Goal-oriented requirement analysis for data warehouse design

TLDR

Several surveys show that many data warehouses fail to meet business objectives, largely because requirement analysis is often overlooked. The paper proposes a goal‑oriented requirement analysis approach for data warehouses using the Tropos methodology. The method integrates stakeholder‑centered organizational modeling with decision‑maker‑focused decisional modeling, applicable to both demand‑driven and mixed supply/demand‑driven designs, where user requirements guide the selection of facts, dimensions, and measures. The approach, supported by a prototype, is illustrated through a real case study.

Abstract

Several surveys indicate that a significant percentage of data warehouses fail to meet business objectives or are outright failures. One of the reasons for this is that requirement analysis is typically overlooked in real projects. In this paper we propose a goal-oriented approach to requirement analysis for data warehouses, based on the Tropos methodology. Two different perspectives are integrated for requirement analysis: organizational modeling, centered on stakeholders, and decisional modeling, focused on decision makers. Our approach can be employed within both a demand-driven and a mixed supply/demand-driven design framework: in the second case, while the operational sources are still explored to shape hierarchies, user requirements play a fundamental role in restricting the area of interest for analysis and in choosing facts, dimensions, and measures. The methodology proposed, supported by a prototype, is described with reference to a real case study.