PRISM SOLUTIONS ANNOUNCES ITERATIONS DEVELOPMENT METHODOLOGY FOR DATA
WAREHOUSING

SureStart Consulting Programs Focus on Assuring Success for Data Warehouse
Projects of Any Size

SUNNYVALE, Calif.-April 22, 1996-Prism Solutions, Inc., a leader in data
warehouse management software, today announced its Iterations methodology
and SureStart consulting programs, which are designed to help customers
successfully launch their data warehouse initiatives. 

Market research indicates that data warehouses are being planned by
companies across many industries worldwide. This mainstream acceptance of
data warehousing requires guidance and expertise to help companies
determine the size and scope of their data warehousing projects, establish
an effective development process, and achieve results quickly and cost
effectively. Prism's Iterations methodology and SureStart consulting
programs are designed to address this need. 

The Iterations methodology provides a detailed process roadmap for
developing data warehouses in concise, iterative steps. It reflects
Prism's five years of proven, practical experience in implementing more
than 150 data warehouses worldwide, across most industries and business
applications. Iterations is designed to be flexible and adaptable to data
warehousing projects of any scope, from the enterprise level ranging down
to distributed data warehouses and the departmental or data mart size. It
establishes an effective development process that defines the ongoing
parallel steps and iterative cycles needed to deliver architected data
warehouse solutions in reasonable timeframes. 

In conjunction with the Iterations methodology, Prism has introduced a
suite of SureStart consulting programs to help customers achieve early,
visible results with their data warehousing projects. These include a
SureStart Readiness Assessment, a SureStart Mentored Pilot Program a
SureStart Mart and SureStart Data Modeling. Designed to instill confidence
in organizations building data warehouses, these offerings combine the
best practices of the Iterations methodology with the expertise of Prism's
industry-recognized data warehouse consultants. 

According to Robert Moran, director of decision support research at
Aberdeen Group, "The combination of Prism's methodology, training and
consulting programs offers enterprises both a short- and long-term
payback. The iterative approach to building interlocking data warehouse
pieces has given many enterprises a quick return on an initial data
warehouse investment, thereby underwriting subsequent developments.
Aberdeen believes that the earlier in the cycle and the more accurately an
enterprise refines its data warehouse strategy, the more likely it will
accrue the twin benefits of scalability and processing-resource
conservation." 

Iterations Provides a Blueprint for Data Warehouse Success 

The Iterations methodology helps organizations meet the technical and
management challenges posed by data warehouse development, taking into
consideration the vast differences between the warehouse development
process and traditional software development life cycles. It is a
product-independent, cross-industry methodology that can be tailored to
fit an organization's specific environment and business requirements. It
details the activities specific to the data warehouse development process,
guiding users from the startup phase to analysis and design, through to
construction, testing and implementation, then returning to evaluation and
management of the subsequent iteration. 

Iterations is organized into four major process tracks, plus a mete data
super-track, which are parallel groupings of the necessary work items.
These synchronized tracks include over thirty modules, comprised of more
than one hundred activities and multiple tasks within each activity: 

* Project Track-covers the planning and management of the development
effort, including project training, internal marketing and implementation.


* User Track-captures business requirements, initiates the design process,
develops training materials and performs user acceptance testing and
reviews. 

* Data Track-focuses on data model analysis, detailed design, initial data
warehouse population and ongoing refreshment. 

* Technical Track-provides source system analysis, data warehouse sizing,
technical assessment and system testing. 

* Meta Data Super Track-focuses on business and technical mete data
integration and mete data access construction. 

Prism customer John Ladley, director of information management for Alliance
Blue Cross Blue Shield in St. Louis, Missouri, made several contributions
to the refinement of the Iterations methodology. He has extensive
experience both in data warehouse development and in methodology
development, and was a consultant prior to joining Alliance Blue Cross
Blue Shield. He commented, "Iterations is an excellent data warehouse
development methodology and will prove to be an indispensable tool for
organizations without an experienced data warehouse team. I wish I'd had
it years ago, as it would have saved time and effort, facilitated project
management, and helped us to avoid some common problems.' 

SureStart Readiness Assessment Builds a Solid Data Warehouse Foundation

Prism's SureStart Readiness Assessment draws on the Iterations methodology
to evaluate a customer's technical and organizational preparedness to
proceed with a data warehouse initiative. Typically a two-week engagement,
the SureStart Readiness Assessment provides: an analysis of project plans
and requirements; an assessment of project responsibilities and
specialized managerial skills; discovery of project risk factors and
success factors; and customization of and training in Iterations to fit a
customer's environment. Prism consultants then present a formal, detailed
Readiness Assessment Report to technical and executive sponsors at the
culmination of these activities. 

