science

Operational data store

Operational data store is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Operational data store rather than just read about it. In short: An operational data store (ODS) is used for operational reporting and as a source of data for the enterprise data warehouse (EDW). It is a complementary element to an EDW in a decision support environment, and is used for operational reporting, controls, and decision making, as opposed to the EDW, which is used for tactical and strategic decision support.

Key takeaways

Operational data store belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Operational data store to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Operational data store from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

An operational data store (ODS) is used for operational reporting and as a source of data for the enterprise data warehouse (EDW). It is a complementary element to an EDW in a decision support environment, and is used for operational reporting, controls, and decision making, as opposed to the EDW, which is used for tactical and strategic decision support. An ODS is a database designed to integrate data from multiple sources for additional operations on the data, for reporting, controls and operational decision support. Unlike a production master data store, the data is not passed back to operational systems. It may be passed for further operations and to the data warehouse for reporting. An ODS should not be confused with an enterprise data hub (EDH). An operational data store will take transactional data from one or more production systems and loosely integrate it, in some respects it is still subject oriented, integrated and time variant, but without the volatility constraints. This integration is mainly achieved through the use of EDW structures and content. An ODS is not an intrinsic part of an EDH solution, although an EDH may be used to subsume some of the processing performed by an ODS and the EDW. An EDH is a broker of data. An ODS is certainly not. Because the data originates from multiple sources, the integration often involves cleaning, resolving redundancy and checking against business rules for integrity. An ODS is usually designed to contain low-level or atomic (indivisible) data (such as transactions and prices) with limited history that is captured "real time" or "near real time" as opposed to the much greater volumes of data stored in the data warehouse generally on a less-frequent basis.

General use The general purpose of an ODS is to integrate data from disparate source systems in a single structure, using data integration technologies like data virtualization, data federation, or extract, transform, and load (ETL). This will allow operational access to the data for operational reporting, master data or reference data management. An ODS is not a replacement or substitute for a data warehouse or for a data hub but in turn could become a source.

See also Some examples of ODS architecture patterns can be found in the article Architecture patterns. Enterprise architecture Third normal form (3NF)

Further reading Inmon, William (1999). Building the Operational Data Store (2nd ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-32888-X.

External links Bill Inmon Information Management article on the five classes of ODS Archived 2016-04-07 at the Wayback Machine Claudia Imhoff. "Crystal Clear Customers: The Role of the Operational Data Store" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Operational data store

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Operational data store claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Operational data store before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Operational data store ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Operational data store

In research: Operational data store appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Operational data store in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Operational data store is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Data management, Data warehousing, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Operational data store outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Operational data store in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Operational data store means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Operational data store out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Operational data store in simple terms?

Why does Operational data store matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Operational data store?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Operational data store.