You don’t think of them as human… You don’t think of them at all

OK maybe I’m feeling really good today… maybe it’s because it’s @Peschkaj‘s birthday… maybe it’s because I needed to find a way to work some Tina Turner into my next blog post…or maybe it’s because I successfully took care of both kids last night for the first time while wifey started some photography classes.

Developers gets a bum rap… ok I have to stop right there… bum rap? who came up with that phrase?

http://www.yourdictionary.com/idioms/bum-rap

“This expression originated in the 1920s as underworld slang, and by the mid-1900s it was also used figuratively for other kinds of injustice.”

OK so apparently I’m going 1920′s with this blog post… back to developers

So yeah as DBAs we’re bred to hate on anyone (other then ourselves) who make changes to the environment that we’ve been charged with managing and protecting.  We don’t trust developers and we think they are constantly trying to intentionally mess with “our world” and implement bad SQL code.

The relationship between DBA and developer is just like any other relationship in life… it requires work from both sides to be successful.

Ask yourself this:

• Do you meet with the development team to get an idea of what projects they’re working on? their timelines? if they need any ideas or help, etc? 
• When was the last time you did a lunch and learn to try and help educate and show off some new tools or features in SQL Server? 
• When you “reject” or complain about developer code do you not only identify the problem but help provide alternative approaches or solutions?

Pssssssssssssssssssssst…Oh and by the way… as shocking as this sounds… come here… I’ve got a secret to tell you….

IT’S NOT YOUR DATABASE

Now I don’t want to get hung up on semantics but if the business didn’t require applications and developers didn’t create the applications and databases… what database environment would you be managing? LOL

At the end of the day we need all need to get along.  Developers need to stop looking at DBAs as “road blocks” and DBAs need to stop looking at developers like terrorists who are just planning their next attack on your database environment.

So next time you have the urge to go rip a strip off an unsuspecting developer stop… breathe…. think about this blog post and come into the discussion not just armed with problems and complaints… but with solutions and education.

<< GROUP HUG >>

Enjoy!!