Data modelling for small teams

The version of this that works is simpler than the version most people imagine. Most advice about data modelling assumes a team that does not exist at your size. Here is the version that does not.

Most data problems are ownership problems that turned into technical ones. The teams that stay on top of it are the ones who put it on a calendar rather than a wish list.

What to keep

The model outlives the application built on top of it. Where this goes wrong is almost never a lack of knowledge. It is the sort of thing that looks like polish right up until it costs you an enquiry.

What to drop

Process that exists to coordinate ten people is overhead when there are two of you. Small and consistent beats large and occasional here.

How to approach it

Model what is true, not what is convenient this quarter. None of that requires a large budget, only a decision and someone to own it. If two people in the business would answer this differently, that gap is the actual problem.

How to tell if yours is fine

Numbers get quoted in meetings long after anyone remembers how they were calculated. 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

None of this needs a rewrite. Most of it is a morning's work once someone decides to do it.