Effective Data Warehouse Testing Strategy and Its Types

Most firms face a loss of high revenue because of poor data management. However, firms can store and analyze data to their best use with the help of data warehouse testing. Besides, it enables them to find all the inconsistencies and security issues in the data warehouse. So, you will learn more about the importance of data warehouse testing. We will also walk you through the data warehouse testing strategy.

So, keep scrolling for more.
Data plays a crucial role in helping businesses to make the right decisions for their long-term survival. With the help of the data warehouse, most firms can now store and analyze data to derive valuable insights to make sound decisions. However, it has become equally essential for these firms to maintain the data warehouse system for the long run. That is why companies should now learn about the data warehouse testing strategy for a successful database.

Though data warehouse benefits the business, it can come with problems that need an extra professional hand to overcome. With Appsierra, you will get comprehensive solutions for your complex issues. Our testing team offers end-to-end services to ensure your data warehouse provides error-free and accurate insights. Besides, our team has expert-level knowledge in the testing concept of data warehouses. As a result, our company will help every step of the way to give you the best.

So, in this blog, we will go through the following sections:

• What is data warehouse testing?
• Why is a data warehouse helpful for firms?
• How do you build a data warehouse?
• What are the benefits of data warehouse testing?
• How do you create a data warehouse testing strategy?

What is Data Warehouse Testing?

Before defining data warehouse testing, you must first know what a data warehouse means. So, a data warehouse is a data management system that stores and analyzes data to give insights for businesses to make better decisions. As a result, the data flows from relational databases to the data warehouse regularly. Besides, this system uses advanced tech like business intelligence and analytics tools to help the decision-makers access accurate and precise data.

However, maintaining a data warehouse can be challenging for the firms. That is why business users need to run data warehouse testing. These tests involve designing and executing test cases on the data warehouse to ensure the data is precise, reliable, and in line with the firm's data framework. Besides, this system checks the data quality and enables the firms to make the right decisions for their business.

Moreover, the data warehouse testing strategy involves two key testing elements- ETL and business intelligence (BI) testing. The ETL testings assess the system's extraction, transformation, and loading processes. On the other hand, BI testing checks the accuracy of BI reports and dashboards. As a result, the test uncovers all the issues related to the data and minimizes the risks of making wrong decisions. Additionally, these tests find all the performance bottlenecks in the data warehouse to ensure it handles high data volumes.

Why is a Data Warehouse Helpful for Firms?

A data warehouse is a system that offers insightful data derived from transaction data to help the business make informed decisions. Besides, it generates reports for the firms to know what they lack and what steps they require to fill the gap. As a result, with the help of a data warehouse testing strategy, this system invites many benefits for the business world.

So, let us explore more on the benefits of data warehouses. They are as follows:

Enhance business intelligence

A data warehouse collects data from different data sources from a single platform. As a result, the decision-makers can make sound decisions since they have continuous access to quality information.

Save time

Most firms employ data warehouse systems since they enable decision-makers to access all data from multiple sources in one place. In other words, the decision-makers do not have to waste time collecting data from different sources. As a result, they can gather data and make informed decisions in no time.

Improve data quality

With the help of a data warehouse testing strategy, you will get a robust and secure database. So, the data warehouse can offer a high volume of accurate and precise data without errors.

High ROI

Though a data warehouse can be costly in its initial stages, it can help the firms grow with time. It offers quality data and reports that guide business firms to take the right steps to excel in the market.

Offer competitive advantage

Since the data warehouse provides insightful data for the firms, they will get a holistic view of their current firm's opportunities and risks. As a result, the company can make the ideal decision that benefits them in the global market.

Enhance performance

You can store and analyze a large volume of data in a data warehouse with the help of a data warehouse testing strategy. Besides, it eases the report creation process and offers insightful reports that meet specific business needs.

How do you Build a Data Warehouse?

Creating a data warehouse can be daunting since it can damage the business image if not done properly. However, with the help of professionals and experts, you can take the right data warehouse testing strategy and develop a robust data warehouse.

So, let us explore how to build data warehouse step by step.

