Most companies rely on at least one database if not several. With so many companies depending on them, it’s easy to look at databases with a bias that one size fits all. If you currently have this perspective, know that it could soon cost you. At the very least, you probably won’t get as much as you could from your database. However, there could be far direr consequences too. Consider the following best practices, then, so you don’t wind up with a database that underperforms.
Data First
Depending on your familiarity with them, you may know that there are all kinds of options available these days for database applications. Many of them offer a number of very attractive features that you’d be right to consider for your database.
Not so fast, though. Always remember that applications come and applications go. However, your database’s primary priority—storing data—is forever. Too many database architects fall in love with a specific application and build their system around it. Eventually, that application becomes obsolete and the database is like a house built before electricity. You have to go through an arduous process of trying to rectify its entire infrastructure.
Look Ahead
At the same time, it’s always easy for an architect to say, “That’s not something we need†when it comes to some kind of functionality. They may be right too. Right now, a specific type of functionality might not be necessary. What about in the future though?
When designers are under a tight deadline, they may make a database that appears streamlined, when in reality, it’s actually just lacking.
The right way to go about things is by taking your time, mapping out the database and considering what other functions may be necessary down the road. Chances are they absolutely will be.
Include Database Administrators from the Beginning
Another important step to a successful approach is looping in database administrators (DBAs) from the beginning. While those who are tasked with building different elements of the database are no doubt very bright, they can become lost in the trees and unable to see the forest. It’s easy to forget about all the other ways data may need to be used for a particular business.
Leaving DBAs out until the very end is how you get stuck with bad naming conventions and other nagging problems that should be easy to avoid.
Utilize Data Models
Though most would agree that software engineering is important, a lot of programmers still feel perfectly comfortable foregoing data models. A code is definitely essential. However, it’s also very replaceable. Data, on the other hand, is like an enterprise’s very memory.
Consider Your Options for Data Interaction
Developers are well known for their objective approach to problems that need a calculating mind. Sometimes, though, they forget that imagination is important too. The means by which applications interact with databases is a good example of where being able to imagine is a huge asset.
The way data interacts in a secure environment is an essential part of what a database does. That’s why it’s so important that developers take the time to look at all their options for how this can be done in the best way.
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Sources:
10 Database Design Best Practices
Photo cred: Flickr /Â tec_estromberg
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