Extraction
Process of capturing data from operational databases and other services.
Cleansing
Filling in missing values, correcting typographical and other data entry errors, establishing standard abbreviations and formats, etc.
Transformation
Transforming data to the form required by the Decision Support System (DSS). Usually the required form will be a set of files, one for each table identified in the physical schema.
Consolidation
Merging and harmonizing data from several source systems.
Loading
- Moving the transformed and consolidated data into the decision support database
- Integrity checking.
- Building any necessary indexes.
Refreshing
Process of periodically requesting data from the source systems in order to keep data in the DSS reasonably current.