STAR Schema

STAR Schema is describes a logical database structure of Data Warehouse or Data Mart. STAR Schema can design with one de-normalized FACT and one or many shared Dimension table(s) that looks like STAR. STAR Schema often uses in Data warehouse that helps to optimize database query operation. First Normal Form and Second Normal Form rules must apply on Dimension in the STAR Schema. Grain is the base business definition of Fact table that determine measurement of business event. FACT Table is used to store measurements, metrics or facts or a business process in the Data warehouse. FACT Table is designed with Composite Primary Key to identify unique transaction and those attributes are foreign keys of referenced Dimension tables. Dimension Table is used to maintain Hierarchy Textual Information of business process that integrated with Fact Table in the Data warehouse. A collection of unordered dimension table's descriptive information is helps to generate Drill down or Roll up Analytical Report that specify how Fact table data should be summarized. The following STAR Schema is describes a Sales Data Mart that designed with de-normalized Sales_Fact and relevant shared dimension tables to maintain Sales Historical Transaction information.

FACT Table

FACT Table is used to store measurements, metrics or facts of a business process in the Data warehouse. Fact table design should start with declaration of grain. Grain is the base business definition of Fact table that determine measurement of business event. Granularity is an extent of information that represents particular transaction data in the Fact table. An instance, when we buy any products in the supermarket, they sales person use Scanner to capture data from Product Label and then stores Sales Quantity and Extended Price in the Database through OLTP Application with relevant information like Store, Product, Promotion, Invoice, Customer and Employee information. In this scenario, Sales Quantity and Extended Price are grain of Sales event. After declare the grain in fact table, list out dimensional foreign keys that based on the grain. In the sales event, declare Date, Store, Product, Promotion, Invoice, Customer and Employee foreign keys in the Sales_Fact table based on Sales Quantity and Extended Price grain of fact. Fact table must be contain numerical data and should not contain any descriptive data or any other data rather than the numerical measurement attributes. By default, Fact table is designed with Composite Primary Key to identify unique transaction and those attributes are foreign keys of referenced Dimension tables. The following Sales_Fact table is designed with typical grain and foreign keys that integrates with relevant dimension tables.

Sales_QTY, Extended_Price and Discount_Amount attributes are additive facts that used to stores Sales measurement data. The combination of Date_Key, Store_Key, Product_Key, Promotion_Key, Customer_Key, Employee_Key, Invoice_Number is composite primary key of Sales_Fact table and those attributes are integrates with Date, Store, Product, Promotion, Customer, Employeee and Invoice dimension tables. Sales_Fact table and relevant dimension tables are help to generate Date wise, Store wise, Product wise, Customer wise and Employee wise Transactional Sales Analysis Report from Sales Historical Information.