Integrating Clickstream into Web Retailer’s Bus Matrix
This section considers the business processes needed by a web-based computer retailer. The retailer’s enterprise data warehouse bus matrix is illustrated in Figure 15-8. Note the matrix lists business process subject areas, not individual fact tables. Typically, each matrix row results in a suite of closely associated fact tables and/or OLAP cubes, which all represent a particular business process.
The Figure 15-8 matrix has a number of striking characteristics. There are a lot of check marks. Some of the dimensions, such as date/time, organization, and employee appear in almost every business process. The product and customer dimensions dominate the middle part of the matrix, where they are attached to business processes that describe customer-oriented activities. At the top of the matrix, suppliers and parts dominate the processes of acquiring the parts that make up products...