Exploring the Structural Dimension of Data Warehouse Organizations: Results of a Survey and Implications

Practitioners and researchers in the domain of data warehousing are primarily focussing on technical aspects of data warehouse systems. Organizational issues are often neglected although several studies about critical success factors of data warehouse projects emphasize their importance. Thus, the aim of this paper is to provide deeper insights in organizational issues of data warehousing. The paper focuses on structural aspects of data warehouse organizations by presenting results of an exploratory survey conducted in 2003. The study shows a trend towards organizational challenges, problems in the structural dimension of data warehouse organizations and what kind of documentation about data warehouse departments exists. The findings of the study are discussed and implications for research and practice are highlighted.