strategic view of the data warehouse prior to implementation
Compatibility with existing systems
Perceived ability of the in-house IT staff
Technical issues
Social/political factors
What does ETL stand for? - Answer -EXTRACT the data. TRANSFoRM the data into
useful information (via relational data), LOAD it into a system for use!
What is data integration? - Answer -Integration that comprises three major processes:
Data access, data federation and change capture.
What is EAI? - Answer -Enterprise Application Integration: A technology that provides a
vehicle for pushing data from source systems into a data warehouse.
What is EII? - Answer -Enterprise Information Integration: An evolving tool space that
promises real-time integration from a variety of sources, such as multidimensional
databases, web services, etc.
Data Integration and the Extraction, Transformation, and Load (ETL) Process - Answer
-1. [Packaged application data , legacy system data, other internal app data] -> 2.
Transient Data source [Extract, transform, cleanse, load] -> 3. Into a data warehouse, or
data mart
What is OLTP? - Answer -OnLine Transaction Processing. Live data. online transaction
processing. Focus is on efficiency of routine tasks.
What is OLAP? - Answer -OnLine Analytical Processing. Converts data to information
for decision support.
What factors can cause failure in data warehouses? (8) - Answer -Lack of executive
sponsorship
Unclear business objectives
Cultural issues being ignored
Change management
What's the most important thing about a Data Warehouse? - Answer -It becomes a
single version of truth for a company.
What is a 'data warehouse'? - Answer -A physical repository where relational data are
specially organized to provide enterprise-wide, cleansed data in a standardized format
What does a data warehouse do? (3 Key Terms) - Answer -"The data warehouse is a
collection of integrated, subject-oriented databases designed to support DSS functions,
where each unit of data is non-volatile and relevant to some moment in time"
What is relational data? - Answer -Used in data warehouses. For example, in UKH
terms, a FSC has rates and J-codes. A CMP list links J-codes to rev codes or DRGs.
Therefore, two totally different systems/processes/servers (CMP v FSC) can read each
other and collaborate.
What is a data mart? - Answer -A departmental small-scale "Data warehouse" that
stores only limited/relevant data
Dependent Data Mart - Answer -A subset that is created directly from a data
warehouse
Independent Data Mart - Answer -A small data warehouse designed for a strategic
business unit or a department.
Operational Data Stores (ODS) - Answer -A database often used as an interim area for
a data warehouse.
Oper Marts - Answer -An OPERational data MART
Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) - Answer -A data warehouse for the entire
enterprise
Meta Data - Answer -Data about data. It describes the contents of a data warehouse
and the manner of its acquisition and use.
Data Warehouse Framework (30,000FT) - Answer -Data Sources -> ETL Process
(IMPORTANT, Acct No vs Customer No, etc) -> [ACCESS START] Enterprise Data
Warehouse (Meta is used to find data inside of the warehouse) -> Data marts (if
applicable, per individual department [ACCESS END] -> Applications and visualization
Types of data sources that feed a DW - Answer -ERP, Legacy, POS, Other OLTP/wEB,
External Data
, ETL Process States - Answer -Select, Extract, Transform, Integrate, Load
Typical types of Applications/visualization - Answer -Routine reports, data/text mining,
OLAP, dashboards, web reports, custom applications (Tableau)
10 factors that potentially affect the architecture selection design - Answer -Information
interdependence between organizational units
Upper management's information needs
Urgency of need for a data warehouse
Nature of end-user tasks
Constraints on resources
Strategic view of the data warehouse prior to implementation
Compatibility with existing systems
Perceived ability of the in-house IT staff
Technical issues
Social/political factors
What does ETL stand for? - Answer -EXTRACT the data. TRANSFoRM the data into
useful information (via relational data), LOAD it into a system for use!
What is data integration? - Answer -Integration that comprises three major processes:
Data access, data federation and change capture.
What is EAI? - Answer -Enterprise Application Integration: A technology that provides a
vehicle for pushing data from source systems into a data warehouse.
What is EII? - Answer -Enterprise Information Integration: An evolving tool space that
promises real-time integration from a variety of sources, such as multidimensional
databases, web services, etc.
Data Integration and the Extraction, Transformation, and Load (ETL) Process - Answer
-1. [Packaged application data , legacy system data, other internal app data] -> 2.
Transient Data source [Extract, transform, cleanse, load] -> 3. Into a data warehouse, or
data mart
What is OLTP? - Answer -OnLine Transaction Processing. Live data. online transaction
processing. Focus is on efficiency of routine tasks.
What is OLAP? - Answer -OnLine Analytical Processing. Converts data to information
for decision support.
What factors can cause failure in data warehouses? (8) - Answer -Lack of executive
sponsorship
Unclear business objectives
Cultural issues being ignored
Change management
