Evaluate Schema

Evaluate Schema

Comprehensive database schema analysis using a 5-perspective expert panel.

When to Use

Use this skill when you need to:

• Review a database schema for quality and best practices
• Evaluate data modeling decisions before implementation
• Plan schema migrations with risk assessment
• Analyze normalization and denormalization trade-offs
• Assess schema scalability and performance implications

Workflow

Invoke the database-schema-evaluator skill for:

$ARGUMENTS

Default Parameters

Expert Panel Composition

The evaluation assembles 5 domain experts:

Evaluation Dimensions

Each expert scores on their primary dimensions:

Data Architect:

• Normalization level (1NF-BCNF appropriateness)
• Relationship clarity
• Naming conventions
• Domain modeling accuracy

Performance Engineer:

• Index coverage
• Query pattern support
• Partitioning strategy
• Denormalization trade-offs

Data Integrity Guardian:

• Primary key design
• Foreign key completeness
• Check constraints
• NULL handling

Evolution Strategist:

• Additive change ease
• Breaking change risk
• Schema versioning support
• Migration complexity

Operations Specialist:

• Backup/restore complexity
• Monitoring surface area
• Maintenance windows required
• Disaster recovery impact

Output Format

The schema evaluation produces:

<schema-evaluation>
  <header>
    <id>[unique identifier]</id>
    <schema_name>[schema identifier]</schema_name>
    <evaluation_depth>comprehensive</evaluation_depth>
    <overall_score>[1-10]</overall_score>
  </header>

  <expert-assessments>
    <assessment expert="Data Architect">
      <score>[1-10]</score>
      <findings>
        <finding severity="[critical|high|medium|low]">
          [Specific issue or observation]
        </finding>
      </findings>
      <recommendations>
        <recommendation priority="[1-n]">
          [Specific improvement suggestion]
        </recommendation>
      </recommendations>
    </assessment>
    <!-- ... more expert assessments ... -->
  </expert-assessments>

  <consensus-findings>
    <strengths>
      <strength>[What the schema does well]</strength>
    </strengths>
    <concerns>
      <concern severity="[critical|high|medium|low]" experts="[which experts flagged]">
        [Shared concern across experts]
      </concern>
    </concerns>
  </consensus-findings>

  <prioritized-recommendations>
    <recommendation priority="1" effort="[low|medium|high]" impact="[low|medium|high]">
      <description>[What to change]</description>
      <rationale>[Why this matters]</rationale>
      <example>[Concrete example if applicable]</example>
    </recommendation>
  </prioritized-recommendations>

  <migration-considerations>
    [If changes recommended, migration implications]
  </migration-considerations>
</schema-evaluation>

Quality Gates

• All 5 expert perspectives represented
• Scores calibrated consistently across experts
• Critical issues flagged with severity
• Recommendations are specific and actionable
• Migration implications considered for recommended changes
• Trade-offs explicitly documented

Related Skills

After schema evaluation, consider:

• Run /compare-options if multiple schema designs exist
• Run /write-reference to document the final schema
• Run /research-brief for technology-specific best practices