October 12, 2015 at 8:26 pm
Let me start of by saying that I am one of those accidental DBA-types who kind of jumped head first into the data. I'm still very much learning the ropes and currently have a pretty large project in my hands.
That being said, I'm doing a bit of redesigning as of lately due to the growth of my data. Through this process, I've been doing a lot of detailed planning on architecture of a new solution that will include a much needed redesign of all areas of the existing data warehouse solution.
I feel very confident and proud of what I've accomplished thus far with my plans. However, I need feedback. I need to understand the strengths and weaknesses of what I'm about to roll out. Thus, I've been seeking feedback from other like-minded data gurus in the organization to get their weigh in.
Due to that, I've received some kind of googly eyes when I ask about feedback. As if I'm second guessing myself like it's a bad thing. Like I'm supposed to be this all-knowing data wizard who should know how to structure every chaotic byte into a magnificent symphony of data blissfulness. :hehe:
So, I wanted to prod the community. Is seeking architecture design feedback a bad thing or a sign of weakness in itself? I personally love feedback. I actually like people poking holes in my work so I can make it better.
October 13, 2015 at 6:55 am
xsevensinzx (10/12/2015)
Let me start of by saying that I am one of those accidental DBA-types who kind of jumped head first into the data. I'm still very much learning the ropes and currently have a pretty large project in my hands.That being said, I'm doing a bit of redesigning as of lately due to the growth of my data. Through this process, I've been doing a lot of detailed planning on architecture of a new solution that will include a much needed redesign of all areas of the existing data warehouse solution.
I feel very confident and proud of what I've accomplished thus far with my plans. However, I need feedback. I need to understand the strengths and weaknesses of what I'm about to roll out. Thus, I've been seeking feedback from other like-minded data gurus in the organization to get their weigh in.
Due to that, I've received some kind of googly eyes when I ask about feedback. As if I'm second guessing myself like it's a bad thing. Like I'm supposed to be this all-knowing data wizard who should know how to structure every chaotic byte into a magnificent symphony of data blissfulness. :hehe:
So, I wanted to prod the community. Is seeking architecture design feedback a bad thing or a sign of weakness in itself? I personally love feedback. I actually like people poking holes in my work so I can make it better.
It depends... Forums tend to be a great place to ask specific questions. So if you have a specific design challenge and you aren't 100% which direction you want to go or you want to have a discussions about the pros & cons of alternate design ideas, then yes, forums are the perfect place to seek advise and feedback.
If, on the other hand, you're want someone to validate your entire database schema... That's what paid consultants are for. Most people who answer questions on a forum either genuinely like helping other people and/or enjoy solving puzzles... but... very few, if any, want to do your job for you unless there is a pay check to go along with it.
Just my 2 cents.
October 13, 2015 at 8:42 am
Well, i didn't mean in general to ask on the forum, but asking the general question.
I didn't see this got posted in TSQL section. I guess it's a bit off topic for this forum. 😎
October 13, 2015 at 3:04 pm
No - I think it would be critical to get feedback. I will say though - you may have waited too long. From the sounds of it, you're mostly done with the design, which is a bit scary from a reviewer point of view: I know a lot of folks outside of people you're personally close to might be hesitant to provide negative feedback on something they know you've spent months on.
Take it back a step and try to go focus the feedback in some areas. It's awfully hard to take on reviewing someone else's stuff with no guidance to help along the way. Talk through the spots where you might have struggled or see multiple options for implementation, what steered you to make a specific choice, and what additional info might have swayed you the other way. In other words - find a way to make them active participants in the design you're advancing, not purely approvers.
I'd be cautious about not getting ANY feedback. The architecture no one has time to read is the architecture that doesn't get implemented; that's a major red flag. If you can't get them to talk about it - they won't build it.
Oh - last point: park the ego. Forget the fact you've just spent nn months building this out - if and when you get actual feedback from them, not all of it will be acceptance. You should expect them to be pushing back in some aspects of your design (architecture often imposes some unnatural constraints, so if you get dead silence - they didn't read it), and you should be expecting that they will "win" a few of those contests.
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Your lack of planning does not constitute an emergency on my part...unless you're my manager...or a director and above...or a really loud-spoken end-user..All right - what was my emergency again?
October 13, 2015 at 3:22 pm
What type of feedback; regarding whether you've modeled right logical architecture (facts, measures, schema, etc.) to support end user's requirements, or whether you've got a solid physical architecture (server hardware, keys, ETL, slowly changing dimensions, etc.) ?
And who are you asking?
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
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