Product Description

"Ralph′s latest book ushers in the second wave of the Internet. . . . Bottom line, this book provides the insight to help companies combine Internet–based business intelligence with the bounty of customer data generated from the internet."––William Schmarzo, Director World Wide Solutions, Sales, and Marketing,IBM NUMA–Q.

Receiving over 100 million hits a day, the most popular commercial Websites have an excellent opportunity to collect valuable customer data that can help create better service and improve sales. Companies can use this information to determine buying habits, provide customers with recommendations on new products, and much more. Unfortunately, many companies fail to take full advantage of this deluge of information because they lack the necessary resources to effectively analyze it.

In this groundbreaking guide, data warehousing′s bestselling author, Ralph Kimball, introduces readers to the Data Webhouse––the marriage of the data warehouse and the Web. If designed and deployed correctly, the Webhouse can become the linchpin of the modern, customer–focused company, providing competitive information essential to managers and strategic decision makers. In this book, Dr. Kimball explains the key elements of the Webhouse and provides detailed guidelines for designing, building, and managing the Webhouse. The results are a business better positioned to stay healthy and competitive.

In this book, you′ll learn methods for:
– Tracking Website user actions
– Determining whether a customer is about to switch to a competitor
– Determining whether a particular Web ad is working
– Capturing data points about customer behavior
– Designing the Website to support Webhousing
– Building clickstream datamarts
– Designing the Webhouse user interface
– Managing and scaling the Webhouse

The companion Website at www.wiley.com/compbooks/kimball provides updates on Webhouse technologies and techniques, as well as links to related sites and resources.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #596518 in Books
• Published on: 2000-02-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 419 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
In this groundbreaking work, authors and data warehousing visionaries Ralph Kimball and Richard Merz explore a next generation Web site architecture that exploits the unique nature of the Web's interactivity to dramatically improve an organisation's understanding of their relationship with users. The Data Webhouse Toolkit isn't a how-to manual; it is a high-level look at an ambitious new approach to system design.

The foundation of the concept of Webhouses is the "clickstream"--the plethora of information that can be gleaned if only a system can capture and accurately analyse all of the interaction (or lack of) that occurs between Web users and the sites they access. The authors take a careful look at all of the valuable details that are available in the clickstream and point out all of the complications in compiling this precious information from the various gathering points such as the user's machine, ISP and Web site.

A powerful case is made for the application of data warehousing and dimensional analysis to the clickstream to radically improve the strategic knowledge of customer motives and actions. While there are no real-life case studies yet to illustrate the concept, this book is bound to whet the appetite of many creative entrepreneurs and system architects. --Stephen W. Plain, Amazon.com

Topics covered: "Clickstream" concept, opportunities and barriers to information, Web site user tracking, clickstream driven decisions, clickstream data marts, user interface design, data mining, international concerns, scalability and project management.

William Schmarzo, Director World wide Solutions, sales, and marketing, IBM NUMA-Q
Ralph's latest book ushers in the second wave of the Internet ... Bottom line, this book provides the insight to help companies combine Internet-based business intelligence with the bounty of customer data generated from the Internet.

From the Inside Flap
All the proven testing tools and techniques you’ll need to ensure that your applications work exactly as they’re supposed to!

Can you guarantee that the software your company develops works as intended? It’s essential that you know the proper techniques for testing software, otherwise you could face lost productivity, lost revenue, and customer dissatisfaction.

Leading software testing expert William Perry takes you through a comprehensive eleven–step testing process that contains all of the components you’ll need to evaluate your software. This testing process includes numerous workpapers and checklists designed to lead you through all aspects of software testing and can be customized to meet the needs of your organization or for a specific test assignment.

From establishing a test strategy to selecting and using testing tools, you’ll also find helpful guidelines on how to build an effective testing environment. This includes self– assessments designed to improve deficient capabilities of your software development process and deficient competencies of software testers.

Detailed test programs featured in this second edition include:

• Internet/Intranet applications
• Off–the–shelf software
• Multiplatform environments
• System security
• Data warehouse applications
• Client/server systems
• Rapid application development

Customer Reviews

A good introductory book
As with all his other books, Kimball made it simple. The Data Webhouse Toolkit is a book easy to read that gives us a fairy good introduction to the subject of web analysis. Nevertheless it could have been a more complete work. One of the most important and difficult step, as part of the ETL process, in any Clickstream Data Warehouse is the Clickstream Post-Processor. If you were buying this book you would expect to have the complete story. Kimball and Merz made this chapter almost just like a quick overview with a few guidelines. Not a very big help.
Some sentences in this book are not backed by more precise information. For instance: it's said that if a user is asked his/her personal details for no good reason he or she will lie in 50% of the cases. Well, no research study is mentioned to back up this information.
On the area were Kimball is an expert, he made it good. The Webhouse dimensions and fact tables are very well described, although there's already a few alternative schemas by other authors.
Overall, with a few week points, I consider it a good introductory book.

Complete webhouse survey
I really enjoyed this book, it's very well written. It contains good hints on how to add web analysis data to the data mart or data warehouse you are designing. The authors lead you through technicalities of web analysis and data warehouse design with easy explanations. Examples are provided, unfortunately no case study is available.