Dimensional Modelling Business Case

A Dimensional Modelling Business Case is a practical scenario used to demonstrate how business requirements are translated into a dimensional model (facts and dimensions) to support analytics and reporting.

It is essentially a storyline (real or simulated) describing:

1. Business context – the company or organization and what it does.

2. Analytics needs / business questions – what management or analysts want to know.

3. Source systems – where the data comes from (ERP, CRM, e-commerce, etc.).

4. Fact tables – measurable business events (sales, shipments, claims, payments, etc.).

5. Dimension tables – descriptive attributes to slice and dice the facts (time, product, customer, geography…).

6. Star schema design – how facts and dimensions are organized.

7. Use cases / exercises – examples of queries, KPIs, or dashboards learners can build from the model.

✅ Why it’s important for learners

• Helps them bridge the gap between business requirements and technical models.

• Shows that a data warehouse is not just a “copy of the database” but a reorganized structure for analysis.

• Trains them to think in terms of facts and dimensions, not only tables and joins.

• Provides a repeatable framework:

  • Identify the business process

  • Define the grain

  • Identify facts

  • Identify dimensions

  • Build the schema