Building A Data Warehouse for Decision Support (2nd Edition)

Rating:
Summary: DW / DSS Development Common Sense and Practical Advice
Review: As someone who has been architecting, managing and implementing Data Warehouses and DSS since the beginning of the 80's I can conclude that this book is a very good introduction to Building a Data Warehouse for Decision Support. I think it would also serve as an excellent introductory book for Business Executives and DW / DSS Project Managers / Programme Managers alike. As it highlights certain pitfalls and tips from the trenches that are: not obvious to the uninitiated; avoidable; or costly then this is book is worth reading - rather than skimming through.

Rating:
Summary: It's more like an experience report than a book
Review: First I'm supprised to see the big font size used in this book, which makes the book heavy in weight light in content. Although it does make a good good picture of building a data warehouse from application point of view, it failed to say any thing about the real stuff of decision support, such as associate rule. The readers are also expecting a list of references for futher reading, but the book offered nothing! I don't recommend this book to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: This is the book you give to people who say "a data what?"
Review: Ms. Poe has written an excellent book on the data warehouse and what it can do for you. She tackles questions like why do I need another database, what is the difference between a tactical and strategic data source. She does discuss star schemas but not in so much detail that you could build one. In fact, if you actually are building a data warehouse yourself, look elsewhere. I recommend "The Data Warehouse Toolkit" by Kimball. Ms. Poe sent me an e-mail that indicated her next effort would be in an unrelated field. I see that Amazon does not have a discount on this book but at some trade shows they give this book away for free. After all, it does sell the data warehouse concept

Rating:
Summary: very practical
Review: This book is a very practical book for information analysts, to get an overview. It covers all issues concerning a datawarehouse, without becoming too theoratical. The only minor point is the sometimes unlogical sequence.