0-9

20/20 hindsight

The perfect, error free perception available after the fact. Usually implemented by those uninvolved in a project to offer suggestions on how the project could have been done better.

24x7

A schedule of operation that is 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

28.8/33/56k dial up

A connection made by modem from a remote computer to a network or host computer at a transmission speed of 28.8kbs (kilobits per second), 33kbs or 56 kbs.

3270 terminals

Character based display terminals and keyboards that are directly connected to a host computer, usually a mainframe. Terminals have no internal computing capability, all processing is accomplished on the host.

3rd party data

Data sets that are purchased or obtained from sources outside the organization. Census data, industry sales and market share are common examples.

64/56k

A dedicated, leased digital phone line connection between a remote location and a network or host computer. 64k and 56k refer to the transmission speed of the connection, 64kbs (kilobits per second) and 56kbs respectively.

A&A

Access and analysis – refers to the query and reporting functions of the data warehouse.

Access Monitoring

A process for the measurement of query activity and results.  Ideally the monitoring will reflect the nature of a query, the time it took to run, and the number of records returned.  It is the intent to use this information to support database tuning and data distribution.

Access Path

The defined path which allows location and retrieval of data.

Accessibility

A data access quality which qualitatively defines the ease and timeliness by which users gain access to information.

Acronyms

Combinations of letters used to represent a series of words or phrases.

ActiveX

A Microsoft standard for computer application components.

Ad hoc

A non-recurring, one time or random query or analysis.

ADE (Application Development Environment) 

A programming language or environment used to develop applications to solve business problems.

Ad-Hoc Query

Any query that cannot be determined prior to when the query is issued.  A query that consists of dynamically constructed SQL, and is usually constructed by desktop-resident query tools.  Ad Hoc queries are distinguished from standard reports, where specific information is sought in a specific format about specific subjects on a regular basis.

Administrative Data

Data used in conjunction with the administrative activities of the database administrator.  It includes log data, dictionary data, rollback data, and other similar information.

ADP (Average Deal Price) 

The average purchase price of software, hardware and associated required consulting and training necessary for a complete installation and successful utilization.

Aggregate Data

Data that is the result of applying a process to combine elements.  Data that is taken collectively or in summary form.

Aggregation   

Also commonly called a summary, an aggregation is a collection of data calculated from detail transactions. An aggregation is usually a sum, count or average of the underlying detail, and often is calculated along several business dimensions, i.e. total sales by customer by product.

Alpha Geek

The member of a work group most conversant with technology & tools. Also known as “power user”.           

Analytical processing

The process of using data to produce an analysis, frequently in support of management decision support activities.

API (Application Programming Interface)       

A reference provided by software developers to facilitate other computer applications in communicating with their application.

Applets

Small applications that provide specific functions, such as calculation or modem operation. Applets are usually loaded and unloaded dynamically as required. When used in an Internet browser or other thin client scenario they may be cached to disk to speed loading.

Application

A computer program developed to provide a specific function or answer a specific business need.

Architecture (1)

A definition of the interconnection of computer components, network components or system components.

Architecture (2)

The process and outcome of discovering and specifying the overall structure, logical components, and the logical interrelationships (i.e. the design) of a system, network, or other concept.

Architecture, Data Warehouse

The structure and design of the components of the data warehouse to include the hardware, software, network, organization, data flow and the meta data.

ASCII

American Standard for Computer Information Interchange. A format for data storage and transmission, commonly referred to as “text” format.

ATM

Asynchronous Transfer Mode.  A computer networking communications protocol used for very high speed, high volume data communications, often over long distances.  More specifically, a packet based switched point to point data transmission protocol capable of transmitting data, voice, video and audio simultaneously at very high speeds.

Atomic Level Data

Data elements representing data at the most detailed level.

Attribute

Structural information about data that serves to establish its context and give meaning to it.  The term is also used to refer to descriptive structural information about a data field in a record.

