---
title: "Kathmandu Mall warehouse architecture"
subject: "Data Mining"
chapter: 1
key: "semester_7/data_mining:kathmandu-mall-warehouse"
source: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_7/data_mining/kathmandu-mall-warehouse
site: BCT Engineering
---

# Kathmandu Mall warehouse architecture

Data Mining · Chapter 1: Introduction

- Asked in: 2063, 10 marks
- Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) on 2026-10-14
- Page: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_7/data_mining/kathmandu-mall-warehouse
- Whole chapter: https://www.bctengineer.com/md/semester_7/data_mining/chapter-1

## Question

"The Kathmandu Mall" is one of the largest departmental stores in the valley. Assume your project team got the opportunity to build the warehouse system of this departmental store. Develop the process architecture of the warehouse system and explain how you manage the responsibilities to build the warehouse.

## Short answer

Process architecture: load manager extracts from POS, inventory, supplier, loyalty, and finance; warehouse manager transforms and summarizes; data marts for sales, stock, customer; query manager serves reports, OLAP, mining. Responsibilities go to project manager, business analyst, data architect, ETL developers, warehouse/query manager teams, front-end developers, QA, and support, starting with the sales data mart.

## Answer

#### Assumptions
The Kathmandu Mall has several branches and departments (grocery, clothing, electronics). Data sources are: point-of-sale (billing) system, inventory system, supplier/purchase system, customer loyalty card database and the HR/finance system. Management wants analysis of sales, stock and customer behaviour.

#### Process architecture
```text
 POS | Inventory | Supplier | Loyalty | Finance
   \     |          |         |        /
    v    v          v         v       v
        +-------------------------+
        |      LOAD MANAGER       |
        | extract, clean, load    |
        +-----------+-------------+
                    v
        +-------------------------+
        |    WAREHOUSE MANAGER    |
        | transform, summarise,   |
        | index, back-up, archive |
        +-----------+-------------+
                    v
   +---------------------------------------+
   | Detailed sales | Summaries | Metadata |
   | Data marts: Sales, Stock, Customer    |
   +-------------------+-------------------+
                       v
        +-------------------------+
        |      QUERY MANAGER      |
        +-----------+-------------+
                    v
   Reports | OLAP | Data mining (market basket)
```

#### Responsibilities and project management
| Team / module | Responsibility |
|---|---|
| Project manager | Plan, budget, schedule, risk, liaison with mall management |
| Business analyst | Collect requirements, define KPIs (sales per branch, stock turnover) |
| Data architect / DBA | Design star schemas (Sales fact with time, product, branch, customer dimensions), metadata |
| ETL developers (load manager) | Extract from POS and other systems, clean, load nightly |
| Warehouse manager team | Transformation, aggregation, indexing, backup, archiving |
| Query manager team | Query routing, query profiles, access control, performance |
| Front-end developers | Reports, dashboards, OLAP cubes, mining tools |
| QA team | Test data accuracy and performance |
| Support / admin | Training, security, maintenance |

**Build order**: start with the Sales data mart (highest value), then Inventory, then Customer, following a bottom-up approach, each delivered in a few months and integrated through conformed dimensions (product, time, branch).

## Check yourself

The answer's key points as multiple-choice questions, with the correct option and why.

1. In the mall architecture, who handles extracting from POS and loading nightly?
   A. ETL developers (load manager)
   B. QA team
   C. Business analyst
   D. Front-end developers
   Answer: A. ETL developers build the load manager that extracts, cleans and loads data. (Key point: Load manager responsibility)

2. Which design fits the Sales fact table for the mall?
   A. Sales fact with time, product, branch and customer dimensions
   B. Only one big normalised table
   C. Customer fact with only a time dimension
   D. Sales fact with no dimensions
   Answer: A. The data architect designs a star schema with the Sales fact linked to those dimensions. (Key point: Star schema design)

3. How should the mall warehouse be built?
   A. All marts at once in one release
   B. Start with HR data only
   C. Top-down with no marts
   D. Bottom-up: start with the Sales mart, then Inventory and Customer, integrated by conformed dimensions
   Answer: D. Delivering the highest-value Sales mart first and integrating via conformed dimensions is the bottom-up approach. (Key point: Build order)

4. What is the business analyst's responsibility?
   A. Back-up and archiving
   B. Writing ETL scripts
   C. Collecting requirements and defining KPIs like sales per branch and stock turnover
   D. Training users
   Answer: C. The analyst captures requirements and defines KPIs. (Key point: Business analyst role)

## Related in Data Mining

- [College warehouse project leader responsibilities](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Fdata_mining%3Acmis-college-warehouse-project) — Data Mining, chapter 1
- [National data warehouse process architecture](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Fdata_mining%3Anepal-national-data-warehouse) — Data Mining, chapter 1
- [Warehouse architecture and three phases](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Fdata_mining%3Adw-architecture-three-phases) — Data Mining, chapter 1
- [Data warehouse architecture and components](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Fdata_mining%3Adw-architecture-components) — Data Mining, chapter 1
- [Typical process flow in warehouse](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Fdata_mining%3Adw-process-flow) — Data Mining, chapter 1
- [Short note: DW process architecture](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Fdata_mining%3Adw-process-architecture-note) — Data Mining, chapter 1

## Related in other subjects

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- [Book store process model](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_5%2Fsoftware_engineering%3Abook-store-process-model) — Software Engineering, chapter 2
- [Manage risk; qualitative and quantitative system](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Fproject_engineering%3Arisk-manage-qualitative-quantitative) — Project Engineering, chapter 5
- [Steps to build a hydro project and sell to NEA](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Fpower_plant_design%3Ahydro-project-steps-nea) — Power Plant Design, chapter 3, asked 4×