Brokering Situations in Data Warehouse Development Projects: an Exploratory Study

Data Warehouse (DWH) projects bring together different communities of practice to create one body of knowledge and help increase the competitive advantages of companies. In this paper we concentrate on the role of DWH professionals as a spanning community in DWH development projects. We argue that each time DWH professionals engage in a spanning activity towards neighboring communities of practice, representatives from these communities take spanning roles as well. As a result, a brokering situation resides within the social structure created by bridging multiple communities together, building a brokering community. In order to observe the roles of DWH professionals within these brokering situations more closely, we conducted interviews with experienced DWH professionals in two interconnected phases. Based on the results gathered, we argue that the selection of the community’s representatives with experience in the boundary communities can improve brokering situations.