Mnemonic/Collaboration Technique/Framework (BITCAR). Aims to provide a high level guidance enable better Story & Acceptance writing for Data Warehouse projects

1. Attili, Phani
Mnemonic/Collaboration Technique/Framework (BITCAR). Aims to provide a high level guidance
enable better Story & Acceptance writing for Data Warehouse projects
BITCAR- Agile, Data Warehouse

2. PhainAttili
Product Owner BITCAR
Abstract
My first attempt to introduce a Mnemonic/Collaboration Technique/Framework (BITCAR). Aims to
provide ahighlevel guidance enable betterStory&Acceptance writingforDataWarehouse projects.
Mnemonic that helps Business Analysts/Business System Analysts/Product Owners stay focused on the
essentials for the DW Story/Acceptance. This also helps Data Architects and other development
communityrolesinthe SCRUMteamto easilyconsume the information/acceptance withgreaterclarity.
Provides a basic learning technique that can enable more collaboration in Backlog refinement session,
uncover some common questions we often miss, improve participation among the team and Business
thru multiple questions which could lead to better stories/acceptance, and identify the dependencies
upfront.
Everyletterinthe FrameworkBITCARhas significance inbuildingabetterstoryandacceptance.
B: Business
I: Integration
T: Table/s
C: Columns/s
A: Association
R: Representation
Post is only intended to focus on better story/acceptance building for Data Warehouse programs, I
intentionally did not cover the basics of Agile/SCRUM frame work with an assumption that
users/readersof the frameworkare alreadyaware of Agile/SCRUMprocessesandartifacts.

3. PhainAttili
Product Owner BITCAR
Contents
Target Audience.................................................................................................................................4
Challenge & Goal................................................................................................................................4
Framework –BITCAR (Business)...........................................................................................................5
Framework –BITCAR (Integration).......................................................................................................6
Framework –BITCAR (Table)................................................................................................................7
Framework –BITCAR (Columns)...........................................................................................................8
Framework –BITCAR (Association).......................................................................................................9
Framework –BITCAR (Representation)...............................................................................................10
Conclusion .......................................................................................................................................10
Example -BITCARframework.............................................................................................................11

4. PhainAttili
Product Owner BITCAR
Target Audience
BusinessSystemAnalysts
BusinessAnalysts
IT/A Product Owners
Data Engineers
Data Modelers
Data Architects
SolutionArchitects
SCRUM Masters/TPMs
BusinessStakeholders
CrossFunctional Teams
Challenge & Goal
The Challenge in Data Warehouse projects lies in detailing the essential components that contribute to a
story or acceptance which can demonstrate to the Business value/Impact. The value/Impact can be
operational reporting,Analytics,Self Service,DashBoardsand/or Metrics/KPIs.
The Goal of the paper is to provide a basic learning technique that can enable more collaboration in
Backlog refinement session, uncover some common questions we often miss, improve participation
among the team and Business thru multiple questions which could lead to better stories/acceptance,
and identifythe dependenciesupfront.

5. PhainAttili
Product Owner BITCAR
Framework –BITCAR (Business)
B is the main driving factor for any of the story and acceptance. B – Reminds the BSA/PO/DA/APO
about what business value a particular story is trying to achieve, Business Impact if any, Business
Attributes, Business Continuity, Business Need. Following are the areas that would cover B. It is not
necessary thatevery component described below be utilized in Storywriting and acceptance, few can be
utilized at an epic level or a feature level as well. We need to ensure that relevant components are
coveredbasedonthe goal of a particularstory andhow itworksfor the team.
B
BusinessValue Is thisgoinghelp
 Businessanalytics?
 Businessinperformance measurement?
 BusinessinCompliance reporting?
 Businessin buildingmetrics?
BusinessAttributes  What BusinessAttributes/BusinessdataSetsaparticularstory istryingto capture?
 What are the BusinessDefinitionsforthose attributes?
 How the BusinessAttributes are derived/calculated?
 How longthe Businessattributesneedtobe storedinthe Data Warehouse?
BusinessImpact  What BusinessImpacta particulardataset would create, if notavailable
 What Businesscando betterwith the datawe are planningtoSource?
 How Long BusinesscanwaitwithoutthisparticulardataSetsinDW
 What isthe BusinessPriorityof the targetdata setoverrestof the stories
 BusinessPointof Contacts
BusinessContinuity  Is newdata Acquisition fromanew Source?
 Is newdata Acquisitionfromanexisting Source?
 Identifythe datasources?
 Will the new data froma New/Existingsource impactthe downstreamprocesses?
 Will anyexistingdatafeedsbe affectedbynew dataacquisition?
 How frequently will the existingdatabeingconsumedbyBusiness?
 How longdowe have to maintainthe new andexistingfeeds?
BusinessNeed  What isthe Businessneedforthisdata – isthisinterimneed?
 DoesBusinessneedhistorical data?
 How muchhistorygoingforward doesthe businessneed?
 Doesthe Businessneedthe dataforspecifictime period?
BusinessProcess  Are there any BusinessProcessesassociatedinthe upstreamwhichwill resultinto
multiple statesof andataset or an attributes
 DoesBusinessrequires retentionof changestothe dataover time?
 Doesthe existingBusinessprocessneedtobe modifiedtomeetBusinessdata
Needs?
 Are there any new BusinessProcesses thatwill impactthe dataacquisition?
 What isthe impactto the data collectiondue tothe upstream/downstream
processfailures?

