Data Foundation & Governance
Design the warehouse from business questions, not by accident.
The data platform blueprint, requirements and a data architecture and modeling plan, drafted before the build, so the warehouse is designed around the questions the business needs answered.
What should our data platform look like, what sources, what layering, what model, before we start provisioning?
Warehouses assembled tool-first end up modeling whatever landed first, then get reworked for years as the business asks questions the schema can't answer. This project draws the blueprint first: the sources, the layering, and a grain-first dimensional model built from the questions the business actually needs answered.
What's included
Requirements
A requirements document built from stakeholder interviews and the specific questions the business needs the data to answer.
Dimensional model
An enterprise bus matrix (conformed dimensions against business processes) and a grain-first dimensional model.
Layering decision
A bronze, silver, and gold layering plan specifying where modeling and quality gates sit.
Warehouse architecture
BigQuery-specific architecture choices: denormalization thresholds, nesting, and partition and cluster keys, handed to the install team.
How it works
- 1
Discover
We interview stakeholders and capture the sources, questions, and constraints the platform must serve.
- 2
Model
We design the dimensional model grain-first and build the enterprise bus matrix.
- 3
Architect
We set the layering and BigQuery architecture, then hand the install a blueprint to build against.
What you walk away with
- A requirements document grounded in real business questions
- An enterprise bus matrix and grain-first dimensional model
- A bronze, silver, and gold layering plan with quality gates
- BigQuery architecture choices the install team builds from
Frequently asked
- Can we skip design and just build?
- You can if you already have an approved architecture. Without one, design is the cheapest insurance against a warehouse that gets reworked for years, because it is the blueprint the install executes against.
- Why dimensional modeling?
- A grain-first dimensional model built from business processes answers the questions the business actually asks and stays stable as those questions grow, which is what keeps a warehouse trustworthy over time.
Blueprint the platform first
Book a consultation to design a data platform around your business questions, before the build begins.
Where this leads next
Data Platform Install
The install builds from this blueprint: warehouse, ELT, dbt modeling, quality, and streaming.
Explore the project