Computing, Artificial Intelligence and Information Technology Heuristics for selecting robust database structures with dynamic query patterns

The success of a company increasingly depends on timely information (internal or external) being available to the right person at the right time for crucial managerial decision-making. Achieving such a ''right time/right place'' duet depends directly on database performance. A database system has been a core component that supports modern busi- ness system such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that integrates and supports all enterprise processes including product designing and engineering, manufacturing, and other business functions to achieve highest efficiency and effectiveness of operations. We develop and demonstrate through a proof-of-concept case study, a new ''query-dri- ven'' heuristics for database design that seeks to identify database structures that perform robustly in dynamic settings with dynamic queries. Our focus is the design of efficient structures to process read-only queries in complex environ- ments. Our heuristics begins with detailed analysis of relationships between diverse queries and the performance of dif- ferent database structures. These relationships are then used in a series of steps that identify ''robust'' database structures that maintain high performance levels for a wide range of query patterns. We conjecture that our heuristics can facilitate efficient operations and effective decision-making of companies in todays dynamic environment. � 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.