I do not feel that data warehousing applications mirror human learning or
interaction. The very nature of a data warehouse is a repository of
information, like telephone calling information, on which analysis is
performed. The great advantages the data warehouse have been their
abilities to uncover unnoticeable trends. Often with data warehousing
there is no initial hypothesis, or if there is it is not extremely
precise. What a data warehouse allows one to do is look for commonality
between large amounts of dispirit information from which conclusions can
be drawn. In the telephone case they would use this information to design
and target a new calling plan. Humans tend to start with an hypothesis and
then look at the underlying data which either then refutes or supports
their initial ideas. Current technology is great at trend analysis but
rather poor at drawing conclusions.
For a learning organization a data warehouse offers a unique, if costly
and complex, to uncover behavior patterns within that organization. As
with any data centric tool though it is only as useful as the quality and
timeliness of the underlying data.
Because e-mail can be altered electronically,
the integrity of this communication cannot be guaranteed.
--"Stoner, Tim (NBC)" <StonerT@MISURIS.nbc.com>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>