Question 1

According to Inmon, a data warehouse is a subject-oriented, integrated database designed to support DSS functions where the data is volatile and relevant.

Accepted Answer

According to Inmon, a data warehouse is subject-oriented, integrated, non-volatile, and time-variant, designed to support decision-making processes, not volatile as the statement suggests.

Question 2

A data warehouse is typically physically separated from transaction processing systems.

Accepted Answer

A data warehouse is usually physically separated from transaction processing systems to ensure that the analytical processes do not interfere with transactional processing, allowing for efficient data analysis and reporting without affecting the performance of operational systems.

Question 3

Only a small fraction of the data that is captured, processed and stored in the enterprise is actually ever made available to executives and decision makers.

Accepted Answer

Most data collected by organizations is not fully analyzed or leveraged for decision-making, leading to a significant amount of potentially valuable information being underutilized. This is often due to the vast volume of data, lack of effective data management strategies, or the complexity of extracting actionable insights.

Question 4

The most common component of a data warehouse environment is the operational data store.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The most common component of a data...

Question 5

The essence of the data warehouse concept is a recognition that the characteristics and usage patterns of operational systems used to automate business processes and those of a DSS are fundamentally similar and symbiotically linked.

Accepted Answer

The essence of the data warehouse concept is a recognition that the characteristics and usage patterns of operational systems used to automate business processes and those of a Decision Support System (DSS) are fundamentally different, necessitating separate systems to efficiently handle their respective needs.

Question 6

One difference between data warehouses and operational data stores is the presence of metadata.

Accepted Answer

Metadata is a key component of data warehouses, but it is not typically found in operational data stores. Metadata provides information about the data in the warehouse, such as its structure, relationships, and usage. This information is essential for managing and using the data in the warehouse.

Question 7

Metadata are detailed data that has been aggregated and condensed into a more useful form.

Accepted Answer

Metadata is data that provides information about other data, not a condensed or aggregated form of detailed data.

Question 8

The very essence of the DW environment is that the data contained within the boundaries of the warehouse are integrated. This integration manifests itself through consistency in naming convention and measurement attributes, accuracy, and common aggregation.

Accepted Answer

Data Warehousing (DW) environments are designed to integrate data from various sources into a cohesive and consistent format, ensuring that naming conventions, measurement attributes, accuracy, and aggregation methods are standardized across all data, facilitating easier analysis and reporting.

Question 9

The time horizon for data in the data warehouse is typically significantly longer than operational data sores.

Accepted Answer

Data warehouses are designed to hold historical data over a long period to support trend analysis and decision-making, whereas operational data stores focus on current or near-term data for daily operations.

Question 10

One of the benefits of integrated data is the establishment of a common unit of measure for all synonymous data elements from dissimilar databases.

Accepted Answer

Integrated data allows for the harmonization of data from different sources, ensuring that synonymous data elements are measured and represented consistently, which facilitates more accurate and meaningful analysis.

Question 11

According to Inmon, because data warehouses are highly de-normalized, they are highly redundant.

Accepted Answer

According to Inmon, data warehouses are subject to a process of transformation and integration, which often involves normalization to reduce redundancy, not increase it. They are designed to consolidate data from various sources into a single, coherent database for querying and analysis, aiming for non-redundancy and consistency.

Question 12

One objective of the data warehouse environment is to minimize the impact on operational systems.

Accepted Answer

The data warehouse environment is designed to offload complex queries and analysis from operational systems, thereby minimizing their impact on the performance of these transaction-oriented systems.

Question 13

The end user in a data warehouse environment deals directly with the application messaging layer.

Accepted Answer

In a data warehouse environment, the end user typically interacts with front-end applications or business intelligence tools, not directly with the application messaging layer, which is more concerned with the integration and communication between different software applications.

Question 14

The process management layer in a data warehouse can be thought of as a scheduler.

Accepted Answer

The process management layer in a data warehouse is responsible for managing and scheduling the various tasks required to extract, transform, and load data, making it functionally similar to a scheduler.

Question 15

The processes needed to prepare the data to be loaded into a data warehouse are performed in the data staging layer.

Accepted Answer

The data staging layer is where data is prepared for analysis by being cleaned, transformed, and integrated before being loaded into a data warehouse.

Question 16

A data warehouse topology requires a centralized data warehouse that is accessed by one or more decision support tools.

Accepted Answer

The answer of A data warehouse topology requires a centralized...

Question 17

One of the most important factors in the development of a data warehouse is a comprehensive architectural framework.

Accepted Answer

A comprehensive architectural framework is crucial in the development of a data warehouse as it outlines the structure, processes, and methodologies needed to effectively gather, store, and manage data from various sources, ensuring data quality, consistency, and accessibility for analysis and decision-making.

Question 18

Transformation mapping metadata records how data from operational data stores and external sources are transformed on the way into the warehouse.

Accepted Answer

Transformation mapping metadata documents the processes and rules applied to data as it is transferred from source systems into a data warehouse, detailing how the data is altered, filtered, and aggregated.

Question 19

The most common component in the DW environment is the _____________. Its primary day-to-day function is to store the data for a single, specific set of operational applications.
A) data mart
B) data warehouse
C) operational data store
D) data staging tables

Accepted Answer

The Operational Data Store (ODS) is the most common component in the Data Warehouse (DW) environment specifically designed for storing data for a single, specific set of operational applications. Its primary function is to integrate data from different sources to provide a unified view for operational reporting and decision-making.

Question 20

Which of the following is not true of a data warehouse?
A) Implicit in its definition is that the data warehouse is physically separated from all other operational systems.
B) The data warehouse replaces the need for all other reporting systems within an organization.
C) The data warehouse holds aggregated data and atomic data for management.
D) None of the above.

Accepted Answer

The data warehouse does not replace the need for all other reporting systems within an organization. Instead, it complements them by providing a centralized repository of integrated data from one or more sources, which can be used for creating analytical reports and informing decision-making processes. Other reporting systems may still be used for operational reporting and specific purposes.

Quiz 10: The Data Warehouse