The Data Webhouse Toolkit: Building the Web-enabled Data Warehouse Book

In this groundbreaking work, authors and data warehousing visionaries Ralph Kimball and Richard Merz explore a next generation Web site architecture that exploits the unique nature of the Web's interactivity to dramatically improve an organisation's understanding of their relationship with users. The Data Webhouse Toolkit isn't a how-to manual; it is a high-level look at an ambitious new approach to system design.The foundation of the concept of Webhouses is the "clickstream"--the plethora of information that can be gleaned if only a system can capture and accurately analyse all of the interaction (or lack of) that occurs between Web users and the sites they access. The authors take a careful look at all of the valuable details that are available in the clickstream and point out all of the complications in compiling this precious information from the various gathering points such as the user's machine, ISP and Web site.A powerful case is made for the application of data warehousing and dimensional analysis to the clickstream to radically improve the strategic knowledge of customer motives and actions. While there are no real-life case studies yet to illustrate the concept, this book is bound to whet the appetite of many creative entrepreneurs and system architects. --Stephen W. Plain, Amazon.comTopics covered: "Clickstream" concept, opportunities and barriers to information, Web site user tracking, clickstream driven decisions, clickstream data marts, user interface design, data mining, international concerns, scalability and project management.Read More