Sales Comparisons - Fact or Dimension

  • I have a data warehouse for a retail client that has boutiques. They want to be able to compare the sales of their products at their boutiques to what they sold the year before. This is called a "comp." However, the U.S. retail world apparently defines a "year" differently than the rest of the world. They have a certain number of weeks, each week starting on a certain Sunday and ending on a certain Saturday. So for example, they want to compare Saturday, May 26, 2012 to that same Saturday a year before (May 28, 2011).

    I have MANY questions about this for our star schema, but I want to start out with the most simple one: should a method for calculating comps be in a measure (fact table) or a dimension? I believe my predecessor put it in a dimension. I, on the other hand, think it should be in a fact table.

  • should a method for calculating comps be in a measure (fact table) or a dimension

    If this table will contain the actual calculated data i.e. the number of sales ect then yes it belongs in a Fact table.

    If you mean this table will contain the definitions for the calculations i.e. total number of sales = A+B then it belongs in a dimension

    Andy

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    A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any invention in human history - with the possible exceptions of handguns and tequila. Mitch Ratcliffe

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