Technically speaking, MicroStrategy's core task is to translate business questions into the language that databases speak: SQL. In other words, MicroStrategy offers a logical bridge between business users and the data. This bridge is possible because of MicroStrategy's Objects, which in turn reside in its metadata database.

This chapter will establish the base for designing and building a MicroStrategy project. It will first define and explain the concept of MicroStrategy Objects and then describe the main object categories. Then the main Schema Objects, such as Attributes and Facts, will be covered. The following topics will be the focus of this chapter:

• What is a MicroStrategy Object?
• Which are the main object categories?
• Understanding a MicroStrategy Project and how to create one
• Understanding a MicroStrategy Schema Object
• Explaining MicroStrategy Attributes and how to create one
• Explaining MicroStrategy Facts and how to create one
• Explaining MicroStrategy Hierarchies and how to create one
• Explaining MicroStrategy Transformations and how to create one