This article integrates McCarthy's REA (Resources‐Events‐Agents) model and the closely related REAL (Resources Events Agents Locations) model with general capabilities and requirements of data warehouses. REA/REAL contribute a theory for capturing information about events and a focus on control relationships. Data warehouses bring time‐period information and a focus on information facilitating the creation of value. Using aspects from both camps, a hybrid schema is developed called REAL‐D, REAL for Data warehouses. Existing data warehouse approaches lack theory, while REA/REAL are theory based. Unique demands on data warehouses, however, make additional requirements on REA/REAL, including (1) addition of time period as another dimension in order to allow rollups from hour to day to week to month to year, (2) addition of location to facilitate rollups from office to city to district, (3) change from a pure location dimension to a nonhomogeneous dimension that allows rollup from person to office, and (4) change of relationships of agents from one of control to a marketing‐oriented one.
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Spring 1999
Research Article|
March 01 1999
REAL‐D: A Schema for Data Warehouses
Daniel E. O'Leary
Daniel E. O'Leary
University of Southern California.
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Online ISSN: 1558-7959
Print ISSN: 0888-7985
American Accounting Association
1999
Journal of Information Systems (1999) 13 (1): 49–62.
Citation
Daniel E. O'Leary; REAL‐D: A Schema for Data Warehouses. Journal of Information Systems 1 March 1999; 13 (1): 49–62. https://doi.org/10.2308/jis.1999.13.1.49
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