Modeling guides are often steeped in theory and formal language. The innovative approach taken in Data Modeling with Snowflake combines practical modeling concepts with Snowflake best practices and unique features, allowing you to create efficient designs that leverage the power of the Data Cloud.

Data Modeling with Snowflake

Recommended experience
Recommended experience
What you'll learn
Discover time-saving data modeling techniques tailored for Snowflake
Understand Snowflake's cloud-native architecture and its key features
Apply universal modeling frameworks using Snowflake-native objects
Details to know

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October 2026
18 assignments
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There are 17 modules in this course
This module explores the strategic use of database modeling, covering its evolution, key concepts, and practical applications in both operational and analytical contexts. Learners will gain insight into how modeling supports data management and decision-making processes. It also highlights the importance of choosing the right modeling approach for different scenarios.
What's included
1 video5 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
5 readings•Total 24 minutes
- Introduction•5 minutes
- Leveraging the modeling toolkit•4 minutes
- The benefits of database modeling•5 minutes
- Operational and analytical modeling scenarios•4 minutes
- A look at relational and transformational modeling•6 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Foundations of Data Modeling and System Representation•16 minutes
This module explores the fundamentals of modeling, focusing on how different types of models-conceptual, physical, and transformational-support business and data goals. Learners will gain an understanding of how models simplify complex systems and facilitate communication across teams. The module also covers practical applications of modeling in data pipelines and database design.
What's included
1 video5 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
5 readings•Total 26 minutes
- Introduction•5 minutes
- Conceptual•5 minutes
- What it looks like•6 minutes
- Physical modeling•5 minutes
- Transformational•5 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Database Modeling Fundamentals•16 minutes
This module explores the challenges of database scalability and introduces Snowflake's cloud-native architecture as a modern solution. It covers key features, cost models, and the benefits of a flexible, scalable data platform. Learners will gain insights into how Snowflake addresses performance and efficiency in cloud environments.
What's included
1 video4 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
4 readings•Total 21 minutes
- Introduction•5 minutes
- Snowflake's solution•4 minutes
- Snowflake's features•4 minutes
- Costs to consider•8 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Exploring Snowflake's Architectural Components•16 minutes
This module explores the various types of Snowflake database objects, including tables, external tables, materialized views, and change tracking. Learners will gain an understanding of how these objects function, their use cases, and the cost implications associated with them.
What's included
1 video5 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
5 readings•Total 26 minutes
- Introduction•4 minutes
- Tables•8 minutes
- Stage metadata tables•5 minutes
- Materialized views•4 minutes
- Change tracking•5 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Mastering Snowflake Objects•16 minutes
This module provides an in-depth exploration of data modeling in Snowflake, focusing on entities, relationships, constraints, and the role of primary and foreign keys in ensuring data integrity and consistency. Learners will gain practical knowledge on how to structure data effectively for analytical purposes.
What's included
1 video9 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
9 readings•Total 42 minutes
- Introduction•6 minutes
- Clustering•4 minutes
- Attributes as columns•5 minutes
- Constraints and enforcement•4 minutes
- Benefits of a PK•5 minutes
- Keys taxonomy•4 minutes
- Alternate keys as unique constraints•6 minutes
- Benefits of an FK•4 minutes
- Mandatory columns as NOT NULL constraints•4 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Mastering Data Modeling in Snowflake•16 minutes
This module explores visual modeling techniques for relational databases, focusing on entities, relationships, and conceptual context within Snowflake's architecture. Learners will gain an understanding of modeling conventions and how to apply them effectively in data design. The module also covers the importance of conceptual context in representing database structures.
What's included
1 video3 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
3 readings•Total 16 minutes
- Introduction•5 minutes
- Visual modeling conventions•5 minutes
- Adding conceptual context to Snowflake architecture•6 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Exploring Data Modeling Notation and Principles•16 minutes
This module provides a hands-on exploration of conceptual modeling techniques, focusing on Kimball's dimensional modeling, bus matrices, and the process of translating business requirements into structured database models. Learners will gain practical skills in creating and validating conceptual models that align with real-world business operations.
What's included
1 video4 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
4 readings•Total 21 minutes
- Introduction•5 minutes
- Starting a conceptual model in four easy steps•7 minutes
- From bus matrix to a conceptual model•6 minutes
- Propose and validate the business processes•3 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Conceptual Modeling and Dimensional Design Fundamentals•16 minutes
This module focuses on translating conceptual data models into detailed logical models by adding attributes, defining relationships, and addressing advanced modeling concepts like inheritance and many-to-many structures. Learners will gain the skills to structure data effectively and ensure consistency across different entity types.
What's included
1 video3 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
3 readings•Total 13 minutes
- Introduction•4 minutes
- Cementing the relationships•5 minutes
- Inheritance•4 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Mastering Logical Database Modeling•16 minutes
