I like lists, and this list certainly caught my eye: the 10 commandments of database management. It's from a lead database architect that has experience with a variety of RDBMS's as well as NoSQL technologies. It's an interesting list, and one that tries to cover all the aspects of a DBA's job.

It's a good list and for the most part it's how I've tried to manage systems throughout my career. I believe in monitoring systems. I believe in testing backups. I believe in change management, though it doesn't have to be heavy-handed. I think automation is key, and certainly DBAs should understand the pros and cons of their platform.

However, I don't know that I think upgrades should be completed for systems without some evaluation of the benefits and risks. These days, with releases of database platforms coming every 2-3 years, I'm not sure that I would want to upgrade many of my systems to each version. I might skip every 2-3 versions and upgrade rarely.

I recognize that some of these can be outside the control of the DBA, but to the best of their ability, I do think a DBA should be looking to help developers, secure their systems, and choose the best systems to meet their needs, given whatever restrictions their organization puts on them.

I don't know that this is the best list of commandments for a DBA, but it's certainly a great start. It's also a good basis on which to conduct yourself as a DBA if you don't have a well defined code you follow.