B Tree

An indexing technique in which pointers to data are kept in a "Balanced Tree" structure such that all referenced data is equally accessible in an equal time frame. For example, this would allow an alphabetical search on names to access the names "Adams", "Madison" and "Young" with equal speed.

Backbone

A high speed network used to connect servers, mainframes, storage devices and network routing and switching equipment.

Bandwidth

A measurement of throughput rates. Usually used in conjunction with measuring network transmission speed, although colloquial use has extended the term to human resources as well, i.e. “he doesn’t have the bandwidth to be responsible for data island integration.”

Basic/VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) 

A programming language sold by Microsoft.

Batch 

A computer process that runs in a sequential series of processing steps.

Batch On-line

A job scheduled to run without the need for immediate response.  It may be initiated during an interactive session, but runs independently of that session.

Batch Processing

The process of updating target data through a load program.  This is different than an online update.

BDD (Business Data Dictionary)

A graphical front-end system that displays the metadata stored in the repository.  Designed for ease of use for business users.

Behavioral modeling

The development and use of models that predict customer responsiveness to stimuli such as offers and promotions.

Best Practice

A Best Practice would be a recommended procedure or activity that has been found to be effective in the organization, which developed successful data warehouses. A Best Practice could be:1.  "After a DW load, count the number of rows in the data warehouse and validate it against the source table." 2.  "Two months after the user training class, solicit input from the students about the portions of the class that were the most effective, which were of little use and what additional training would have been helpful." 3. "Data trustees are provided with a template in which they can indicate access capabilities for their data."

Bill Inmon

Author of many books on Data Warehousing and other computing topics. Popularly known as the “father of data warehousing.”

Bit

One unit of binary information. A bit is either a one or a zero.

Bit Mapped Indexes

Indexing techniques which use binary encoding to represent data.  Originally used only for Low Cardinality data, recent advances such as Sybase IQ have allowed this technique to be used for High Cardinality data as well.

Black hole

An area of a project that sucks resources away from other priorities, never to be seen again. Black holes have limitless appetites for resources.

BOB (Best of Breed)

A computing and technology strategy based upon finding and implementing the best product in each category required to solve a business problem.

Bottom up      

A data warehouse strategy based on building incremental architected data marts to test products, methodologies and designs first, then using these data marts to justify the construction of the enterprise data warehouse.

BPR (Business Process Reengineering)

The analysis and re-design of business processes and associated technology systems.

Browsers

A “thin” client application that is used to navigate, investigate, and select information. Browsers are used to navigate and access the world wide web (WWW) and are also commonly used to navigate and access meta data.

Business Analyst

The Business Analyst has a very strong understanding of the specific business processes being addressed, along with the ability to bridge the gap between the business community and the technical community.  They communicate business rules and user requirements to the Data Warehouse team.

Business case

A presentation of the justifications for the pursuit of a technology project.

Business driver

A problem in the business that can be solved by technology.

Business Experts

People that thoroughly understand the business and the data supporting the business. They know the specific business rules and processes unique to the organization or organizations within the scope of the common metadata.

Business Intelligence Tools

Software, typically provided by vendors, which provides easy end-user access to data.  These tools normally provide a mechanism to assist and guide users in the selection of appropriate data to meet the users needs.  Examples of these tools are: Impromptu, Business Objects, SAS, etc.

Business model

A view of the business at any given point in time. The view can be from a process, data event or resource perspective, and can be the past, present, or future state of the business.  Business modeling can be defined as the discovery and documentation of the business model.

Business Pain

Pain expressed by the user community such as lost customers due to lack of data quality or, premium lost due to excessive system downtimes, expenses too high due to inefficient business processes.

Business Rules

Policies by which a business is run.  In a data environment, business rules are often stated as relationships among data elements, precedence of one data element over another, and time relationships between data elements.  Business rules may be represented programmatically within applications.

