Texas Health and Human Services Commission TIERS Data Mart Current Capabilities and Functionalities
EDW/BI Solution - RFP No. 529-16-0001
TIERS Data Mart Current Capabilities and Functionalities
1.1.1.1 TIERS Data Mart Data Acquisition Requirements
Data from many different sources is collected by the TIERS DM. These sources include operational
Texas Integrated Eligibility Redesign System, Workflow Management Data (TLM & Scheduler), PPM,
PEBLES and State employee data from CAPPS/ESSFDW and other sources. Although the data stored
originates from many distributed and diverse sources, it is integrated with data quality rules and business
rules to produce quality data into the TIERS DM. Data is loaded into the TIERS DM on a daily basis.
TIERS DM also loads data from OAG, ACF, TWC and DFPs on quarterly frequency. Data loads and
transformations are performed via ETL. Data is acquired in both flat file and relational database table
formats. Cancelled eligibility records after seven calendar days received from TIERS operational are
currently being archived in TIERS DM.
The Contractor will acquire data from the sources identified in Attachment J under section “TIERS Data
Mart Data Acquisition Requirements” and will adhere to load frequency for successful replacement of
TIERS DM BI functionality.
1.1.1.2 TIERS Data Mart Data Access Requirements
Currently TIERS DM has 11 Cubes, 6 Dashboards and 27 reports. It is anticipated that the TIERS DM
team will add more reports, dashboards and cubes to meet the ongoing business needs. Prior to the
replacement project of the TIERS DM BI functionality, the Contractor will work with the TIERS DM team to
identify the reports, cubes, dashboards and other BI functionality that exists at the time of the
replacement project and will implement those required functionality into the EDW. The Contractor is
responsible for validating the BI functionality that will be “in scope” at the time of the replacement project.
The Contractor will also take into consideration the compatibility required for toolsets in use at the time of
the replacement project.
TIERS DM reports and dashboards are currently accessed by users through HHSC’s State Portal; reports
are currently available to all users who have access to the ‘TIERS Data Mart’ link. If the user has
sufficient access privileges to view the reports, the user will be directed to the Cognos application. There
will be a Cognos dashboard which will display the report. User access is based on role they have in State
Portal and it is currently not maintained by TIERS DM. The current web portal provides user the ability to
access reports and data and to save their results to an excel spreadsheet. The system is currently
configured to accommodate approximately 2500 concurrent users.
Cubes are currently accessed by users by logging in to HHSC State Portal. If the user has sufficient
access privileges to view the cubes, the user will be directed to the Cognos application. The cubes will be
accessed through the analysis studio application, a part of the Cognos suite of products. This application
is available only to the users who will be granted permission to the access the cubes.
Once replaced by the EDW, these reports, cubes, and dashboards are expected to continue to be
accessed via the HHSC State Portal infrastructure including support for all standard internet web browser
types and software versions supported by the portal at the time of the replacement project.
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Texas Health and Human Services Commission TIERS Data Mart Current Capabilities and Functionalities
EDW/BI Solution - RFP No. 529-16-0001
EDW will serve a diverse and geographically distributed user population. Meeting this need requires a
blend of data access component software (query, reporting, business intelligence, decision support
systems (DSS), and a web portal based interface to this software set). Therefore, responses will need to
provide data access component software that meets the reporting and analytical requirements of existing
TIERS DM users and also compatible with the various levels of technical skill sets and business
requirements for the data warehouse users such as TIERS DM users. The EDW will continue to serve the
current users as well as additional new users. The Contractor will be responsible to implement the data
access requirements for TIERS DM users identified in Attachment J under section “TIERS Data Mart Data
Access Requirements”.
1.1.1.3 TIERS Data Mart Data Analysis Cubes Requirements
Data Analysis Cubes – Attachment J under section “TIERS Data Mart Data Analysis Cubes
Requirements” lists the cubes that currently exist in TIERS DM that facilitate and support analysis by
HHSC management, OES, and SDS, among other groups. The Contractor is responsible for replacing all
the functionality of the existing TIERS DM Analysis Cubes and any new cubes available at the time of
TIERS DM replacement project into the EDW.
Respondents should refer to the EDW RFP’s Procurement Library for detailed Business Requirements
Document and Design Document for each of the TIERS DM Cubes identified in Attachment J under
section “TIERS Data Mart Data Analysis Cubes Requirement”.

Business Requirements Document includes information related to detailed business
requirements, universe collection creation, and cube creation and user interface requirements.

Design documents include information related to the data model, high level design of universe,
measures, cube access, cube refresh frequency, ETL design and cube design.
1.1.1.4 TIERS Data Mart Executive Dashboards Requirements
Executive Dashboards – provide a high level representation of summarized reports of data that captures
daily timeliness, pending work, TLM and scheduling information. Visual aspects represented in the
executive dashboard are currently accessed by Executive Management totaling 20-25 users. The
Contractor is responsible for replacing all of the existing TIERS DM dashboards functionality identified in
Attachment J under section “TIERS Data Mart Executive Dashboard Requirements” and any new
dashboards available at the time of TIERS DM replacement project into the EDW.
Respondents should refer to the EDW RFP’s Procurement Library for detailed Business Requirements
Document and Design Document for each of the TIERS DM Dashboards identified in Attachment J under
section “TIERS Data Mart Dashboard Requirements”.

