April 29, 2003 at 9:31 am
I just wanted to ask a general question on Database Modelling, and then building the database.
This is my first job building a database for a company. We have to migrate their existing data across as well.
I did basic database design at University, and was taught that you should always model the data, with ER diagrams before you start building the tables.
The design is not final, but my boss asked me to, against my better judgement, start bulding the tables. So, I have done this, to the extent we have about 40 tables.He now keeps on coming back to me, wanting to change column names, table names, add columns etc. I haven't got as far as putting any data into the tables yet, but this is really stressing me out.
It is making my life quite difficult, as every time I think it is sorted, he wants to add something new, or move something from one table to another. I have refused to start setting up relationships between tables, as the names may or may not change soon, and it will be difficult for me to keep track of everything. Am I being unreasonable, as I know it is not possible that the original design will be perfect, but I didn't expect large amounts of changes already!! We are only 1 month in, and I am dreading the rest of the time, as the db gets bigger.
April 29, 2003 at 10:09 am
Ah, such is the way of business... Frustrating, isn't it? I can only recommend that you try to keep regular backup scripts of the schema, so that if they decide to undo some of the "absolutely-utterly-crucial" changes, you can do so easily. Also, try discussing with your boss how the constant changes negatively affect your performance, and he/she may listen to your suggestions. If you propose a standard naming convention for objects, and discuss where you are having the most frustrations, they may ease off a little on the nit-picky changes and focus more on the bigger picture. Sounds a little like a problem of micro-management???
Good luck,
Jay
Viewing 2 posts - 1 through 1 (of 1 total)
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. Login to reply