Struggle of a developmnet dba

  • I am a development dba, at the place is work i help out developers resolve performance issue, copy/setup/restore databases for dev/test team, administer development and test db servers. Most of the usual DBA stuff I have automated and probably because of this management has started to push me more towards C# developer career path. I do not object, it is interesting piece of work but as I still have to perform dba duties my work comfort has drastically decreased due to increased amount of context switches between my tasks. Task context switches are not good as I have observed my fatigue growing and quality of my work decreased ;/

    How does it look on your end if you are a development dba ?

    Are you left alone in DBA role ?

  • geodrone (11/29/2015)


    I am a development dba, at the place is work i help out developers resolve performance issue, copy/setup/restore databases for dev/test team, administer development and test db servers. Most of the usual DBA stuff I have automated and probably because of this management has started to push me more towards C# developer career path. I do not object, it is interesting piece of work but as I still have to perform dba duties my work comfort has drastically decreased due to increased amount of context switches between my tasks. Task context switches are not good as I have observed my fatigue growing and quality of my work decreased ;/

    How does it look on your end if you are a development dba ?

    Are you left alone in DBA role ?

    Hello and welcome to the forums.

    I am most certainly not left alone in my DBA role. I also do development. I'm the sole developer of one reporting site, but also help developers with their own projects as needed.

    Quite honestly, a part of me really likes it this way. Yes, there are times when I have competing priorities, but it also helps to even out the workload. Context switches are certainly not good for productivity, but as you become more comfortable, the hit they come with starts to lessen. I try to avoid them by devoting myself to one role or another for a period of time. It may not always work out the way I want, but I don't have many boring days.

  • geodrone (11/29/2015)


    but as I still have to perform dba duties my work comfort has drastically decreased due to increased amount of context switches between my tasks. Task context switches are not good as I have observed my fatigue growing and quality of my work decreased ;/

    That's something you need to take up with your manager.

    Or, you can work on segmenting your workload, Mondays for this, Tuesdays for that, etc. Probably best to discuss that with your manager too.

    Gail Shaw
    Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
    SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability

    We walk in the dark places no others will enter
    We stand on the bridge and no one may pass
  • The problem is that I cannot dedicate some time in week for dba work (for example mondays).

    Dba request come ah-hoc.

    For example here I am writing some business code in C# and suddenly out of nowhere I am asked to restore a copy of prod database for dev team from a file share and restore it on dev server, setup permissions etc. This can take 1/2 - 3h depending on db size/backup file count used and is not 100% hands on work but the point here is because of those context switches I make mistakes. I am jealous of ordinary devs that can focus 100% on their task and even ask me to help them 😉

  • You need to take this problem to your manager and discuss it with him and try to come up with a resolution which satisfies all parties. We can advise and suggest, but only you and your manager can do anything about the problem to actually solve it.

    My job includes helping all the developers with SQL problems, doing ad-hoc admin on client apps that we host and sometimes fixing our internal dev servers. In all of those cases, when someone comes to me with a problem and I'm busy, we'll agree on when it can be looked at, which could be anything from later that day to some time next week, so that I'm not switching from one thing to another all day. This is what my manager and I have agreed to and what works for us.

    Gail Shaw
    Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
    SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability

    We walk in the dark places no others will enter
    We stand on the bridge and no one may pass
  • I'll also add that being both a Developer and a DBA sounds nice on paper but, as you're finding out, it can be a real bugger. I gave up the "front end" a dozen years ago and have never been happier. I've also given up being a manager (have been a Director of MIS, a Dev Manager, etc) with the same result. Being a bit of a "Hybrid" DBA (System Admin, Database Developer, Mentor, and 100% code reviewer) has provided me with rich, full, rewarding days (and, sometimes nights, it goes with the territory) and very good working relationships with all of the Front End/Web Developers.

    And, to be honest, you're in IT. If you want to be "left alone", IT isn't the right business for you. Even Monks get interrupted in what they're doing. Do the absolute best you can but learn when to ask for help or at least tell people that you can't take on more unless you drop something else. No one needs to do all-nighters on a regular basis.

    My favorite parable is to remember the difference between being loyal and being dedicated. It's easy to remember. Just think of "Ham and Eggs".... the chicken was loyal... the pig was dedicated (which is sometimes spelled "dead-icated").

    --Jeff Moden


    RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
    First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
    ________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

    Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.


    Helpful Links:
    How to post code problems
    How to Post Performance Problems
    Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

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