“Human Error” is not a new word. Most of the time if there is screwed up done by any one – these golden words are used. For sure, these are the Human Errors and its hard to control. Here I am trying to consolidate some common human errors that are done by DBAs at different level. As I said, its hard to control human errors but it’s always good to have a plan to avoid or recover from that situation. Simplest plan to avoid Human Error is to turn Human into Robots. Looks funny, I mean it. Guide and force DBAs to use checklists for each and every activity. Automate most of the processes which require human interventions.

Here are two good examples of Human Errors as a DBA. I will add more in Part-2

1. DBA started Restore without taking backup of existing users: I will keep this mistake on top of chart. This is very common for any DBA, especially if someone has joined new in the team. To prevent:
   • You must focus on Automation of restore tasks. Let’s say, try building a system which does the restore for you. That’s how, you will ensure that even by mistake, any step is not skipped.
   • You can try writing a check list of steps and you must follow them.
2. Ran a long running script from local or VPN and lost connection – Another common mistake that is done, a long script (DML or DDL) started from the local machine or VPN connection and then LAN connection is lost. Script had been executed partially and had made the changes (to structure or data). Now, to prevent:
   • You must try to run the script from a server itself.
   • You must have transactions in place. If you don’t see transaction in your script, add it.

I will add few more Human Errors in the list in part 2. Stay Tuned.