6. PhainAttili
Product Owner BITCAR
Framework –BITCAR (Integration)
I standsfor integration,whichisthe heartof anyDataware house story. In general the BSA/BA/POwill
have to partnerwithSolutionArchitectstobuildthe requirements/Stories aroundthe Solutiontomeet
the businessneeds.
It isnot necessarythatall the pointsmentionedbelow are applicableeverytime.Basedonthe Solution
and Businessneeds, the followingtopicsshouldbe covered.
I
Is the Integration plannedthruCustom OrganizationApproachesinPlace
Do we have the right Businesseventsinplace?
Do we have the right primarydrivingfactorsinplace?
Do we knowthe tablesthat wouldbe impactedbythese businesseventsortriggers?
DoesthisintegrationworkforGlobal datasets?
How doesthisdata relate toany existingdataalreadyinthe data warehouse?
Doesthisintegration require multiplestate changesof attributes?
Is the approach scalable?
Doesthis provide reference pattern?
Is the integrationplannedthruHighWaterMark Low Watermark Approach
Do we have the DrivingTable inplace?
Do we have the right clarityof Change Sequence IDs?
Is the IntegrationPlannedthrua Directpull anddailyrefresh
Can the dailyvolumesbe supportedbythisapproach?
What isthe frequencyof the dataextract?
If the data needstobe restated,how can we getthe previousstate of data thru this
approach?
Do we need BusinessRulesinordertointegrate dataacross differentdatasetsfromdifferent
sources?
Is the integration plannedthruB2B
Do we have right securitymeasuresinplace?
How muchdata at whatfrequencycanbe exchangedthruthisapproach?
How isthe communicationmanagedthru processwhenfailurehappens?
Is the IntegrationPlannedthruthe SOA
What do we need tohave the subscriptionprocess?
Do we have informationonadaptorstobe utilized?
How muchdata can we persistinthe integrationlayer?

7. PhainAttili
Product Owner BITCAR
Framework –BITCAR (Table)
Thissegmentof the frameworkdetailsthe essentialsthata BSA/DA/POneedtounderstandand
incorporate inthe stories/acceptancewithrespectto Tables.
T
What are the Source Tablesto be Targeted?
What isthe data that a particulartable contains?
How doesthatTable addressthe Businessneeds?
WhichSource Schema doesa particulartable belong?
Is thisa newtable the teamis goingtoacquire ?
Is thisan existingtablewhere we needbringinmore data?
Is thisa reference table?
Is the data a transaction where changes basedonbusinessprocesses?
What isthe rightextractiontechniquetobe used?
What isthe data extractionfrequency?
What isthe historyrequirementof thistable?
What isthe currentvolume andexpectedgrowthof the data?
Are there any special requirementstoconsiderwhichmaycause performance issues?
How doesthistable fitintooverall datamodel?
Do we needto transformthe source data?
Do we have Data IntegrityChecksandQualitychecksplanned?
What are the differentsourcesthatare goingto feeda particulartable?
Do we have an approach to differentiate multiple source feedsintoone table?
Didwe profile the table tounderstandthe dataina Source Table?
What definesthe primarykeyforthe source table? Isthe PKa systemgeneratedidentifier? Is there
a businessdefineduniqueidentifier?

8. PhainAttili
Product Owner BITCAR
Framework –BITCAR (Columns)
Thissegmentof the frameworkdetailsthe essentialsthata BSA/DA/POneedtounderstandand
incorporate inthe stories/acceptancewithrespectto Columns
C
What are the Source Tablesforthe columnsthatneedtobe targeted?
Do we have definitionsforthe columns?
Do we know the businessusage of thiscolumn?
Are there any Flex Columnsthatneedtobe sourcedin?
Are there any Fillercolumnsthatneedtobe sourcedin?
Do we knowthe Source Data Type and Lengthsforthe columns?
What columnsneedtosupportMulti Byte/Unicode?
What isthe minimum/maximumdatavaluesthatcanbe expectedinagivencolumn?
Do we have the Desiredplumbingcolumnsinplace?
Do we have the right foreignkey columnsinplace toassociate othertables?
Doesorderof the columnshave anysignificance?
How dodifferentdatatypesof multiple sources resultinchanges tothe Target table?
Do we knowwhat columnscanbe null andnot null?
Do we knowthe expecteddatavaluesthatcouldgetpopulatedinthe target columns?
Will new Columns orrecordsalterexistingPKsinBase ordownstreamin Package?

