Database Refactoring
One of my favorite authors, Scott Ambler has written a great piece on database refactoring in the latest issue of TDAN:
"A database refactoring is a small change to a database schema which improves its design without changing, at a practical level, the semantics of the database. In other words, it is a simple database transformation which neither adds nor breaks anything. The process of database refactoring defines how to safely evolve a database schema in small steps. Database refactoring enables data professionals to work in an evolutionary manner, just as modern application developers do. It also provides a coherent strategy for organizations to dig their way out of the legacy database hole."...