SOX 404 SIMPLIFIED. DATABASE CHANGE MANAGEMENT

The full article can be found here .

http://www.dbazine.com/ofinterest/oi-articles/mcquade2

But here are the highlights.

Changes to the database are widely communicated, and their impacts are known beforehand.

Installation and maintenance procedure documentation for the DBMS is current.

Data structures are defined and built as the designer intended them to be.

Data structure changes are thoroughly tested.

Users are apprised, and trained if necessary, when database changes imply a change in application behavior.

The table and column business definitions are current and widely known.

The right people are involved throughout the application development and operational cycles.

Any in-house tools are maintained and configured in a disciplined way.

Application impacts are known prior to the migration of database changes to production.

Performance is maintained at predefined and acceptable levels.

The database change request and evaluation system is rational.

Turn-around time on database changes is predictable.

Any change to the database can be reversed.

Database structure documentation is maintained.

Database system software documentation is maintained.

Migration through development, test, and especially, production environments is rational.

Security controls for data access is appropriate and maintained.

Database reorganizations are planned to minimize business disruption.