Business Scope

The measurement of how widespread the impact of a technological solution has upon the overall business operations.

Byte

Eight bits of information.

C/C++

Compiled programming languages used to develop computer applications.

C/S (Client/Server)

A computing architecture in which a client computer communicates over a network to exchange data with a server computer.

A distributed technology approach where the processing is divided by function. The server performs shared functions, (managing communications, providing database services) while the client performs individual user functions.

Cache

A copy of program code or data that is kept in memory or on a local hard drive to provide quick access by a CPU or computer application.

Canned queries

Queries created by Power End-Users and by IS and stored in a query library.

Cardinality

The number of data occurrences allowed on either side of a data relation. In the common data architecture, cardinality is documented with data integrity, not with the data structure.

CASE (Computer Aided Software Engineering)

A computer application that automates some aspects of database and application design and implementation.

Casual User

An end user of computer applications who uses the application on an infrequent basis.  Often a casual user is considered to have less demanding requirements for analysis or is one whose needs may be satisfied by access to pre-defined data pathways, reports, or pre-built (canned) queries.

Catalog

A component of a data dictionary that contains a directory of its DBMS objects as well as attributes of each object.

CDC (Change Data Capture)

The process of identifying and/or segmenting the incremental data generated from an OLTP system over a given time period.

CEO (Chief Executive Officer)

The top management position in a corporation.

CEO table      

A database table or series of tables or data sets created and maintained to meet the needs of the senior management team.

Centralized Data Warehouse

A single, central data warehouse in which all the warehouse data is located.

CFO (Chief Financial Officer)

The top management position in the finance functional area of a corporation.

CGI (Common Gateway Interface)

A standard protocol for communication between a web server and a database server.

Character Set

A grouping of alphanumeric and special characters used by computer systems to store data. Different sets of characters are used to support different user languages and different applications. The various groupings have been codified by ANSI (American National Standards Institute).

CIO (Chief Information Officer)

The top management position in the information technology area of a corporation.

CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computer)

A CPU that is designed to support the direct execution of very complex operations in one (or very few) CPU cycles.

Cleansing

The process of manipulating the data extracted from the operational systems so as to make it usable by the data warehouse.

Clients

Computer systems utilized directly by users to interface with computer applications.

CLM (Career Limiting Move)

A strategic or tactical error that ends or limits ones career.

COBOL (Common Business Oriented Language)     

A 3rd generation compiled language used to develop computer applications.

Common Data Architecture

A formal, comprehensive data architecture that provides a common context within which an integrated data resource is developed so that it adequately supports the business information demand.

Compromise creep

The expansion of a projects stated or implied goals.

Computer

An electronic device allowing the controllable, programmable execution of calculation logic.

Confidence level

A business meta data attribute used to measure the organization’s faith in a specific data field. Usually expressed in a three level scale (poor, moderate, high).

Core Competency

A core competence would be the skills and capabilities of the development team members.  Examples of these skills include data modeling, data base design, and performance monitoring and tuning. The skills would sometimes be associated with a tool (such as ETL skills and expertise using Informatica).

Corporate Data Model

A logical model that incorporates all the important aspects of an enterprises data architecture.  Components include entities, attributes, relationships, rules, and definitions stated in business terms.  A corporate data model is never considered to be static, but is constantly being reviewed and enhanced to better represent an enterprises data architecture.

CPUs (Central Processing Units)

The logic engines of computers responsible for interpreting and executing instructions contained in computer programs.

CRT (Cathode Ray Tube)

Monitors attached to computers used to display images formed by a scanning electron beam.

Customer

A party known to the organization who has a current contractual obligatory (ownership) relationship role to one or more financial related services (product) offered by the organization.

Customer Access Success          

A term that describes the level of satisfaction achieved by a data user - how successful was a user in satisfying their requirements for information.

Customer Experience

The Customer Experience is a corporate goal that will allow the organizations customers to make the following statements:

• "The organization understands people like me and provides the choices I need."
• "The organization is available when and where I need them."

