IN2BI

Adding an extra column to a 'source' table is a new feature in the DWH Deck. It's very straight forward: Select Add Column in menu Source and enter the Column name and a value.

But how would you use this?

Well you could misuse this feature to implement some business rules. In this example I added the column Sales amount and changed the DWH data type to money and the DWH formulae to: [Quantity]*[UnitPrice]

But please don't use this feature like this. Implement your business rules in the data mart area.

Another possible use is to construct a smart key that can be used as business key.

This feature was however intended to help you implement the integration I mentioned in my blogpost on Integration in the data vault. It's especially helpful to store role playing source system information:

Suppose you have two or more fiscal entities and your erp system stores the general ledger entries in a separate table or even a separate database for every entity. After you've imported the source table meta data and profile you'll change the DWH name for the table and all entities are integrated in the same table. By adding a column for each table with the name 'Fiscal entity' and values like: 'ABC Holding', 'ABC Construction' etc you have create a consolidated view on your financial information and you are still capable of reporting on individual entities.