Sample Population

A statistically significant subset of data.

Sampling

The technique of randomly acquiring a small percentage of data from a source. The technique is based on the theory that analyzing a statistically significant sample of a data set will reveal the same or close to the same information as analyzing the complete data set would. This is often used in lieu of extracting reviewing every row of data element in a file where the data volume is very large.

Scheduling

Setting the execution sequence and timing for movement of data files from the source system environment to the DW target environment.

Scrubbing

The automated correction of data anomalies during data warehouse processing. See cleansing.

Secondary Level

A data warehouse level that is populated from another Data Warehouse level, usually the atomic level.

Sizing

Determining needed disk, CPU and communications configurations. 

Factors that impact data warehouse sizing include data volumes, data transport volumes and frequency, data load volumes and frequency, typical data access and user report volumes.

Snapshot

A view of the data at a particular instant in time.

Source System

The system of record or the system that contains the operational data that is to be extracted and loaded into the DW.

Source/Target

see source systems / target systems

Star-Schema

A data model of a particular topology that is typical of the DW subject oriented data relationships. A large "fact" table that has "one to many" typifies the star-schema topology relationships with a number of smaller "dimension" tables.

Stress Test

A test to determine how many resources will be used by a system.

Subject Area

A major subset of corporate data such as customer, transaction, product, part, vendor.

Subject Area Model

A data model of a particular subject area in the DW.

Subject-Oriented

To focus on the subject versus the business process or organization. The data architecture of a DW is subject oriented versus process oriented.

Summarized

see lightly summarized and highly summarized

Symmetric Multi-Processor (SMP)

Computer hardware architecture allowing multi-threaded of multiple processes through shared CPUs and memory space. 

Systems Of Record

The source system that has been selected as the best and most accurate source of a particular subject area or subset of data for the data warehouse.