Steps in designing Dimensional Models

1. Choose a business process. Selecting the subjects from the

information packages for the first set of logical structures to be designed.

2. Choose the grain of the fact table. Determining the level of

detail for the data in the data structures.
3. Choose dimensions. Choosing the business dimensions (such as
product, market, time, etc.) to be included in the first set of structures and making
sure that each particular data element in every business dimension is conformed to
one another.
4. Choose the measured fact. Selecting the metrics or units of
measurements (such as product sale units, dollar sales, dollar revenue, etc.) to be
included in the first set of structures.
5. Choose duration of the database. Determining how far back in
time you should go for historical data.

02/17/24 2
 When requirements cannot be fully determined, we
need a new and innovative concept to gather and
record the requirements.
Users tend to think in terms of business dimensions
and analyze measurements along such business
dimensions.
To determine the measurements and the relevant
dimensions that must be captured and kept in the
data warehouse, you come up with what is known as
an information package for the specific subject.

02/17/24 3
 Information packages
A new concept of acquiring business requirements

Are used in the business requirements definition phase

Information Package diagrams help to capture ;

 critical
metrics measuring the performance of the
business units
 The business dimensions along which the metrics are
analyzed
 The details of how drill-down and roll-up analyses are
done

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 Information packages
Business Requirements phase essentially help to compile
information packages for all the subjects of the Data
Warehouse
• Define the common subject areas
• Design key business metrics
• Decide how data must be presented
• Determine how users will aggregate or roll up
• Decide the data quantity for user analysis or query
• Decide how data will be accessed
• Establish data granularity
• Estimate data warehouse size
• Determine the frequency for data refreshing
• Ascertain how information must be packaged
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 Information Package Diagram (Subject – Sales Analysis)

Dimensions
Time Locations Products Age
Periods Groups
Hierarchies

Year Country Class Group 1

Quarter District Category Date of birth

Month City Name

Measured Facts: Forecast Sales, Budget Sales, Actual Sales

Lecture 3-6
 Example business cases – Automobile
manufacturer

•Goal : To analyze sales.

•User analysis: By product, analyse by breaking
the sales done by dealers.
•As an automaker, you would want to know who is
buying your automobiles and in what quantities.
How do the customers pay for the automobiles?
What effect does financing for the purchases have
on the sales (method of payment)?
Identify Subject, dimensions, facts (metrics)
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 Example business cases – Automobile
manufacturer
Dimensions for the subject of sales for an
automaker:
1.Product
2.Dealer
3.Customer
4.Method of payment
5.Time.

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 Example business cases – Automobile
manufacturer
Hierarchies and categories are included in the
information packages for each dimension.

1.Product: Model name, model year, product category, exterior color,

interior color, first model year, engine capacity
2.Dealer: Dealer name, city, state, single brand flag, date first operation
3.Customer : Age, gender, income range, marital status, household size,
vehicles owned, home value, own or rent
4.Payment method: Finance type, term in months, interest rate, agent
5.Time: Date, month, quarter, year, day of week, day of month, season,
holiday flag

02/17/24 9
 Example business cases – Automobile
manufacturer
Key business metrics or facts

Numbers about the sale of each individual automobile.

1.Actual sale price

2.Options price
3.Full price
4.Dealer add-ons
5.Dealer credits
6.Dealer invoice
7.Amount of down payment
8.Manufacturer proceeds
9.Amount financed
02/17/24 10
 Information Package Diagram (Automaker sales)
Dimensions
Time Product Payment Customer Dealer
Method Demographics
Year Model Name Finance Type Age Dealer Name
Hierarchies

Quarter Model Year Term (Months) Gender City

Month Package Styling Interest Rate Income State

Range
Date Product Line Agent Marital Status Single Brand Flag

Day of week Product Household Size Date First Operation

Category
Day of Month Exterior Color Vehicles Owned

Session Interior Color Home Value

Holiday flag First Year Own or Rent

Measured Facts: Actual Sale Price, Options Price, Full Price, Dealer Add-ons,
Dealer Credits, Dealer Invoice, Down Payment, Proceeds, Finance
Lecture 3-11
Dimensional Model (Automaker sales)

PRODUCT

TIME
AUTO SALES

CUSTOMER
PAYMENT
METHOD

DEALER

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 Example business cases – Hotel Serena

•The subject in this case is hotel occupancy.

•User analysis:
• occupancy of the rooms in the various
branches of the hotel chain.
• occupancy by individual hotels and by
room types.

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 Example business cases – Hotel Serena

•In the hotel occupancy information package,

the dimensions included are
• Hotel
• room
• time.

02/17/24 14
 Example business cases – Hotel Serena

Hierarchies and categories are included in the

information packages for each dimension.

1.Hotel: Hotel line, branch name, branch code, region, address, city, state,
Zip Code, manager, construction year, renovation year
2.Room: Room type, room size, number of beds, type of bed, maximum
occupants, suite, refrigerator, kitchenette
3.Time: Date, day of month, day of week, month, quarter, year, holiday
flag

02/17/24 15
 Example business cases – Hotel Serena

Key business metrics or facts

Numbers about the occupancy of rooms.

