Data Warehouse Prototyping: Reducing Risk, Securing Commitment and Improving Project Governance

Prototype-and-iterate methodologies and tools are the best - and indeed the only known - means of achieving certain benefits. These include involving end-user organizations effectively in data, warehouse design building commitment and confidence in business, constituencies early in the project lifecycle accurately characterizing project time, cost and risk, and clearly defining project ROI. Given that even experienced data warehousing practitioners still struggle with complex projects that fail to meet business expectations, prototype-and-iterate methods and tools should become a part of every organization's data warehouse project methodological toolset.