Data Warehouse Project Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words - 1

Data Warehouse Project Management - Essay Example To understand the various nuances of Data Warehouses in real time implementation, we studied the data warehouse implementation of DePaul university. This report aims at presenting the various data warehouse development and management features that were put in to effect while developing the data warehouse for the university. Certain roles specific to data warehouse development such as DW SDLC, construction of Data Marts when needed, ETL, Optimizations and Reporting are analyzed in detail. No data warehouse comes with a certain guarantee off success. The volume of implementation itself is many a times a reason for a DW failure. Therefore this paper also looks at the various risk factors involved in the development of the data warehouse for De Paul University. DePaul was founded in 1898 and is named for a 17th-century French priest, St. Vincent De Paul. The university has an enrollment of 23,149 students, 1,521 full time and part time professors and more than 125,000 alumni worldwide. At DePaul, students, faculty and alumni come together to form an environment that is welcoming and inclusive. The rich mix of heritages, experiences, interests and aspirations of its students and faculty help make the DePaul community one of a kind. To credit all its worth, in 1999 and 2003, the Princeton Review ranked DePaul students as â€Å"the happiest in the nation†. In 2007, Entrepreneur magazine ranked DePauls undergraduate program seventh and graduate program fifth, among the nations top entrepreneurship programs. DePaul is the ninth-largest private, not-for-profit university in the nation. Among those 10, all except DePaul are classified as "research extensive" universities, making DePaul the nations largest university with a primary mission of teaching and service. DePaul intends to become one of the finest urban, Catholic universities of the United States. Resolute in its Vincentian mission to make an extraordinary education

Adopting Agile Project Management Methodology Management Essay

Adopting Agile Project Management Methodology Management Essay Agile project management is considered as one of the flexible and interactive project management approach. Agile methodology, as its meaning would suggest, is adopted for rapid development projects. It is very much different than the traditional project management technique which is considered to be more structured and disciplined. Deliberate planning and designing various control methods is inherent part of the traditional style. Normally all the tasks are completed in a predefined sequence to ensure the success which requires lot of planning to be done up front. Evolution: As the business processes became more and more complex they also became more interdependent than ever before. Along with the processes the organizational structure of business also changed in order to support complex communities, comprised of alliances with strategic suppliers, outsourcing vendors and partnerships and ever increasing competitors. With time-to-market compression and rapidly changing technologies fast track development has become the order of the day for most of the business. This increased importance of agile project management methodologies. Agile management is derived from the agile software development and hence it is a variant of iterative life cycle process.   In agile methodology, the evaluation of the project requirements and the end product/solution is a collaborative effort between self-organized, cross-functional teams across the organization or may be from different organizations. Comparison with Traditional Approach Agile project management methodology differs from traditional project management methodology which gives more attention to making software development a better process and hence it gives importance to contract negotiation (managing scope), comprehensive documentation, maintaining and following a project plan with the help of various processes and tools. In contrast, Agile methodology gives stress upon working software and responding to constant changes and there by gaining customer satisfaction. Having frequent client interactions is one of the most important attribute to the success of this approach. Challenges Associated with Agile Methodology Many companies, such as IBM, have adopted agile development because of its underlying benefits of being flexible, simple and fast. The customer centric approach of this methodology makes it very popular amongst the customers and also the possibility of project being self supporting even in the initial stages lures businessmen towards it. Because of these and many other advantages the some of the inherent problems such scope management, risk management issues are overlooked. Normally these issues arise due to lack of planning and documentation for the project, which goes against the agile methodology. This also raises the possibility of indentifying problems/dependencies in the later part of the projects. The complete development becomes person dependant rather than process dependant and team dynamics and HR strategies in the company becomes key ingredients in the success of project. It should be noted that as such process also adds an additional variable in the form customers. Customers get an influential seat at the table to shape the value proposition of the project as it unfolds. They are actively involved in the development process to establish, prioritize, and verify requirements at each and every stage. The ability of agile methodology to adapt to changing customer priorities and requirements keep the project current and relevant. But with such frequent changes in the requirements and scope of the project, strong commitment to the business milestones, which is one of the features of agile methodology, becomes difficult if the project is not managed properly. Because of the high dependency on team dynamics it is often difficult to apply agile methodologies to large project teams and large scale projects, where better planning is required. But it suits the company having culture of innovation as the focus is never shifted from exploratory development to planning and controlling. Research Objective As seen above there are positives and negatives of both the project management methodologies. According a survey taken by one of the leading companies, about 50% of business correspondents claim that agile methods had been successful in about 95% of their projects, where are remaining say that such methods are still too premature and require extensive academic proof/research. I am hoping that through this research paper I am able to explore the challenges faced by such business correspondents while implementing agile project management methodology. I will try to find if adopting agile methodology guaranties success. This paper will also focus on handling change management, risk management, HR issues and Team management issues. Research will stress on various ways of tackling these problems to increase the probability of success. The research will also touch upon adopting the traditional project management activities such as project plan, earned value analysis, balance sheets into the agile project management. The Common practices followed in different types of methodologies for agile project management such as SCRUM, XP, CRYSTAL, EVO will also be discussed in this paper. Sources: Project Management the Agile Way: Making It Work in the Enterprise   By John C. Goodpasture The Blending of Traditional and Agile Management By Kathleen B. Hass, Published in PM World Today May 2007 (Vol. IX, Issue V) Agile Project Management Methods for IT Projects By Glen B. Alleman Wikipedia

