Business Planning - DataWorks - Alibaba Cloud Documentation Center

How it works

Every concept in Business Planning serves one goal: transforming raw, source-shaped data into business-shaped data that analysts and product teams can actually use. The five concepts form two parallel hierarchies under a Business Category:

Business Category
├── Data Domain → Business Process  (Common Layer: who owns the data and what happens to it)
└── Data Mart → Subject Area        (Application Layer: who consumes the data and how)

Understanding where each concept sits in this hierarchy helps you make the right modeling and metric decisions in Dimensional Modeling and Data Metrics.

Core concept relationships

Concept	What it represents	Layer
Business Category	Highest-level business domain classification	—
Data Domain	Cross-business thematic grouping; can span multiple Business Categories	Common Layer
Business Process	Specific activity within a Data Domain (e.g., placing an order)	Common Layer
Data Mart	Scenario-specific data collection tied to a Business Category	Application Layer
Subject Area	Analytical subdivision of a Data Mart (e.g., product analysis, user behavior)	Application Layer

Business Category

A Business Category is the highest-level division of a business area. For example, a retail business can be divided into brick-and-mortar business and e-commerce business based on sales channels.

When to create a Business Category: Create one when your organization has multiple distinct business lines with separate data ownership. If you operate a single business line, skip this step—a Business Category adds structure only when data scoping across lines is genuinely needed.

In the retail industry, common classification dimensions include sales channels, product management lines, and core functions. Choose one dimension and follow the principles of data ownership and business independence to categorize your operations.

The following table shows business classification examples based on common dimensions.

<table> <thead> <tr> <td>Classification dimension</td> <td>Use case</td> <td>Business Category examples</td> <td>Data scope</td> </tr> </thead> <colgroup></colgroup> <colgroup></colgroup> <colgroup></colgroup> <colgroup></colgroup> <tbody> <tr> <td>Sales channel</td> <td>Omnichannel retailers</td> <td>1. Brick-and-mortar Retail2. E-commerce3. Cross-border Business</td> <td>POS transactions, app orders, overseas warehouse inventory</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Product management line</td> <td>Multi-category conglomerates</td> <td>1. Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG)2. Home Appliances3. Fresh Produce</td> <td>SKU basic information, product categories, shelf life monitoring</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Core function</td> <td>Single-channel, multi-department collaboration</td> <td>1. Procurement and Supply Chain2. Marketing3. Member Operations</td> <td>Supplier profiles, promotion tables, member level tables</td> </tr> </tbody> </table>

Create a Business Category

In the left-side navigation pane on the Data Warehouse Planning page, click Business Category. On the Business Category page, manage Business Categories as follows.

Create a top-level category

Hover over the icon and click Create Top-level Category.
In the Create Top-level Category dialog box, configure the parameters and click OK.

Create a sub-category

Create sub-categories under a top-level Business Category using the same steps as creating a top-level category.

Associate Data Domains

After creating a Business Category, associate it with the required Data Domains to define its data scope. Once associated, those Data Domains become available for data modeling within that category.

For more information, see Data Domain.

Data Mart management

After creating a Business Category, use the Data Mart Management section to view and manage associated Data Marts. Edit or delete them as needed.

For more information, see Data Mart.

Important

Deleting a Data Mart removes its association with the Business Category and permanently deletes the mart. This action cannot be undone.

Use a Business Category

Associate a Business Category when creating a Dimension Table, Fact Table, Aggregate Table, or Application Table in Dimensional Modeling. To view table classification from a business perspective, click the icon above the directory tree to go to the model list page.

In Data Metrics, associate the Business Category when creating an Atomic Metric, Derived Metric, or Composite Metric in the Common Layer.

Data Domain

A Data Domain is a high-level data classification standard created by abstracting, refining, and combining business processes. It serves as the primary grouping category for business users, helping them quickly locate relevant data across large volumes of information.

A Data Domain can span multiple Business Categories. For example, a transaction domain can serve both brick-and-mortar and online transaction scenarios.

The following diagram shows the relationship between a Business Category and a Data Domain in the retail industry.

Create a Data Domain

In the left-side navigation pane on the Data Warehouse Planning page, click Common Layer > Data Domain.
Click Create. In the Create Data Domain dialog box, configure the parameters and click Confirm.

Important

System-default Data Domains cannot be deleted. Before deleting a Data Domain, delete all associated business processes and Logical Models first.

Add a Business Process

After creating a Data Domain, create Business Processes for the business activities you need to analyze.