1.Occupied rooms
2.Vacant rooms
3.Unavailable rooms
4.Revenue

02/17/24 16
Information Package Diagram (Hotel Serena)
Dimensions
Time Hotel Room type

Year Hotel Line Room Type

Quarter Branch Room Size

Hierarchies

Name
Month Branch Number of Beds
Code
Date Region Type of Bed

Day of week Address Max. Occupants

Day of Month City/State/Zip Suite

Session Construction Year Refrigerator

Holiday flag Renovation Kitchen

Year

Measured Facts: Occupied Rooms, Vacant Rooms, Unavailable

Rooms, Revenue Lecture 3-17
 PRODUCT
CUSTOMER
ERD SKU (PK)
customer_ID (PK)
description
customer_name
brand
purchase_profile
category
credit_profile
address

ORDER ORDER-LINE
STORE order_num (PK) order_num (PK) (FK)
store_ID (PK) customer_ID (FK) SKU (PK) (FK)
store_name store_ID (FK) Promotion_NUM (FK)
address clerk_ID (FK) dollars_sold
district date units_sold
floor_type dollars_cost

CLERK PROMOTION
clerk_id (PK) promotion_NUM (PK)
clerk_name promotion_name
clerk_grade price_type
ad_type

02/17/24 18
 DIMENSIONAL
PRODUCT
TIME MODEL
product_key (SK)
time_key (SK)
SKU
SQL_date
description
day_of_week
brand
month FACT category
time_key (FK)
store_key (FK) CUSTOMER
STORE
clerk_key (FK) customer_key (SK)
store_key (SK)
product_key (FK) customer_ID
store_ID
customer_key (FK) customer_name
store_name
promotion_key (FK) purchase_profile
address
dollars_sold credit_profile
district
units_sold address
floor_type
dollars_cost
PROMOTION
CLERK promotion_key (SK)
clerk_key (SK) promotion_NUM
clerk_id promotion_name
clerk_name price_type
clerk_grade ad_type
02/17/24 19
 Tutorials
The managing director of samona would like to
analyze the orders of their products per region per
customer for the last 3 years. The products have to
be supplied by the company suppliers. Therefore,
the products have to be normalized further to
provide information about the suppliers.
Design an information package that will show
the business requirements for the data
warehouse.
Design a snowflake dimensional model from
the information package

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 A data warehouse is based on a multidimensional
data model
A multidimensional database (MDDB) reflects the
multi-dimensional characteristics of data internally
Stores the data in a giant hypercube
Makes it easy for computer to locate any item of
interest.

02/17/24 21
 Multi-dimensional Data
Sales volume as a function of
product, month, and region

Hierarchical summarization paths

Dimensions:
n

Product, Location, Time

o
gi
Re

Industry Region Year

Product

Category Country Quarter

Product City Month Week

Office Day
Month
02/17/24 22
Data Cube/Hypercube
Hypercubes summarise data into dimensions
Multidimensional Hypercubes enable managers to analyse
values at the intersection of these dimensions
Total annual sales
ct

2Qtr Date
du

TV 1Qtr 3Qtr 4Qtr sum of TVs in U.S.A.

Country
o
Pr

PC U.S.A
VC
sumR Canada
Mexico
sum

02/17/24 23
What are Data Cubes
Data Cubes are multidimensional data resources
Data Cubes allow you to look at complex data in a
simple format
Data Cubes allow you to analyze specific data
The data cube can therefore be defined as the
intersection of dimensions that provide some facts of
interest to the business

02/17/24 24
Parts of the Data Cube

Measures: Method of
Filters: Ability to look at only one
counting. How the
portion of a dimension. Example –
dimension is being counted.
GSFC instead of All Centers.

Dimensions: The category that is being counted.

Example – GSFC Employees, Employee Type
etc.

02/17/24 25
 How to use a Data Cube
Data Cubes look like a simple spreadsheet

Just choose what data you want in your columns

and your rows and the totals self-populate
In this example, Centers are in the columns and some
quarters are in the rows
 How to choose your Columns
To choose a column, simply click on the pull-down
menu and choose your data

The column pull-down menu is located just to the

right of the column header labels
 How to choose your Rows
To choose a row, simply click on the pull-down
menu and choose your data

The row pull-down menu is located

just below the row header labels
 Filters
After choosing the columns and rows, you may
choose what segment of the population you want
to view

Use drop-down boxes to determine what data you

want to focus on
Measures
You may also choose how the data is counted or
measured
The most common measure is headcount
Other measures include:
 Average Age
 Average Years of Federal Service

 Average Annual Salary

 Aggregate Salary

02/17/24 31
 Measures
Use the drop-down box to choose a measure
 View Data As . . .
You may also choose to view the data as a number
or as a percentage

Just use the View Data As drop down box