• Failure to define clear business objectives and drivers especially when an organization decides to build one because others have it; 
  • Use of the wrong architecture, i.e. implementing a data warehouse with a large top-down strategy. Hence, many system projects go underway simultaneously; 
  • No initial involvement of business managers and end-users i.e. when the IT decides to build one hoping the managers will use it;
  • Lack of senior management support especially when they have an organizational culture that is resistant to change;
  • Working with set bureaucratically controlled project budgets and deadlines without involving the project team;
  • Development of data marts that are not integrated across business areas, i.e. lack of consistent view of enterprise data, which leads to poor decisions and end-user dissatisfaction;
  • Populating the warehouse with ‘useless or dirty data’ that is not required for business operation, i.e. loading the data warehouse with information just because it’s available;
  • Taking on projects that are technically overambitious especially when using the top-down approach that requires a massive upfront effort to design and implement a data warehouse;
  • Failure to anticipate scalability and performance issues especially when it involves rapid deployment; i.e. data warehouses require more capacity and speed than originally budgeted for.
  1. Etc....