On the Data Domain page, click a Data Domain to open its details page.
The system automatically adds a Business Process with the _default suffix when you create a Data Domain.
Click Create Business Process. In the Create Business Process dialog box, configure the parameters and click OK.

Use a Data Domain

Reference a Data Domain in the following modules:

Dimensional Modeling: create an ODS Table, Dimension Table, or Aggregate Table under a specified Data Domain.
Data Layer: use the English abbreviation of a Data Domain as an optional attribute when defining a new model rule in the Data Layer inspector.

Business Process

A Business Process describes the flow of a specific business activity within a Data Domain. In e-commerce, adding items to a cart, placing an order, and making a payment are each a Business Process.

Business Processes are used primarily for performance analysis. In a Funnel Analysis, the activity of purchasing a product breaks down into a sequence: browsing products → adding to cart → placing an order → making a payment → confirming receipt. Counting orders at each stage lets you measure conversion across the funnel.

The following diagram shows the relationship between a Business Category, Data Domain, and Business Process in the retail industry.

Create a Business Process

In the left-side navigation pane on the Data Warehouse Planning page, click Common Layer to go to the Business Process page.
Click Create Business Process. In the Create Business Process dialog box, configure the parameters and click OK.
To delete a Business Process, remove it from the main process list or from the Business Process list within its parent Data Domain.

Important
Before deleting a Business Process, delete the associated Logical Model and Metric first.

Use a Business Process

Reference a Business Process in the following modules:

Dimensional Modeling: associate a specific Business Process when creating a Fact Table.
Data Metrics: create an Atomic Metric, Derived Metric, or Composite Metric to measure business attributes for each Business Process.

Data Mart

A Data Mart provides scenario-specific data statistics for application scenarios or products based on a Business Category. It is typically located in the Application Layer.

For example, in the e-commerce business of a retail company, you can build a dedicated e-commerce mart and a retail customer profile mart to serve the analytical needs of operations staff.

Create a Data Mart

In the left-side navigation pane on the Data Warehouse Planning page, click Application Layer > Data Mart.

Hover over the icon and click Create First-level Data Mart. In the Create First-level Data Mart dialog box, configure the parameters and click OK. The following table describes the key parameters.

Parameter	Description
Mart type	The type of mart to create. Options: Business Mart (a mart oriented towards business requirements), Data Application Mart (a mart oriented towards data product requirements), or Common Mart (select this type to create a common Application Layer model for all Data Marts).
Business Category	The Business Category to which the Data Mart belongs. For more information, see Business Category.

To delete a Data Mart, right-click the target mart in the Data Mart directory on the left and click Delete.

Create a sub-mart

Create sub-marts under a first-level Data Mart using the same steps as creating a first-level Data Mart.

Manage Subject Areas

After creating a Data Mart, go to the Data Mart Management section on the mart's details page to manage its associated Subject Areas.

Important

Deleting a Subject Area removes its association with the Data Mart and permanently deletes the Subject Area itself. Perform this operation with caution.

Use a Data Mart

Reference a Data Mart in the following modules:

Dimensional Modeling: associate the Data Mart when creating an Application Table for specific business data analysis.
Data Metrics: create a Derived Metric or Composite Metric to measure business attributes for each Data Mart.

Subject Area

A Subject Area divides a Data Mart by analytical perspective. It groups related data for statistical analysis in business applications.

For example, an e-commerce mart serves operations staff in a retail company. Based on different analytical perspectives, the mart's data is divided into Subject Areas such as "Product", "Category", and "Region". When creating an Application Layer Derived Metric or an Application Layer model, associate it with the target mart and Subject Area.

Create a Subject Area

In the left-side navigation pane on the Data Warehouse Planning page, click Application Layer > Subject Area.
Hover over the icon and click Create First-level Subject Area. In the Create First-level Subject Area dialog box, configure the parameters and click OK.
To delete a Subject Area, right-click it in the directory on the left and click Delete.

Create a sub-subject area

Create sub-subject areas under a first-level Subject Area using the same steps as creating a first-level Subject Area.

Use a Subject Area

Reference a Subject Area in the following modules:

Dimensional Modeling: associate the Subject Area when creating an Application Table.
Data Metrics: create a Derived Metric or Composite Metric to measure business attributes for each Subject Area.

What's next

After completing Business Planning configurations, define your data warehouse layering structure. Plan data warehouse layers and set up inspectors for each layer to establish standards for subsequent Dimensional Modeling and Data Metrics management.

For more information, see Data Layer.