Category Archives: Masterclass

Masterclass from Martyn Rhisiart Jones

Masterclass: What Are Surrogate Keys? – 2026/02/04

04 Wed Feb 2026

Posted by in data mesh, data science, Data Supply Framework, Data Warehouse, Data Warehousing, Inform, educate and entertain., information, Information Supply Framework, Knowledge, knowledge management, Martyn Jones, Masterclass

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Martyn Rhisiart Jones, Madrid, 4th February 2026.

Introduction

In data modelling and database design, keys play a fundamental role in uniquely identifying records and defining relationships between tables. One of the most widely used types of keys, especially in analytical systems and data warehouses, is the surrogate key.

A surrogate key is an artificial, system-generated identifier assigned to a record in a table. It is typically used as the primary key. It has no business meaning or semantic relationship to the real-world entity it represents. Common implementations include auto-incrementing integers or globally unique identifiers (GUIDs).

Surrogate keys exist purely to serve the needs of the database system: performance, stability, and simplicity.

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Masterclass: Ask the Data, Information and Knowledge Expert

03 Tue Feb 2026

Posted by in data mesh, data science, Data Supply Framework, Data Warehouse, Data Warehousing, Inform, educate and entertain., information, Information Supply Framework, Knowledge, knowledge management, Martyn Jones, Masterclass

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Masterclass: Here’s Martyn!

Martyn Rhisiart Jones and the Goodstrat editorial team, Madrid, 3rd February 2026

Introduction

The following is the redacted transcript of a conversation between the distinguished Sir Afilonius Rex of Cambriano Energy and the cordial Martyn Rhisiart Jones of goodstrat.com.

The informal session took place before an invited audience at the Welsh Academy’s alternative summer conference of July 2023 and featured a lively question-and-answer session with audience input.

According to our reliable sources, “The BBC, RTE and RTVE broadcast the session.”

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Justifying Business Data Requirements – 2026/01/11

11 Sun Jan 2026

Posted by in Inform, educate and entertain., Masterclass

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Justify Your Data Needs

Martyn Rhisiart Jones

Oxford University, Sunday 11th January 2026

Should All Business Data Requirements Be Justified in Business Terms?

A Pseudo-Debate

Motion: All business data requirements must be justified in business terms. Potential business utility should be a deciding factor in whether they are fulfilled.

For the Motion: Sir Afilonius Rex
Against the Motion: Martyn Rhisiart Jones

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A Brief History of Data Warehousing – 2026/01/07

10 Sat Jan 2026

Posted by in Masterclass, Snippet

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Martyn Rhisiart Jones

Madrid, 7th January 2026

The origins of data warehousing are often pinned to the late 1980s, when the term “business data warehouse” first appeared in an influential IBM Systems Journal article by researchers Barry Devlin and Paul Murphy. I was based in Birmingham at that time, and I also wrote a similar foundational document on Information Centres for Sperry Univac.
Yet, as with many technological breakthroughs, the story is far richer and older than the conventional narrative suggests. The foundational components of what we now recognise as a data warehouse were quietly taking shape as early as the 1960s, driven by the need to organise, integrate, and analyse growing volumes of business information in an era of punch cards, magnetic tape, and the first mainframes.

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A brief introduction to Knowledge Management

14 Sat Feb 2015

Posted by in Analytics, Big Data, Consider this, Good Strat, Good Strategy, Martyn Jones, Martyn Richard Jones, Masterclass, statistics

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A helpful slideset that is used to explain the purposes, positions and roles of Knowledge Management.

Enjoy! Please tell me what you think about this slide deck. Many thanks for viewing. 

Essential Principles for Effective Data Warehousing

03 Fri Oct 2014

Posted by in Best principles, Business Intelligence, Masterclass, Peeves

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Written by Martyn Richard Jones

These are my principles for successful Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence. If you don’t like them, I have others. Musings on being led by the nose by experienced practitioners of charlatanry, deception and obfuscation.

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Strategic Data Warehousing: A Smart Approach – REMASTER 2026

17 Wed Sep 2014

Posted by in Extract, Masterclass

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HERE WE ARE!

Extract taken from the draft work-in-progress provisionally titled Assess! Choose! Act! Data Warehousing and Strategy by Martyn Jones 

It’s a fantastically chic restaurant. It’s one of the best, if not the best in town. It’s Catalan or Basque, for sure. A group of twelve people sit at a round table. Silver service, starched white linen, spotless polished lead crystal glass, the works. There is even a minimalist arrangement of seasonal flowers. The owner of the exquisite restaurant walks across to the table, accompanied by one of her impeccably uniformed staff, who holds a notepad and pen in readiness; “Good afternoon, and, what would our esteemed ladies and gentlemen like today?” she asks.

Confused? If you haven’t seen this before then you should be. So just read on fellow traveller.

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