Parallel Development Tracks

As illustrated in Figure 0.7, every BI decision-support project has at least three development tracks running in parallel after the project requirements have been defined and before implementation.

1. The ETL Track

   The ETL track is often referred to as the back end. The purpose of this development track is to design and populate the BI target databases. The ETL track is the most complicated and important track of a BI decision-support project. The fanciest OLAP tools in the world will not provide major benefits if the BI target databases are not designed properly or if they are populated with dirty data. The team working on the ETL track is usually staffed with knowledgeable business analysts, experienced database administrators, and senior programmers.

2. The Application Track

   The Application track is often referred to as the front end. The purpose of this development track is to design and build the access and analysis applications. After all, the key reasons for building a BI decision-support environment are to:

   • Deliver value-added information

   • Provide easy, spontaneous access to the business data

   The team for the Application track is usually staffed with subject matter experts, "power users," and programmers who know Web languages, can effectively use OLAP tools, and have experience building client/server-based decision-support applications that incorporate graphical user interfaces.

3. The Meta Data Repository Track

   Meta data is a mandatory deliverable with every BI application. It can no longer be shoved aside as documentation because it must serve the business community as a navigation tool for the BI decision-support environment. Therefore, the purpose of this development track is to design, build, and populate a meta data repository. The team members are responsible for designing and building the access interfaces as well as the reporting and querying capabilities for the meta data repository. The team working on the Meta Data Repository track is usually staffed with a meta data administrator and developers who have experience with building client/server-based interfaces and are knowledgeable about Web applications.

Figure 0.7. Parallel Development Tracks (for Steps 5 “14)

Table 0.2 maps the Business Intelligence Roadmap stages and steps across these three development tracks.

These three parallel tracks can be considered major subprojects of a BI project. Each will have its own team members and its own set of activities after the project requirements have been formalized . Discoveries made in one track can (and often do) impact the other tracks. Figure 0.8 shows the interaction of the three tracks across the development steps.

Figure 0.8. Steps Performed in Parallel Development Tracks

Each development track has specific deliverables that contribute to the overall BI project objectives.

• The ETL track delivers loaded BI target databases.

• The Application track delivers the BI reports and queries.

• The Meta Data Repository track delivers the meta data.

Table 0.2. Stages and Steps across Development Tracks

Stages Steps	ETL Track	Application Track	MDR Track
Justification
Business Case Assessment
Planning
Enterprise Infrastructure
Evaluation
Project Planning
Business Analysis
Project Requirements Definition
Data Analysis
Application Prototyping
MDR Analysis
Design
Database Design
ETL Design
MDR Design
Construction
ETL Development
Application Development
Data Mining
MDR Development
Deployment
Implementation
Release Evaluation
Abbreviations: ETL, extract/transform/load; MDR, meta data repository.