A Model of Data Warehousing Process Maturity

Even though data warehousing (DW) requires huge investments, the data warehouse market is experiencing incredible growth. However, a large number of DW initiatives end up as failures. In this paper, we argue that the maturity of a data warehousing process (DWP) could significantly mitigate such large-scale failures and ensure the delivery of consistent, high quality, “single-version of truth” data in a timely manner. However, unlike software development, the assessment of DWP maturity has not yet been tackled in a systematic way. In light of the critical importance of data as a corporate resource, we believe that the need for a maturity model for DWP could not be greater. In this paper, we describe the design and development of a five-level DWP maturity model (DWP-M) over a period of three years. A unique aspect of this model is that it covers processes in both data warehouse development and operations. Over 20 key DW executives from 13 different corporations were involved in the model development process. The final model was evaluated by a panel of experts; the results strongly validate the functionality, productivity, and usability of the model. We present the initial and final DWP-M model versions, along with illustrations of several key process areas at different levels of maturity.