Other approaches and concerns
Besides the more common approaches that were discussed previously, the following tips and approaches might help with reducing the amount of work in dealing with databases or help reduce the risk associated with making database changes.
Minimizing the influence of databases
A first step in dealing with databases can be to reduce the chance that a database change has to be made. In many databases, it is possible to write stored procedures—or some other code or script—that executes within the database engine. While stored procedures come with some benefits, changing them can also count as a database schema change, or at the least, result in changes that can be difficult to test.
One simple approach for this is to just replace stored procedures with application code that allows for easier side-by-side changes using feature toggles.
Full side-by-side deployment
When working in a high-risk environment, or with a fragile database...