In Control of Your Database: Design, Code, Version, Test, and Deploy Without the Firefighting
Short 20 minute session for SQLBits 2026Friday - 24 Apr 2026 - 14:10 - 14:30 Room 1CTL; DR
Four workflow problems database teams face every day and how to solve them. From schema design to safe deployment, see what it looks like when your database development process actually works.
Session Details
Most database teams aren't slowed down by lack of skill - they're slowed down by fragmented workflows. In this session, we walk through four of the most common database workflow problems: designing schemas deliberately, writing consistent SQL as a team, keeping database changes in version control, and deploying without environment drift or late-stage surprises.
You'll see what each problem looks like in practice, what good looks like when it's solved, and how modern tooling, including AI purpose-built for database development, makes the whole workflow faster and more reliable. Expect practical examples, real scenarios, and ideas you can take back to your team.
You'll see what each problem looks like in practice, what good looks like when it's solved, and how modern tooling, including AI purpose-built for database development, makes the whole workflow faster and more reliable. Expect practical examples, real scenarios, and ideas you can take back to your team.
3 things you'll get out of this session
Identify the hidden workflow problems that slow database teams down: coordination gaps, visibility failures, and environment drift
See a connected database development workflow in action, from design through deployment, using purpose-built tooling
Walk away with a clear sense of which workflow problem to tackle first, and what solving it looks like in practice
See a connected database development workflow in action, from design through deployment, using purpose-built tooling
Walk away with a clear sense of which workflow problem to tackle first, and what solving it looks like in practice
Speakers
Richard Douglas's other proposed sessions for 2026
Couchbase for the SQL DBA - 2026
Resource Governor: Reducing Dastardly Behaviour in SQL Server 2025 - 2026
TempDB: The Bottleneck You Can’t See in the Execution Plan - 2026
The Lifecycles of Queries: How SQL Server Really Executes Your Code - 2026
Richard Douglas's previous sessions
Improving SQL Server Performance with Indexing
Indexing presents daunting challenges for even the most seasoned professionals, it offers countless options to choose from. With a little help you’ll see how to simplify indexing in your environment & improve
the overall performance of your apps
Investigate TempDB like Sherlock Holmes
Learn how to investigate the mysterious case of SQL Server performance problems in TempDB.
Alerting; Beyond the Basics
We'll look at events that you should be monitoring, how you can use various services & IoT enabled devices to alert you in ways that were never possible. You'll leave with a new outlook of how teams can be notified to fix problems faster than ever.
The Big Backup Theory
In this session, you'll gain invaluable guidance for optimizing your backup strategies. Using trace flags the session will cover how SQL Server manages its own backup options and how you can tune them to meet your SLAs.
Wait watchers-Gain Performance Increases Fast!
In this session you'll learn all about SQL Server wait statistics. These are statistics the database engine stores about the resources it is waiting on. Armed with this information you as a SQL Server professional can make better informed decisions.
The Day After Tomorrow; Why You Need to Baseline
Ensuring top performance is never easy. To maintain performance you need to make sure you’re monitoring the right things. How do you know if the figures you’re seeing are good or bad? Baseline comparisons can help.