Development of a data warehouse at an academic health system: knowing a place for the first time

In 1998, the University of Michigan Health System embarked upon the design, development, and implementation of an enterprise-wide data warehouse, intending to use prioritized business questions to drive its design and implementation. Because of the decentralized nature of the academic health system and the development team's inability to identify and prioritize those institutional business questions, however, a bottom-up approach was used to develop the enterprise-wide data warehouse. Specific important data sets were identified for inclusion, and the technical team designed the system with an enterprise view and architecture rather than as a series of data marts. Using this incremental approach of adding data sets, institutional leaders were able to experience and then further define successful use of the integrated data made available to them. Even as requests for the use and expansion of the data warehouse outstrip the resources assigned for support, the data warehouse has become an integral component of the institution's information management strategy. The authors discuss the approach, process, current status, and successes and failures of the data warehouse.