DBA Horror Stories and Practical Advice for Surviving Your Worst Day

Every DBA collects lessons the hard way. Most of them come from incidents we never want to repeat, yet these are the moments that truly define a career. In this high-impact panel, moderator Amy Abel leads a discussion with seasoned professionals Ben Miller, Kellyn Gorman, Rob Volk, and Eric Peterson. Together, they share real production horror stories from the front lines and reflect on how those high-pressure moments changed the way they work forever.

The session is built on firsthand accounts of failure and recovery. Each panelist will recount a specific story of what went wrong, followed immediately by a breakdown of the specific lesson they learned and the practical advice they now give based on that experience. Rather than focusing on blame, the panel will surface common patterns behind outages to help you recognize those patterns before they become incidents of your own.

The goal is to move past theoretical best practices and into the messy reality of what happens when the unthinkable occurs on your watch. Attendees will gain a better understanding of how to identify warning signs, stay effective under extreme pressure, and implement the technical defensive strategies needed to prevent routine tasks from spiraling out of control.

You may not experience the exact same incident as our panelists, but one day, you will recognize the moment.

Recognize common patterns that lead to production outages and learn to identify the red flags that signal a crisis before it starts.

Improve incident response and communication under pressure by learning techniques to stay focused and manage stakeholders during a live disaster.

Walk away with a checklist of specific habits and safety checks that help you avoid the common mistakes that cause outages.