Signs it is time to revisit data modelling

It comes up on almost every project, usually later than it should. A few signals that data modelling is due some attention.

Most data problems are ownership problems that turned into technical ones. Doing this properly once is usually cheaper than doing it approximately three times.

The signals

• Nobody can say when it was last reviewed
• The answer depends on who you ask
• The model outlives the application built on top of it
• Name things the way the business names them

How to approach it

Model what is true, not what is convenient this quarter. The teams that handle this well are rarely the ones with the biggest budgets. It is worth deciding this deliberately rather than inheriting whatever the last person set up.

How to tell if yours is fine

Data outlives the applications built on top of it, which is why the model deserves more thought than the screens. Three things worth confirming about data modelling before you move on:

• Someone can say what the current setup is without going to look
• The model outlives the application built on top of it — and you know whether that is true here
• There is a way to tell whether the last change to this helped

Worth checking on your own setup before it becomes someone else's problem to fix.