This module explores the principles and processes of database normalization, focusing on how to eliminate data anomalies and improve data integrity through various normal forms from 1NF to 6NF. Learners will understand the trade-offs between normalization levels and how to apply them in real-world scenarios. Practical examples and case studies illustrate the impact of normalization on database design and performance.
What's included
1 video5 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
5 readings•Total 23 minutes
- Introduction•4 minutes
- Data anomalies•4 minutes
- Database normalization through examples•6 minutes
- 4NF•5 minutes
- Data models on a spectrum of normalization•4 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Database Normalization Fundamentals•16 minutes
This module covers essential practices for naming database objects and organizing database structures, with a focus on consistency, usability, and best practices for both OLTP and OLAP environments. It explores how to implement effective schema organization and manage logical database structures for different data environments.
What's included
1 video4 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
4 readings•Total 23 minutes
- Introduction•4 minutes
- Object naming•5 minutes
- Organizing a Snowflake database•9 minutes
- Database environments•5 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Database Organization and Structure Fundamentals•16 minutes
This module focuses on implementing physical data models in Snowflake, covering key aspects such as performance, scalability, security, and table deployment. Learners will gain practical knowledge on structuring databases and applying best practices for real-world data management.
What's included
1 video4 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
4 readings•Total 18 minutes
- Introduction•5 minutes
- Data security•5 minutes
- Defining the tables•4 minutes
- Deploying a physical model•4 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Practical Application of Physical Modeling in Snowflake•16 minutes
This module focuses on optimizing query performance in Snowflake by exploring techniques such as join elimination, efficient query writing, and the use of relational structures. Learners will gain practical skills in identifying and resolving common query issues to improve database efficiency and reduce costs.
What's included
1 video5 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
5 readings•Total 24 minutes
- Introduction•5 minutes
- Join elimination using constraints•4 minutes
- Joins and set operators•3 minutes
- Common query problems•4 minutes
- Additional query considerations•8 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Practical Application of Transformational Modeling•16 minutes
This module explores the modeling of slowly changing dimensions (SCDs) in Snowflake, focusing on strategies for managing historical data, maintaining data integrity, and optimizing performance. Learners will understand how to implement SCD types and leverage Snowflake features like streams for efficient data maintenance.
What's included
1 video3 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
3 readings•Total 23 minutes
- Introduction•13 minutes
- Recipes for maintaining SCDs in Snowflake•4 minutes
- Type 2 – Type 1-like performance using streams•6 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Modeling Slowly Changing Dimensions•16 minutes
This module focuses on designing and managing fact tables for efficient business analytics. It covers the categorization of facts, techniques for handling data deletions, and methods for maintaining data integrity using Snowflake. Learners will gain hands-on skills in implementing these concepts through practical exercises.
What's included
1 video6 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
6 readings•Total 33 minutes
- Introduction•5 minutes
- Fact table measures•6 minutes
- The leading method for recovering deleted records•6 minutes
- Maintaining fact tables using Snowflake features•6 minutes
- Recovering deleted records with leading load dates•4 minutes
- Handling time intervals in a Type 2 fact table•6 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Modeling Facts for Analytical Efficiency•16 minutes
This module introduces learners to the challenges and techniques of working with semi-structured data, such as JSON, in Snowflake. It covers schema-on-read approaches, data transformation methods, and how to convert semi-structured data into relational formats for analysis.
What's included
1 video3 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
3 readings•Total 18 minutes
- Introduction•4 minutes
- Getting hands-on with semi-structured data•7 minutes
- Converting semi-structured data into relational data•7 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Modeling and Working with Semi-Structured Data•16 minutes
This module explores the fundamentals of hierarchy modeling in Snowflake, focusing on different types of hierarchies, their structural challenges, and strategies for efficient management. Learners will gain insights into handling dynamic data structures and maintaining data integrity in analytical environments.
What's included
1 video3 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
3 readings•Total 13 minutes
- Introduction•4 minutes
- A ragged hierarchy•5 minutes
- Handling changes•4 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Exploring Data Modeling Hierarchies•16 minutes
This module explores advanced data modeling techniques, focusing on Data Vault for scalable storage and Data Mesh for decentralized data governance. Learners will gain hands-on experience with constructing Raw Vaults, implementing multi-table inserts, and designing efficient data marts using Star and Snowflake schemas.
What's included
1 video5 readings2 assignments
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
5 readings•Total 30 minutes
- Introduction•6 minutes
- Building the Raw Vault•8 minutes
- Loading with multi-table inserts•4 minutes
- Modeling the data marts•3 minutes
- Discovering Data Mesh•9 minutes
2 assignments•Total 84 minutes
- The Data Modeling with Snowflake Final Assessment•68 minutes
- Data Modeling and Architecture Fundamentals•16 minutes
Instructor

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Felipe M.

Jennifer J.

Larry W.

Chaitanya A.
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Frequently asked questions
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