I'm in the process of proposing a database staging environment to my IT department. The idea is that a non-IT person like me (public works data analyst) would have a place to test solutions, and then either implement them in the live environment myself, or ask IT to implement them if needed. There are a few reasons/scenarios where this environment would be beneficial:
- I have some database privileges in our live database environment (
create table,create view, etc.). I make schema changes about once a week, but it seems insane for me to test and implement these changes in a live environment. There are countless dependencies on the database, so if something goes wrong, it could be disastrous. I'd much rather test things out ahead of time in a separate environment. - I don't have some of the more advanced privileges like
create triggerorcreate functionin the live database. This is fine, but I do have a few problems that could be solved by triggers and/or functions. I plan on proposing that I be granted these permissions in the staging environment so that I can develop and test some ideas, and if they work, propose that IT implement them in the live environment. - In general, my IT department doesn't have the time or resources to develop solutions for me. It's really that simple. So if I can do the legwork myself, then my problems are much more likely to be solved.
The 'staging environment for non-IT personnel' seems like a sound enough approach to me, but to be honest, I just made the idea up. I have no idea how this is typically done in the IT/database world.
Is there any sort of established IT/Database practice that would fit this scenario? (Am I on the right track when proposing a database staging environment for non-IT personnel?)