Ten Scamps of a Data Warehousing Failure continue…

Posted by arlene

Somebody Leaves the Company leave the Unsolved Problem

You’ve done a fantastic job of selling the business value of your data warehousing project to executive management, and everything is rolling along nicely. Suddenly, two days after a stunning announcement of disappointing quarterly sales and earnings, the executive sponsor from the business side of the organization resigns. Your project is now without an executive sponsor.

You may be in trouble: Work fast, and don’t look back.

“This Will Never Work, but I’m Not Saying Anything”

Everyone in the company is supportive of your data warehousing project. You’re pushing the cutting edge of technology, and everyone on your team is enthused. Their weekly status reports even reflect the progress they’re making. The project’s chief architect assures you that the more you get into the project, the more everyone is convinced that sound technical decisions have been made.

Then, in the cafeteria, you overhear two of the more senior developers discussing the project. One says, “There’s no way that this thing can work. Performance is terrible, and half the time the same query against the same data returns different results! But I’m not going to be the one to bring it up!”

You’re in trouble.

“Black-hole” in one of the Products I am Using

Despite your best efforts at product evaluation, something has slipped through the cracks, and a major feature simply doesn’t work. Although one workaround is available, it’s a major hit against performance. The vendor’s representatives slyly say, “Well, we had heard that it may be a problem. Our development organization is looking into it and will probably make a patch available in the next month or so.”

You’re in trouble.

IT Organization Responsible for Supporting the Project

Putts Its Support

Your development group is in charge of most of the data warehousing development, including the OLAP and reporting front ends and the database definitions. The IT organization, though, is responsible for creating the databases and performing the loading routines; performing the backup and restore procedures; and taking care of many of the project’s other infrastructure elements.

Because of higher priorities, the IT organization pulls the people responsible for supporting your project, and their manager promises to “look into another answer.” She says, “Maybe we’ll hire a couple of contractors, but I won’t be able to look into that until next week.”

You’re in trouble.

Resignations Begin

Resignations are a sure sign that major problems lie ahead. Even people who are unhappy with a company often give in to loyalty or a sense of duty and stick around until the completion of a project. (Or maybe they just want the résumé fodder.)

When a number of people resign in the middle of a project, however, you’re in trouble.

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