Service oriented architecture (SOA) is one of the hottest buzzwords in information technology (IT) today. Indeed, it is difficult to pick up any IT related magazine and not discover three, four or more articles on this topic. However, while a good number of senior executives are clamoring for SOAs, I find that there is a great deal of misinformation on this topic and even less knowledge on what it truly takes to implement this environment.

A data warehouse project manager’s job is beset with worst practice traps just waiting for the unwary project manager to fail. You don’t have to fall prey to these traps. We have seen them all, and a few more. We know where and what they are. Read on, recognize and avoid these worst practices and you may be one of the clever few who will successfully implement a data warehouse.

Last month we went through part II of a three part series designed to outline criteria for staffing a data warehouse program within a corporation. Part I focused on breaking down the various roles, thoughts on how to organize those resources, and considerations for handling support and development. Part II dealt with key concepts for building a right-sized organization targeted towards the unique needs of your organization.

Models are created not only to represent the business needs of an application but also to depict the business information needs of an entire organization. An enterprise model, which is comprised of one or more subject area models, is used to document the process and data for an organization, business or enterprise and serves as the point of planning and integration for all information systems management.