Collect requirements

You can discuss with your stakeholders who participate in company-wide data projects. You can collaborate with decision-makers and business analysts to give insights on project scope and company goals. Besides, you can work with the IT and security testing team to keep the technical part of your project secure and risk-free.

Build warehouse environment

You can build an apt warehouse environment based on your preference on how to store the data. You can employ either public, private, hybrid, or on-premise cloud to ingest your data on safe hardware.

Select the data model

Your data warehouse will need one schema to describe how you organize your entire database. Therefore, you must pick a model that suits your current database and is scalable. You can choose the Snowflake testing framework or schemas like Star and Galaxy for a better database.

Connect sources

The next step is to connect the sources to help the firms get a high volume of data. With the help of a data warehouse testing strategy, you can combine the sources through extraction and upload. You conduct extraction through API calls for data transactions using secure interfaces and data queries to get database results from SQL queries.

Format incoming data

After getting the database results, you must transform them into insightful data. As a result, you can validate, cleanse, and harmonize the incoming data into useful data for enriching your business.

Build data marts

Developing data marts allows you to get a limited picture of all the relevant results. In other words, data mart offers you target data that benefit your firm. Besides, these data marts allow data accessibility only to limited users to improve data security.

Configure BI and analytics

Integrating your data warehouse with BI and analytical tools provides accurate and precise data. Besides, these tools offer a dashboard and generate real-time reports to give insights to the firms on how to take the right steps for their growth.

Review

Once every element and tool is in place, you must build a data warehouse testing strategy to ensure the data quality. As a result, if you find any issues in your data, you can remove them with a robust testing strategy.

What are the Benefits of Data Warehouse Testing?

A data warehouse project plan is a valuable investment for all enterprises that depend on data for making informed decisions. However, these firms must ensure the data they get is accurate and objective. That is why data warehouse testing is essential for a robust data warehouse.

Given below are the benefits of data warehouse testing:

Identify risks

The ultimate purpose of the data warehouse testing strategy is to find and resolve all errors in the system early. As a result, you can avoid the possibility of costly defects and save resources for the future.

Reduce financial risks

Data warehouse testing helps you find and remove unreliable data from a high volume of data. Hence, you can save your firm from financial loss because of poor data.

Ensure data quality

With the help of data warehouse testing, you can ensure quality data for your business. Getting precise data from the warehouse helps you understand the current state of your firm. As a result, you can make the right decision that benefits your firm growth and image.

Easy compliance

Detailed data warehouse testing helps meet all the legal guidelines and regulatory compliance norms. Thus, you can save your firm from penalties and maintain a good brand reputation.

How do you Create a Data Warehouse Testing Strategy?

Data warehouse testing involves multiple steps to reach the desired result. Therefore, the testing process must start with a well-detailed understanding of the business requirements. Gaining insights into the business needs will help in the direction of source-to-target mapping and data models.

So, let us go through the following procedure to create the testing strategy:

Identify entry points

Since loading data to the warehouse takes place in multiple stages, you must identify the entry points to test the data at each step. The entry points in the data warehouse can be the source, database, BI engine, and different points in the ETL pipeline.

Plan needed collaterals

Mapping documents and database schema representation are the two collaterals for the data warehouse. These two fundamentals are essential in the data warehouse testing strategy since they help evaluate the data throughout its journey.

Design test framework

Having a testing framework like the Snowflake testing framework can help hold different data types and sources. Besides, it stores a high volume of data that upholds the ability to work seamlessly with various databases.

Take a testing approach

Adopting the right testing approach ensures complete test coverage of the data warehouse. It helps you select the ideal ETL tools and reporting engines to test the data integrity. Besides, taking a testing framework gives an idea of the various testing types you can perform in the warehouse.

Conclusion

Developing a data warehouse testing strategy keeps your data warehouse accurate and robust. As a result, it guides your firm to make sound decisions for various business operations. Besides, a highly functioning data warehouse helps your firm to have a good brand image and stability. However, you will need a professional touch from companies like Appsierra for a comprehensive data warehouse. Our team ensures the data you get is precise and clear through data warehouse testing.

So, contact our experts now to get reliable data all the time.

Related Article

Metrics in Software Development

Custom Software Testing Services

Stress Testing Services

Manufacturing Software Testing Services