9. PhainAttili
Product Owner BITCAR
Framework –BITCAR (Association)
ThisSegmentof the framework detailsthe essentialsthatneedbe coveredaspart of the
acceptance/storywithrespecttothe Associationsof differentdatasetsandtables
A
How will multipletablesassociatedwitheachotheronthe source side?
How will multipletables/datasets be associatedatthe Targetside?
Doesthe Integrationapproachprovide associationsbetweenmultiple datasets?
Do the Joins/Associationsonthe Source Side result inmultiple datasetsorsingle datasetonTarget
side?
Are there any multi-levelassociationsbetweenthe tables thatneedtobe performedtoachieve
businessobjectives?
Do the Triggers/Businesseventsonthe primarydrivingtableshelpupdate associatedtables?
Do we have all the associationsunderstoodtorepresentdatasetsat multiplelevels?
Do any level of associationsbetweenthe tablescreate anyperformance challenges?
Can we associate the newdatawithany existingdatasetstomeetbusinessneeds?
Do changesinthe integrationlayeraffectanyexistingtablesandassociations?
Do we have any downstreamimpactsbecause of anynew associationsformed?

10. PhainAttili
Product Owner BITCAR
Framework –BITCAR (Representation)
Thissegmentof the frameworkdetailsthe essentialsthatneedto be covered toensure the right
Representationof dataisachievedperthe businessneeds.
R
What isthe Grainof the data to be representedin?
Do we needto bringdata to a base layerwithoutlotof transformations?
Do we needto bringthe data intoa packagedform?
Do we needto enable the datafor reportrepresentation?
Do we needto enable the dataforDashboards?
What level of normalizationisneeded?
Can the requirementbe metthrougha VIEWor doesthe data needtobe in a physical table?
Shouldthe data be summarizedbasedonspecific dimensions?
What businessrules ortransformationsare requiredtoachieve particularrepresentation?
Do we needa trendbasedrepresentation?
Do we needhistoricviewof the selecteddata?
Do we needto representthe interimstate changesof anydata sets?
Do businessneedself-service reporting?
Do we needto publishthe reportsoutsidethe firewall?
Do we needto schedule andpublishthe reports?
What type of securityisneeded?
Do we needa schemalayeror do the usershave database skills?
Conclusion
Thisframework/Mnemoniccanbe utilizedinmultiple waysinaddressingthe essentialsof DW
backlog/stories/acceptance.Notall the attributesof everysegmentof the frameworkwill be applicable
for eachstory.But dependingonthe goal of the story,a BSA/PO/DA/Teamcancollaborate with the
Businessandotherprojectstakeholders suchas SolutionandETL to jointlyownthe storiesforbetter
collaborationandclarity. It’snotnecessarythatTeam adoptsto this,if itworksfor yourteam or not
dependsonthe SCRUMteams.

11. PhainAttili
Product Owner BITCAR
Example -BITCAR framework
Example 1: Assume thatBusinesshasa needtobringinspecificDatasegmenttoDW to utilize for
AnalyticsPurpose.
Business
• Business Attributes
List
• Attribute
Definition- Business
• Business Rules
• Business needs this
data to be retained
for N years
Integration
• Incremental
Approach
• Frequency of
Extarction
• Timing of the
extraction
Tables
• List of tables -
Source
• Tables Nature
• Meta data about
the Table
• Volume of the
Records
• PK & FK
Columns
• Mapping of
Business Attributes
Vs Columns
• Data Types
• Data Formats
• Field Definitions
• Distinct Values
• Null /Not Null
• Association
Association
• Any
transaformations
Involved
• Any
Joins/Associations
betweeen Multiple
Table
Representation
• DW Base Layer
• DW Package Layer
BITCAR

12. PhainAttili
Product Owner BITCAR
Example 2:
Assume thatBusinesshasa needto bringinspecificDatasegmenttoDW to utilize forReporting
Purpose
Business
• Business Attributes List
• Attribute Definition-
Business
• Business needs this
data to be retained for
N years
• Business Roll up details
• Business users
• Business users
concurrent
• Business Accepted
down time
Integration
• Incremental Approach
• Frequency of
Extarction
• Timing of the
extraction
Tables
• List of tables - Source
• Tables Nature
Columns
• Mapping of Business
Attributes Vs Columns
Association
• Any transaformations
Involved
• Any Joins/Associations
betweeen Multiple
Table
• Any Aggegations
Representation
• DW Base Layer
• DW Package
• Business Requested
Report Template
• Report SLA for
Referesh
• Drill Up/Drill Down
• Pull/Push Report
BITCAR

13. PhainAttili
Product Owner BITCAR
Glossary
BSA BusinesssystemAnalyst
PO ProductOwner
TPM Technical ProgramManager
BI BusinessIntelligence
DW Dataware House
ETL Extract TransformLoad
DA Data Architecture/DataArchitect
B2B BusinesstoBusiness
SOA Service Oriented Architecture