Abortion :: essays research papers fc

Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy before the fetus is capable of independent life. Abortions must be conducted before the end off six months, or the fetus will leave the womb and it would be considered a premature birth.There are two types of abortions. One is spontaneous and the other is induced. If the fetus ways less than 18oz or is less than 20 weeks into the pregnancy, it is usually considered an abortion. Spontaneous abortions are known by another name, miscarriages. These usually occur during the first three months of pregnancy. It is estimated that 25% of all pregnancies end in spontaneous abortion.The second form of abortion is induced abortion. This is the deliberate termination of the fetus. There are four main types of induced abortions. The first takes place up to 12 weeks. It is called vacuum aspiration. This is where a tube attached to a vacuum is inserted into the uterus and sucks out the embryo and all other material. The second type takes place after the 15th week and is called saline infusion. Here, the doctors replace a little fluid with a salt solution. This causes the uterus to contract. The fetus is then expelled. The third type is a hysterotomy. This is a similar procedure to a cesarean section. The only difference is, in this operation, is that the cut is smaller and lower. The fourth type is available in the first fifty days. It is a drug called RU-486. It was developed in France and approved for sale there in 1988. Clinical trials in the United States began in 1994.When performed under proper conditions, the sooner the person has the baby, the less risk she is at. The likelihood of complications increase as the woman gets farther into the pregnancy. Although, an abortion has less of a risk of injury than does actually delivering the baby.Abortion is one topic that has been heavily debated. Many cases have gone to court over an abortion. Perhaps the most famous case was Roe vs. Wade. It was a case that was settled in 1973 under Justice Blackman. The Supreme Court ruled that they could not ban abortions in the first six months of the pregnancy. After six months, the states can ban an abortion except in cases in which the woman's health is at risk.I think that there is a lot that can be done.

Change 4 Life Essay

Change 4 Life is a scheme which aims to help everyone, but especially children, to eat well, exercise and therefore hopefully live longer. One of the main principles is to reduce the amount of obesity in the UK. It is a fact that people today are a lot less active than they should be and rather than exercising, people are opting to use their free time watching television and playing the latest computer games. This is proven as only 37% of men and 25% of women in the UK currently achieve the levels of physical activity recommended by the Department of Health. Not only has our daily exercise fallen but how we eat and the type of food we eat has also declined. People are now choosing the easy and more ‘convenient’ option of fast food. Change 4 Life are trying their best to react to peoples new ‘modern day life’, by encouraging people to exercise more frequently and reduce the fat intake in their diet. Physical activity helps to reduce the amount of fat stored in the body and this in turn reduces the risk of contracting life threatening illnesses such as Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Change 4 Life promotes the idea of many different activities, ranging from walking and running to skipping and jumping. They believe that any exercise is better than none. They realise that it is important to have a healthy balanced lifestyle, which should consist of the following, nutritious diet, social life, rest/sleep, free time, physical exercise and control of stress and pressure. Change 4 Life hope to do what their name suggests. Up and About† is the slogan for children with the idea of encouraging them to be active whenever possible. On their website they give suggestions of how this can be done. Many are just simple ideas such as rather than driving to school, walk instead. This not only helps the children but the environment at the same time. They also give tips such as having a disco in the lounge, skipping, hide and seek and dancing. They have also tried to introduce a ‘2 hour maximum TV time’, meaning kids have to try new things out. This would then hopefully encourage children to be more active. On the website they have even created indoor and outdoor games, which can be played by everyone, e. g. the lamp post game that involves racing between each set of lamp posts on the way to school or the shops. Not only does exercise keep you fit and healthy it can help your sleeping pattern, relieve stress so that you feel more relaxed. This is why Change 4 Life recommends that as a family you should try to do sixty minutes of ctivities per day. They say that â€Å"active kids are happy kids†. They also say that it is important to have a well balanced and nutritious diet incorporating at least 5 fruit and vegetables a day. The scheme has loads of suggestions on which items actually count as one of your 5 fruits and veg such as smoothies and frozen and canned vegetables. They also give tips on how to compare food labels so that you become aware what the food contains e. g calories, sugar, salt etc. The way people cook/prepare the food is also essential, as this can increase the amount of fat in someone’s body, especially if it’s cooked in a lot of oil. There are many examples that Change 4 Life give to families to help them, sugar swaps being one of them, so rather than having food and drink with added sugar, they should swap for versions that are either sugar free or have very little sugar. Lastly they have loads of fun family activities such as Swim4Life, Bike4Life, Play4Life and Walk4Life, which are lots of fun and get the whole family involved in an active lifestyle.