According to Alvin Loving, a data modeler at John H. Harland Company,
"Prism's Readiness Assessment helped us to define data warehouse project
deliverables, address technical and resource issues, and scope the
development effort at the outset of our project. This was critical in
allowing us to properly set and manage expectations in our organization.
What's more, the Iterations methodology has provided the backbone for our
data warehouse project, driving the project plan and allowing data
warehouse iterations to be released in a timely fashion." 

SureStart Mentored Pilot Delivers Early Results

With the SureStart Mentored Pilot program, Prism consultants share their
knowledge and practical skills to help a company deliver the first
iteration of a data warehouse solution. Prism performs a comprehensive
readiness assessment; develops a project staffing plan; designs the data
warehouse data model, database and technical architecture for appropriate
subject areas; and establishes an integrated evaluation process to ensure
ongoing executive and technical sponsorship. Usually ranging in scope from
12 to 16 weeks, the SureStart Mentored Pilot thoroughly trains an
organization in the Iterations methodology so it becomes an internal
process that will support future data warehouse iterations. 

SureStart Mart Enables Rapid Delivery of Departmental Solutions

Prism's SureStart Mart offering creates focused data mart solutions to meet
departmental requirements. Typically a 30-day engagement, the SureStart
Mart develops a query-and-analysis needs definition to drive the overall
project, then uses Prism software products to map and transform data from
a single source to a single target. The engagement concludes with the
recommendation of a query and analysis tool tailored to access data from
the populated data mart. The SureStart Mart is architectured in a manner
that allows for ease of maintenance and future integration with other
departmental data mart solutions. 

SureStart Data Modeling Accelerates Warehouse Design

Prism's SureStart Data Modeling reduces the effort involved in developing
anew data warehouse data model or tailoring an existing data model to fit
warehouse requirements. It combines the Iterations methodology with the
practical design and documentation provided in the Inmon Generic Data
Models, which create industry- and function-specific templates for the
consent end structure of a data warehouse. In a SureStart Data Modeling
engagement, Prism consultants will customize and enhance an existing data
model or an Inmon Generic Data Model to fit a customer's needs, and will
provide a complete Data Requirements Analysis for the first data warehouse
iteration. 

Systems Integrators Training Program Planned

To make the Iterations methodology more widely available to the market,
Prism plans to launch a program in the third quarter of 1996 to build
focused partnerships with key systems integrators and industry-leading
independent consultants. As part of its Authorized Iterations Mentorship
(AIM) program, Prism will provide Iterations training and certification to
integrators and consultants who are interested in applying Iterations to
successful data warehouse implementations. The first Iterations training
class for integrators and consultants is scheduled to begin August 26. 

Pricing and Availability

The Iterations methodology will be generally available on July 15, 1996.
Iterations is delivered to customers in published workbook form, with
several online components including a data warehouse work plan, a
deliverables matrix, and a roles and responsibilities matrix. 

The SureStart Readiness Assessment, which includes an Iterations license
with three bound copies of the workbook, training and updates for one
year, will be priced at $50,000. Pricing for the extended SureStart
Mentored Pilot program will vary depending on the scope and duration of a
customer's specific project. The SureStart Mart engagement will be priced
at $60,000. SureStart Data Modeling, which is available now, is priced at
$20,000 and includes an Inmon Generic Data Model and 10 days of
customization services. 

Current Prism customers will be able to acquire an Iterations license
without the Readiness Assessment for $30,000, which includes one week of
training and one year of updates. The first customer training class is
scheduled to begin July 29.

About Prism Solutions 

Founded in 1991, Prism Solutions (NASDAQ: PRZM) is a leader in data
warehouse management software for building, maintaining and navigating
data warehouses. Prism Solutions' products and services enable a variety
of projects, such as building decision support systems, enhancing
client/server applications and migrating data between different computing
platforms. Prism helps customers meet strategic business goals through
data warehousing solutions that support customer relationship management,
profitability measurement, market segmentation, risk management,
procurement and other critical business applications. 

Prism Solutions' customers include leading companies in the finance, health
care, insurance, manufacturing, public utilities, retail,
telecommunications, transportation and technology industries. In addition
to its corporate headquarters located in Sunnyvale, California, Prism
Solutions has regional offices in seven U.S. cities and international
offices in Canada, France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom. More
information about Prism Solutions can be found by visiting the company's
Web site at http://www.prismsolutions.com. 

Prism Solutions Inc
1000 Hamlin Court
Sunnyvale, CA 94089
408-752-1888,  408-752-1875
 
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