Database Team

Definition

Database Team

the team that is responsible for producing the databases for one or more related systems or applications

Classification

As illustrated in the preceding figure, the Database Team method component is part of the following inheritance hierarchy:

• Type: Concrete
• Superclass: Engineering Team
• Subclasses:
  • None

Responsibilities

The typical team-specific responsibilities of a Database Team are to:

• Design the database(s).
• Document the database design.
• Integrate the database(s) with the application(s).
• Install the database(s) into the development environments.
• Load the initial database contents.
• Tune the performance of the database(s).
• Administer the database(s) (only prior to usage during development and testing).

A database team typically inherits the general team responsibilities from the team method component.

Roles

A Database Team typically consists of persons playing the following roles:

• Database Architect, who leads the database team and architects and designs the databases.
• Database Engineer, who implements, integrates, and installs the databases.
• Database Administrator, who administers the databases prior to the usage phase.
• Software Designer, who designs the database layer software components.
• Programmer, who implements the database layer software components.
• Technical Writer, who produces and maintains the database design document.

Tasks

A Database Team typically performs the following team-specific tasks in an iterative, incremental, parallel, and time-boxed manner:

• Database Design:
  • Design Production
  • Design Refactoring
  • Design Reuse
  • Design Documentation
• Software Implementation (e.g., database wrappers, stored procedures, legacy data conversion):
  • Data Conversion
  • Data Generation
  • Programming
  • Debugging
• Database Integration:
  • Integration Planning
  • Component Integration
  • Integration Reporting
• Database Deployment:
  • Data Component Installation
  • Database Loading
  • Database Tuning
• Operations:
  • Database Administration (only prior to usage during development and testing)

A database team typically inherits the common team tasks from the team method component.

Work Products

A Database Team typically produces the following work products:

• Design Set:
  • Database Design Document
• Implementation Set:
  • Software Component (Database layer)

Guidelines

• Only staff a database team if the application involves a database.
• The database team hands over database administration to the operations team once the usage phase has started and the database(s) are in the production environments.