Gideon’s Trumpet Strong point of the book Essay

Gideon’s Trumpet is the ‘story’ of an epic legal battle. I give full marks to this story. It depicts the will power, grit and determination of a simple prison inmate to take on the legal system of USA. He achieved his objective with a pencil and paper and his simple drafting skill. He proved that his knowledge about the law is much more than hundreds of legal luminaries of America put together. He was fighting the mighty force of the State, and it was no ordinary opposition. If a man suffers, he must have the support of a legal provision to redress his grievance. Otherwise the legal system is at fault, not the individual. This is the simple truth as seen by a common man, in the present case relating to Clarence Earl Gideon. I like this book for its important contribution to secure individual liberty and how one man successfully challenged the legal system. The story is the triumph of human spirit versus flaws in the system created and nurtured by human beings. It is the victory of the chair less power (common man) in the fight against powerful chairs (legal and political power). When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. Anthony Lewis is well aware of this principle. His book proves the point. I need to heap additional praise on the contents of this book.   His book proves the great and important point. The improbable battle of Gideon leads the Court to give the ultimate decision in his favor. Lewis comes out of the Court Scene to project the human face of the story. Those who think that the legal system is the service tool for the rich and the politically well-connected need to take the appropriate lesson from Gideon. He set such a legal process in motion that would affect the entire legal system of USA. The effect of the case was precedent-shattering. Mr. Gideon is twice-blessed. He has provided a highly motivating case from legal as well as sociological aspects. Another strong point of the book is that it is free from political overtones. The author has confined himself to the legal aspect of the case only. But he has pointed out the limitations and difficulties of the Supreme Court functioning. Valuable lessons can be learnt from his observations. This case gave scope to several reference issues that set the American legal system to change for the better. It examined the question about safeguarding accused from escaping the judicial system due to arbitrary court violations. The second issue decided was, majority of the states supported the issue of providing proper defense.  Ã‚   Such a course of action would be cheaper to the exchequer in the long run instead court cases dismissed on account of legal inaccuracies. This position arose because many litigants in court could claim wrong trial due to improper representation. The third most important issue in the cited case, Adamson vs. California, in which the 14th Amendment was challenged, relates to the Bill of Rights application. Supreme Court ruled it as the violation of all Fundamental Rights within as a violation towards the litigant. Thus, this is a good book for the students of law, especially for those who intend to specialize in Constitutional Rights. Weak points of the case†¦ It is difficult to find weak points in he book from the legal aspect. For, Gideon’s case changed the concept of ultimate justice in USA. The common man got confidence that he too is listened to, and respected. But from the sociological angle, there is a weak point.   In the present case, we feel that it is the intelligence of the lawyer that secured a clean acquittal for Gideon, not his innocence. The outcome of the case may encourage the criminals. They will think to commit crime and then it is easy to get away by hiring a good counsel; if you have no means of hiring, the government will do it for you. Once his request to provide a lawyer was agreed by the Court, Gideon became very arrogant. His lawyer Fred Turner had to strictly tell him, â€Å"I’ll only represent you if you will stop trying to be the lawyer and let me handle the case.† Gideon agreed. Gideon was a stubborn prisoner. In spite of his crankiness, and eccentricities, the State spent a huge amount in engaging counsel for him and the precious time of the Supreme Court was used. The successful termination of the case sends a wrong signal to the society. The criminal gets the protection, and the safety of the law-abiding citizen is in trouble. I liked the book†¦. Mr. Gideon has made the remarkable judicial contribution by the simple handwritten application that he sent to Supreme Court. He had a new trial and in the end, he was acquitted. The legal defense, and the question of due process were entirely re-examined and good conclusions resulted. Any conflicting issue is an interesting topic for discussion. Gideon’s case leaves hardly anything for the opposition counsel to argue, unless it is opposition for the sake of opposition. This is a good book; it has the timeless appeal, for the students of sociology. All laws, just because they are the laws of the land, are not faultless. A difficult law implemented in a worst manner is the ultimate calamity for the common prisoner.   Such a law, if not amended or withdrawn quickly, can ruin the delicate social structure based on human relationships. It concerns fundamental rights and liberty of the individual. Embroiled in unfriendly system of jurisprudence, the poor class prisoners get physically, emotionally and economically crushed. One finds it extremely difficult to sustain one’s normal balance .In such circumstances one remains desperately in need of some consolation and permanent solution. That was the reason why Gideon sought the solution through his pencil-written application to the Supreme Court. Desperate situations need desperate remedies, and Gideon used one such remedy! It is a brilliant book for students of all streams, especially law students.   Fundamental rights offer the guarantee of legal protection to all the citizens, for which Gideon fought and won.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Reference Cited: Book Review: Gideon’s Trumpet Lewis, Anthony (Author) Book: Gideon’s Trumpet (Paperback) Publisher: Vintage Books USA; Reissue edition (Feb 1989) Language English ISBN-10: 0679723129 ISBN-13: 978-0679723127