Module 2 – Data Engineering: 6-Mark Answers
1. Why is Data Integration Important?
Data integration is the process of combining data from various sources into a unified view.
Its importance stems from several key benefits:
- Improved Data Quality and Consistency: By consolidating data, organizations can identify
and rectify inconsistencies, errors, and redundancies, leading to a single source of truth and
more reliable insights.
- Enhanced Decision-Making: A unified view of data enables business leaders and analysts
to gain a holistic understanding of performance, trends, and customer behavior, facilitating
more informed and strategic decision-making.
- Increased Operational Efficiency: Integrating data streamlines business processes by
eliminating data silos and the need for manual data reconciliation. This saves time, reduces
errors, and improves overall efficiency.
- Better Customer Relationship Management: A consolidated customer view, derived from
integrated data, allows for personalized interactions, improved customer service, and
stronger customer loyalty.
- Regulatory Compliance: Many regulations require comprehensive and accurate data
reporting. Data integration facilitates compliance by providing a unified and auditable data
landscape.
- Unlocking Business Intelligence and Analytics: Integrated data forms a robust foundation
for advanced analytics, business intelligence tools, and data warehousing, enabling
organizations to extract valuable insights and drive innovation.
2. Rules for Data Integration
Effective data integration relies on a set of guiding principles to ensure the process is
robust, reliable, and delivers valuable outcomes. Some key rules include:
- Understand Business Requirements
- Identify and Profile Data Sources
- Establish Data Governance and Standards
- Choose the Appropriate Integration Architecture
- Ensure Data Quality and Transformation
- Implement Robust Monitoring and Maintenance
3. Data Quality with Multimodel Data Maintenance
Maintaining data quality in a multimodel data environment (relational, NoSQL, graph)
includes:
- Unified Data Governance Framework
- Model-Specific Quality Checks
- Data Transformation and Harmonization
- Metadata Management
- Automated Monitoring and Alerting
- Collaborative Data Stewardship
4. Compliance for Data Privacy
Compliance involves:
- Data Inventory and Mapping
- Implementing Data Minimization
- Obtaining Lawful Consent
- Ensuring Data Security
- Providing Data Subject Rights
- Maintaining Records of Processing Activities
5. Development of Data Pipeline
Key stages include:
- Requirements Gathering and Design
- Data Extraction
- Data Transformation
- Data Loading
- Monitoring and Maintenance
- Testing and Deployment
6. OLTP vs OLAP
| Feature | OLTP | OLAP |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Goal | Support day-to-day operational transactions | Support data analysis and
business intelligence |
| Data Structure | Normalized, detailed, current data | Denormalized, summarized, historical
data |
| Query Type | Short, frequent read and write operations | Complex, infrequent read-only
queries |
| Transaction Volume | High volume of small transactions | Low volume of large queries |
| Response Time | Fast, real-time responses | Can be longer, optimized for complex analysis
|
| Database Design | Transaction-oriented | Subject-oriented (e.g., star schema) |
| Examples | Order entry, ATM transactions, CRM | Data warehousing, business intelligence
tools |
7. Data Engineering Lifecycle
Stages include:
- Planning and Requirements Gathering
- Data Acquisition and Ingestion
- Data Storage and Management
- Data Transformation and Processing
- Data Governance and Quality
- Deployment and Monitoring
- Optimization and Maintenance
8. Scenario: Stream Processing
E-commerce platform analyzing real-time clickstream data:
- Ingestion: Kafka
- Processing: Apache Flink/Spark Streaming
- Output: Real-time recommendations, fraud alerts
9. Scenario: Data Integration
Global retail company unifying customer data from PostgreSQL, Salesforce, and CSV:
- Extraction: From various sources
- Transformation: Standardization, deduplication
- Loading: To a central data warehouse
- Analysis: Customer segmentation and targeted marketing
