Economics-Driven Design of Large Data Repositories
by Adir EVEN

Abstract

The design and the architecture of information system reflect an economic structure of cost-benefit tradeoffs, besides satisfying technical and functional requirements. Exploring and modeling these tradeoffs permits assessments of design alternatives towards identification of economically-optimal choices. This research examines the concept of economics-driven design in the context of the data warehouse. The design of large data repositories has rarely been studied in an economic context. The research discusses the theoretical foundations for economics-driven design, the quantitative framework that underlies it, and the challenges associated with applying the framework for the design of a data warehouse.

An initial study of datasets in a data warehouse has identified design characteristics that are associated with significant economic tradeoffs – the time span covered, the targeted quality level, and the attribute structure. Modeling the effects of these characteristics supports economically-optimal design of such datasets. Results show that in some cases, an economically-optimal design is significantly different from a design based strictly on technical and/or functional optimality. The research involves an empirical study that applies the optimization model for tabular datasets in a real-life setting. A few directions are considered for extending this research – enhancing the analytical formulation, addressing implementation and usage uncertainties, and observing a broader range of design challenges in data warehouses and in other IS environments.

About the speaker

Adir Even is a doctoral student at the Boston University School of Management, specializing in information systems management. His research interest lies in examining the contribution of data resources and the systems that manage them to utility and profitability. He explores the implications of these economic contributions for system design and architecture, data warehouse implementation, and information quality management. Adir has significant experience in the software industry, first as a programmer and then as a senior software development manager, responsible for data warehouse and DSS projects. He holds an MBA degree from the Tel-Aviv University School of Management and a Master of Science degree in electrical and computer engineering from the Technion of Israel.