Business Requirements Document includes information related to detailed business
requirements, universe collection, and training and release notes impacts.

Design documents provide information on high level design, universe details, refresh frequency,
report flow, and program logic.
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Texas Health and Human Services Commission TIERS Data Mart Current Capabilities and Functionalities
EDW/BI Solution - RFP No. 529-16-0001
1.1.1.5 TIERS Data Mart Reports Requirements
Reports – TIERS DM reports enable managers to efficiently predict the workload associated with
eligibility reviews, re-certifications, and renewals due for an office, city, and/or region, and for the state, for
a month and year specified by the system user. The following TIERS DM reports will be implemented in
the EDW, it is anticipated that the new reports and/or existing reports enhancements will be included in
the TIERS DM in the near future. The Contractor is responsible for implementing all of the existing TIERS
DM reports identified in Attachment J under section “TIERS Data Mart Report Requirements” and any
new reports available at the time of the replacement project into the EDW.
Respondents should refer to the EDW RFP’s Procurement Library for detailed Business Requirements
Document and Design Document for each of the TIERS DM Reports identified in Attachment J under
section “TIERS Data Mart Report Requirements”.

Business Requirements Document includes information related to detailed business needs,
scope and detailed business requirements.

Design documents include information related to the data model, high level design of Universe,
measures, access and navigation requirements, detailed design, program logic, and report
design.
1.1.1.6 TIERS Data Mart Data Extract Requirements
TIERS DM deploys data extracts via Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) process directly to its
subscribers. Upon implementation of the TIERS DM replacement project, the EDW will continue to send
the monthly file extracts to TIERS DM customers as done today using a SFTP process. The Contractor
will support both existing and any new extracts currently in place for TIERS DM at the time of the
replacement project. It is anticipated that the feed formats and number of extracts could change before
the replacement project for TIERS DM is implemented into the EDW. The Contractor will need to work
with the TIERS DM team and the data subscribers during implementation to validate the “in scope” data
extracts and obtain the detail requirements for each. Support requirements for data extracts include the
ability to make revisions to the logic as required and to document the revisions.
The Contractor will implement all TIERS Data Mart data extract requirements identified in Attachment J
under section “TIERS Data Mart Extract Requirements”. Respondents should refer to the EDW RFP’s
Procurement Library for file layouts for the outgoing data extracts.
1.1.1.7 TIERS Data Mart Hardware and Software Platform
TIERS DM currently runs on an Oracle platform. The following provides a description of the current
TIERS DM hardware and software. The existing hardware and software components of TIERS DM had
been provided for reference purpose only. HHSC is looking forward for the Contractor approach in their
Proposal on how to meet all the TIERS DM requirements in the RFP and in Attachment J - TIERS Data
Mart Requirements Detail.
Application Servers: PWAU020 & PWAU021

M 4000, Solaris 10, 16 Central Processing Units (CPUs) , 32 Gigabyte (GB) memory

Informatica tool file repository is on Storage Area Network (SAN) mount point with 40 GB disk
space /opt/ETL
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Texas Health and Human Services Commission TIERS Data Mart Current Capabilities and Functionalities
EDW/BI Solution - RFP No. 529-16-0001

The Application directory is on a Network-Attached Storage (NAS) mount point with 100 GB disk
space /ETL

The tool is installed on the two application servers on a High availability Grid environment with
PWAU020 as primary node and PWAU021 the secondary
Database Server Informatica Meta Data: PWDU008

5000, Solaris 10, 32 CPUs, 64 GB memory

Oracle version 10G database
Current Software (including versions):

Database:
Oracle 10G on Sun Solaris UNIX 5.10

ETL Tool(s):
Informatica 9.0.1

Reporting Tool(s):
Cognos 8.4

Scheduling Tool(s):
Unix Cron Jobs

Modeling Tool(s):
Erwin 7

Version Control:
Clear Case
The Contractor will replace the existing TIERS DM BI functionality with an EDW architecture that has the
following capabilities:

Scalability: The capability for the EDW to grow in size

Extensibility: The capability to add new subject area of data to the EDW

Flexibility: The ability to quickly modify the EDW to meet changing business needs

Accuracy: The ability to identify and resolve data quality issues, ensure timeliness of data
delivery and accurate alignment with all required reporting periods.

History: The ability to maintain the agreed upon depth of data history for both source and
published datasets.

Interoperability: The capability for EDW to freely receive and exchange data with other systems

Usability: The capability of all users to quickly access, interrogate and receive information back
from EDW with minimal reliance on specialized technical assistance

Compatibility: The EDW/BI architecture will provide similar capabilities of the above mentioned
tool sets currently used by TIERS DM
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Texas Health and Human Services Commission TIERS Data Mart Current Capabilities and Functionalities
EDW/BI Solution - RFP No. 529-16-0001
Figure 1 - TIERS Data Mart Informatica Power Center Architecture
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