Summary: There is considerable evidence that successful data warehousing projects often produce a very high return on investment. Over the years a great deal of information has been collected about the factors that lead to a successful implementation versus an unsuccessful one. These are encapsulated here into a set of best practices, which are presented with particular reference to the features in SQL Server 2008. The application of best practices to a data warehouse project is one of the best investments you can make toward the establishment of a successful Business Intelligence infrastructure.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc719165(SQL.100).aspx