·        "The organization makes it easier for me."

Customer Intelligence Systems

Systems which are geared to providing companies information about the purchasing preferences of their customers. These systems are used to identify potential customers and to retain existing customers, as well as to find out what products and services should be promoted to which segment of the customer population.

CYPY (Current Year & Prior Year)

A collection of data containing only information from the prior year and the current year. Popularly used to answer the primary needs of business which focus on measuring current year performance versus prior year results. By implementing a CYPY table, designers limit the utilization of the full set of historical detail, which often yields poor response times.

DA (Data Architect)

Otherwise known as a Data Modeler, this person is responsible for designing the logical and physical data models.  The Data Architect designs and creates logical data models based on the information needs supplied by the Business Analysts.  This person is 100% user oriented and in tune with business issues and processes.

DASD (Direct Access Storage Device)

Commonly used to refer to “hard” disk drives, which are data storage devices that record information on spinning platters coated with magnetic material.

DASD Fear   

The fear often expressed and manifested by those who are uncomfortable with the prospect of storing and managing many gigabytes or terabytes of data.

Data

Items representing facts, text, graphics, bit-mapped images, sound analog or digital live-video functions.  Data is the raw material of a system supplied by data producers and is used by consumers to create information.

Data acquisition

Defines the process of extracting data from the operational systems, including legacy systems, transforming the data into a common format, performs various levels of aggregation or summarization and loads the

database.

Data Base Associates International

A consulting and analyst firm.

Data Capture

The collection of information, usually at the time a transaction occurs, in a form that can be used by a computer system (for example, the recording of a sale or a withdrawal from an automated cash machine).  The term also applies to saving on a storage medium (a disk) a record of the interchanges between the user and a remote information utility.

Data Cardinality

Cardinality is a property of data elements which indicates the number of allowable entries in that element. For example, a data element such as "gender" only allows two entries: "Male" or "Female" Data elements which have few allowable entries are said to possess "Low Cardinality". Those, such as "age" or "income", for which many allowable entries are possible, are said to have "High Cardinality".

Data Cleansing/conditioning

The process by which invalid data is removed or corrected.  Data cleansing may be a step in the process by which data is transported from a source to a target system or it may be done "in place" on an existing data source.

Data Collection

The process of acquiring source documents or data; also the grouping of data elements into a coherent whole through classification, sorting, ordering and other organizational techniques.

Data Compression

Mathematical techniques used to reduce the amount of storage required for certain data.

Data Contact

This person supports the Data Steward.  Questions concerning data are directed to this individual first.

Data cube

A proprietary data structure used to store data for a MOLAP end user data access and analysis tool.

Data Delivery

The electronic movement of data stored in remote locations to a user's desktop.

Data Dictionary

This component of the metadata warehouse is an alphabetical list of the formal data names and comprehensive data definitions for data sites, data subjects, data characteristics, data characteristic variations, data codes, and data versions within the common data architecture.

Data Element

The most elementary unit of data that can be identified or described in a dictionary or repository which cannot be subdivided.

Data Explosion

A term given to express the increase in stored data when using Multidimensional Database Systems. The amount of data stored in these systems is often a multiple of the size of the raw data entered into the systems from the existing operational databases. Hence, the data undergoes an "Explosion" to several times (or many times) its original size.

Data Extraction

The process of moving data from one database source to one database target.

Data Integration

The activity of combining data from multiple data sources to present a single collection of data to the warehouse.

Data Integrity

A rule applied to data which identifies how one data element relates to another. Relations are based on the inheritance of a key value as in a parent-child relationship.  Typically associated with a relational database management system.

Data Islands

Stand alone OLTP systems that are usually operated outside the influence and/or control of a central IS organization.

Data Loading

The process of populating the data warehouse.  Data loading is provided by DBMS-specific load processes, DBMS insert processes and independent fast load processes.

Data