Data Warehouse, Databases Easy Access Top ten Considerations part 2

Posted by arlene

Can Users Access Different Databases?

I’m talking about different databases of information from the same tool, not necessarily different DBMS products. For example, a user may access the regular data mart stored on a local Windows NT server for most queries and reports and, by using the same tool, have access to this information:

Another department’s data mart, for occasional queries The organization’s main data warehouse

An external data provider over the Internet

The main point is that users should not have to switch tools to perform similar functions (basic querying and reporting or OLAP, for example) against different data sources.

Can Data Definitions Be Easily Changed?

Although the process of getting the first set of data definitions up and running is fairly easy in most user tools, how about when modifications have to be made?

How easy is it to update your entire user community’s data definitions, and how long does it take? (Do you have 100 users? One thousand? Five thousand?)

What has to happen to modify queries and reports which use data that no longer exists or data that has had its structure (its data type and size, for example) modified?

What happens to scripts and programs that are part of the tool?

Does the Tool Fit into Your Organization’s Standard Desktop Configuration?

If you’ve ever dealt with oh-so-crowded PC desktops (crowded with a bunch of software programs, not papers and coffee cups), the term DLL clash is probably familiar to you. (DLL means dynamic link library)

Considering that most organizations have internal standards for their client PCs, the process of figuring out how well a tool fits into your standard configuration should be straightforward. Assuming that the product runs on your desktop operating system (always a showstopper if it doesn’t), you should consider these issues:

How well the connectivity and interoperability software you need (such as ODBC, or Open Database Connectivity, drivers) work

Whether the software should be loaded in any special order

When you have choices about where certain components of a tool can reside (on each client, for example, or located once on each server), the recommended configuration and, in your environment, whether any problems exist

Whatever it takes, find the most obvious PC geek in your organization — the one who reads Byte magazine and four or five others from cover to cover each month and who has an elegantly framed picture of Bill Gates in a place of honor at home. Have that person check out configuration issues for each tool you’re evaluating.

How Does Performance Change with a Large Number of Users?

You have to know how performance changes when the number of users increases. Although you should see little or no performance effect if a tool’s environment is designed correctly and efficiently, you want to make sure.

What Online Help and Assistance Is Available, and How Good Is It?

Are wizards available? A tutorial? Context-sensitive help? Templates for queries and reports that can be used?

Does the Toot Support Interfaces to Other Products?

Here’s something that’s unlikely to change for many years: The desktop analysis tool of choice is the handy-dandy, trusted spreadsheet program. Although some OLAP products feature direct interfaces from their database into a spreadsheet (typically Microsoft Excel), even if you will use a product’s reporting and querying capabilities, users should always be able to bring data back and pop it into Excel for more analysis, manipulation, or whatever they want to do.

Reports generally should be capable of being included in word-processing documents or graphics and presentation programs (for example, Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, respectively), into a personal database (such as Microsoft Access), and, of course, into a spreadsheet.

What Happens When You Pull the Plug?

Go ahead — try it. In the middle of a query or report, turn off your PC and see what happens. You want to ensure not only that users can restart a desktop PC without any leftover configuration problems (for example, temporary files and workspace errors that prevent additional work from being done until they’re cleaned up) but also that the interruption doesn’t affect your warehouse’s database (and any intermediate servers).

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