Voice of the DBA

Author: way0utwest

  • Agile West–How Do I Get Started with Database DevOps

    This week I had the chance to deliver a talk at Agile West in Las Vegas. I linked some resources on my blog, and feel free to check them out.

    Tl;Dr – Start with deployments

    After the talk, I had an interesting question from someone in the audience. This person had a lot of developers writing code and then sending to a DBA, who executes it in SSMS. This was for SQL Server development, and that’s a common way many companies deploy database changes.

    Even companies that have software developers who embrace DevOps will still tend to work this way.

    This is error prone, inefficient, and it’s not the way to build better software. We know that DevOps produces better software if you adopt it, and we know that you can’t forget the database. That’s integral if you want to be a high or elite performer.

    My advice for many companies is that they start with deployments. If you have some manual process or DBAs involved, often they’re just running a script you produced in some way. What I’d do is start adding Flyway Community  (or Teams/Enterprise) in and putting those scripts into a folder (hopefully in Git) and naming them as appropriate. That’s a small change for DBAs or Ops people deploying code, but it starts to enable a process.

    From here, I can alter this process to use tooling (Azure DevOps, Bamboo, Jenkins, etc.) and continue to put scripts in a location. Then I can work backwards and start getting developers to build better processes for capturing and saving code.

  • A Short Break

    I’m in the air again, hopefully. I should have taken off about 20 minutes ago for Orlando. This time, however, it’s not work, it’s personal.

    This is a short break, heading off to the AAU Girls Junior National Championships. My last few days with a team of girls I’ve been coaching since January, and many of whom I’ve know for many years. It’s a bit sad to think that I won’t see most of them again on a regular basis Sad smile

    However, that’s the way it goes. Hopefully this week won’t be too stressful as we’re likely placed in a division a bit too high for us, especially with two players unable to make the trip.

    In any case, I’m gone the rest of the week, with a scheduled blog for Friday (another new word), but otherwise, see you next week.

  • T-SQL Tuesday #163 – The Best Career Advice

    We’re a little delayed this month. Both the host and I forgot about this. So far in June, I’ve been in Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Denver, and Cambridge for events. I head back to Orlando this week, and I’m a little out of sorts.

    Maybe one piece of career advice: try to avoid spending 14 of the first 20 days of June away from home.

    We have Gethyn Ellis hosting this month with a great invitation: what’s the best career advice you’ve gotten. I really have two answers, but I have to choose the best one, so I’ll do that.

    Say No First

    I was actually at the Redgate LevelUp 2023 Conference this week and two different speakers mentioned that they keep saying yes to requests. They told the audience that they struggled to say “no”. (a 2019 recap of the event here)

    I don’t know when I learned this, but at some point in my 30+ year career I started to say “No” as a default. I would just say no to requests from co-workers, customer, even my manager. I just wouldn’t initially commit to many things, at least not many things that can’t be finished in a few hours.

    I didn’t say no to everything, but the busier I was, the more I said no. Then I’d let them convince me why it was a good idea, and sometimes I’d change my mind, and sometimes not. However, this helped me in a few ways.

    First, I learned to better manage my workload. I hate not meeting a commitment, and I always try to under-promise and over-deliver. By saying no, I give myself time to think about whether I can sustain something.

    Second, this started to force others to really justify their requests. I’ve had no shortage of things people ask for that are really their dreams and ideas, often not thought through. Many people have learned to ask for something without really thinking about it. Just like many technical people start writing code and compiling it without really thinking through what is needed. By not agreeing right away and letting them make a case for why something is needed, I force them to really justify if something is needed.

    I get some pushback from managers, but learning to stand up and argue a bit is a good skill. Overall, I’ve frustrated some people, but most others learn that they can count on me.

    If I commit.

  • Bringing DevOps to the Database – SQL Saturday South Florida 2023 Demos

    With some projector issues at SQL Saturday South Florida 2023, I had to lecture without demos this past weekend. I told everyone I would record the demos, so I’ve done that. The three demos are shown below, and if you download the deck, you can see where they fit into the talk.

    Powerpoint: Bringing DevOps to the Database.pptx

    Demo 1- Getting code into a VCS
    Demo 2- Continuous Integration