Information requirements analysis for data warehouse systems differs significantly from requirements analysis for conventional information systems. Existing data warehouse specific approaches are reviewed. A comprehensive methodology that supports the entire process of determining information requirements of data warehouse users, matching information requirements with actual information supply, evaluating and homogenizing resulting information requirements, establishing priorities for unsatisfied information requirements, and formally specifying the results as a basis for subsequent phases of the data warehouse development (sub)project is proposed Its components as well as its overall design are based partially on literature review, but mainly on findings from a four year collaboration project with several large companies, mostly from the service sector. While an application of the entire methodology is still outstanding, some components have been successfully applied in actual data warehouse development projects of the participating companies.

Obwohl der Informationsbedarfsanalyse als einer der frühen Phasen der Entwicklung von Data-Warehouse-Systemen grosse Bedeutung zukommt, zeigt die Bewertung bestehender Ansätze im Lichte der Anforderungen von Projektverantwortlichen erhebliche Lücken. In diesem Beitrag wird ein Vorgehensmodell für die nachfrageorientierte Informationsbedarfsanalyse im Data Warehousing vorgeschlagen, das den gesamten Prozess der Identifikation von Informationsbedarfen, Synchronisation von Informationsbedarf und-angebot, Bewertung und Homogenisierung von Informationslücken, Priorisierung zusätzlicher Informationsbedarfe und Spezifikation zusätzlicher Informationsbedarfe als Grundlage weiterer Data-Warehouse-Systementwicklungsschritte umfasst. Verschiedene Komponenten des Ansatzes konnten bereits in Form von Kooperationsprojekten mit Grossunternehmen erfolgreich umgesetzt werden.

Information requirements analysis for data warehouse systems differs significantly from requirements analysis for conventional information systems. Based on interviews with project managers and information systems managers, requirements for a methodological support of information requirements analysis for data warehouse systems are derived. Existing approaches are reviewed with regard to these requirements. Using the method engineering approach, a comprehensive methodology that supports the entire process of determining information requirements of data warehouse users, matching information requirements with actual information supply, evaluating and homogenizing resulting information requirements, establishing priorities for unsatisfied information requirements, and formally specifying the results as a basis for subsequent phases of the data warehouse development (sub)project has been proposed. The most important sources for methodology components were four in-depth case studies of information requirements analysis practices observed in data warehousing development projects of large organizations. In this paper, these case studies are presented and the resulting consolidated methodology is summarized. While an application of the proposed methodology in its entirety is still outstanding, its components have been successfully applied in actual data warehouse development projects.

Current web site development is still dominated by technical issues. In order to enable efficient communication between developers and to provide a stable foundation for adopting new technologies, conceptual modeling of web sites is essential. Based on the state-of-the-art of conceptual modeling as implemented in current CASE environments, this paper tries to identify the “essence” of a web site and proposes an adequate conceptual model. The model is intended to capture not only hierarchical document structure and hypertext semantics, but also dynamic page generation from databases and various approaches to explicit and implicit navigation. It becomes evident that web sites can be regarded as supersets of traditional information systems, thereby requiring conceptual modeling to include various additional features. The proposed model comprises several classes of information objects, various types of associations, design rules, and quality checks. For illustration purposes, the model is applied to an existing web site. Current web site development tools are analyzed with regard to the extent to which conceptual web site modeling is supported.

E-commerce is changing the nature of business. To support ‘buying and selling over digital media’ for private and corporate Web users, companies need not only appropriate transaction systems, but also new information systems. While the systems development challenge for transaction systems is mostly restricted to separating access channel functionality from business transactions processing and developing systems support for new access channels, systems development needs for information systems are much more challenging since different media and different information source systems have to be integrated, novel forms navigation has to be supported and information objects become more complex and more volatile.