Database Administrator

Definition

Database Administrator

the role that is played when a person adminsisters one or more databases

Classification

As illustrated in the preceding figure, Database Administrator is part of the following inheritance hierarchy:

• Type: Concrete
• Superclass: Administrator
• Subclasses:
  • None

Responsibilities

The typical role-specific responsibilities of a Database Administrator are to:

• Review and understand relevant:
  • Requirements specifications.
  • Architecture documents.
  • Design Documents.
  • Manuals.
  • Vendor database management documentation.
• Ensure Database Characteristics.
  Ensure that each database has the required characteristics:
  • Ensure the databases are functioning properly.
  • Ensure the correct (e.g., latest) versions of the database management system software components are installed.
  • Ensure required database performance.
  • Ensure continuous operational availablity of the databases.
  • Ensure and maintain required levels of database security.
  • Ensure that adequate hardware components (e.g., disk drives, disk and tape libraries) are available when needed.
• Administer Databases.
  Administer one or more (relational, extended relational, object, network, or hierarchical) databases:
  • Use utility program(s) to monitor data base performance record distribution and available memory.
  • Direct database engineers to make changes to the database management systems.
  • Continually tune the database(s) to optimize database performance.
  • Coordinate changes to the production databases.
  • Load the data components into the databases.
  • Collaborate with others to determine the:
    • Impact of database changes on other systems.
    • Staff cost for making changes to databases.
  • Upgrade the database management systems:
    • Acquire new versions of the database management system(s).
    • Install these new versions of the databases.
  • Maintain the databases:
    • Detect, diagnose, analyze, and report database failures.
    • Repair database defects or direct database engineers to repair them.
  • Backup database contents.
  • Rollback database contents.
• Produce Documentation.
  Produce and maintain the database-related contents of the following deployment and operations documentation:
  • Deployment Plan
  • Installation Manual
  • Operations Manual
  • Operations Log

Database Administrator typically inherits the general role responsibilities from the Role method component.

Personal Profile

To fulfill these responsibilities, database administrators should typically have the following personal characteristics, expertise, training, and experience:

Personal Characteristics

Database administrators should typically have the following personal characteristics:

• Able to comfortably multitask (i.e., perform multiple database administration tasks concurrently).
• Strong analytical problem solving skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, and thus able to explain and document the database-related contents of the deployment and operations documentation its diverse audiences.

Expertise

Database administrators typically should have the following expertise:

• Expert practical knowledge of:
  • Database administration tasks, techniques, and tools.
  • Logical and physical data modeling.
  • Database modeling tools.
  • The relevant database management systems.
  • The associated data definition, data manipulation, and database query languages (e.g., SQL, OSQL, JDBC, ODBC).
  • How to administer databases that will be distributed across multiple, heterogenious platforms (e.g., hardware, operating system, server software, browsers, etc.).
• Solid practical knowledge of:
  • The theory, practice, and tools of database management.
  • The major reusable persistence mechanisms and patterns.
  • Database security mechanisms.
• Basic practical knowledge of the:
  • Application domain.
  • Business enterprise of the customer’s organization.
  • Integration and database testing theory, practice, and tools.
  • Configuration identification, configuration control, and associated configuration management tools.

Training

Database administrators typically should have the following training:

• A bachelor’s degree or better in software or systems engineering, computer science, or the equivalent.
• Vendor certifications in the relevant database management systems (e.g., ORACLE certification).
• Practical hands-on training in:
  • The project process, especially in terms of relevant tasks, techniques, and work products.
  • Data modeling concepts, diagrams, and tools.
  • Database management systems (e.g., relational and object databases and their vendors).
  • Data warehousing concepts and techniques.
• Reads books, technical journals, and conference proceedings in database administration.

Experience

Database administrators typically should have the following experience:

• A minimum of 1 year’s experience successfully engineering databases during similar endeavors.
• A minimum of 2-3 year’s experience successfully designing and implementing data and software components during similar endeavors.

Tasks

Database administrators typically perform the following role-specific tasks in an iterative, incremental, parallel, and time-boxed manner:

• Deployment:
  • Data Component Installation and configuration (databases, wrappers, and stored procedures)
  • Database Loading (initial content)
  • Database Tuning
• Operations:
  • Database Administration including:
    • Ensure Database Characteristics.
      Ensure that each database has the required characteristics:
      • Ensure the databases are functioning properly.
      • Ensure the correct (e.g., latest) versions of the database management system software components are installed.
      • Ensure required database performance.
      • Ensure continuous operational availablity of the databases.
      • Ensure and maintain required levels of database security.
      • Ensure that adequate hardware components (e.g., disk drives, disk and tape libraries) are available when needed.
    • Administer Databases.
      Administer one or more (relational, extended relational, object, network, or hierarchical) databases:
      • Acquire new versions of the database management system(s).
      • Install the databases.
      • Load the data components into the databases.
      • Continually tune the database(s) to optimize database performance.
      • Upgrade the database management systems.
      • Maintain the databases:
        • Detect, diagnose, analyze, and report database failures.
        • Repair database defects.
      • Backup database contents.
      • Rollback database contents.
    • Produce Documentation.
      Produce and maintain the database-related contents of the following deployment and operations documentation:
      • Deployment Plan
      • Installation Manual
      • Operations Manual
      • Operations Log
• Maintenance.
  Maintain the databases and database-related documentation:
  • Defect Identification
  • Defect Analysis
  • Defect Correction
  • Defect Status Reporting
• Quality Engineering:
  • Quality Control – Design Evaluation.
    Inspect the database design work products:
    • Database Design Document.
    • Software Component.
  • Quality Assurance – Database Development Audit.
    Audit the process regarding:
    • The database related activities, tasks, and techniques.
    • The standards, templates, and inspection checklists for the database design document.

Database administrators typically inherit common role tasks from the role method component.

Teams

Database Administrators typically perform these tasks as members of the following teams:

• Operations Team
• Database Evaluation Team

Work Products

As members of these teams, database administrators typically produce the following work products:

• Deployment Work Products:
  • Deployment Plan (Database deployment plans)
  • Installation Manual (Database installation tasks)
• Operations Work Products:
  • Operations Manual (Database administration operational tasks)
  • Operations Log (Database administration tasks performances)
• Quality Work Products:
  • Inspection Report
  • Inspection Summary Report

Guidelines

• On smaller projects and in smaller organizations, the same person often plays the database architect, database engineer, and the database administrator roles.
• This role is not needed on endeavors that do not involve databases.
• This role typically inherits the common team guidelines from the roles method component.