I’ve never built a house, but I know a few builders. I know that builders never start without a blueprint.

Imagine that you’ve found a builder to do an extension on your house, based on a recommendation from a friend, but they just turn up on day 1 and start building. They haven’t consulted a project manager or architect, or asked you what you wanted. They build build build, but 6 months later, the cracks start to show and you have to spend lots of time and money to fix things, or worse, knock it down and start again.

6 months later the cracks start to show

It’s the same with your database. Web designers and database providers actually use the word “build” when they’re bringing everything together. I’ve seen it so many times; when people don’t spend enough time and money on building the right database, and time after time, they get someone, like us, in to spend more time and more money fixing it. I understand. Time and money is precious in any charitable organisation, and if we’re honest, databases aren’t the first thing we prioritise our time and budget on. However, spending a little bit more time and money on getting your database right will ensure you spend less time and money in the future.

I’ve also watched enough Grand Designs to know that not enough time and money spent on project management means that time and money is wasted in the build. In our course “4 steps to find the right database”, we recommend you assigning a project manager to the project. This could be someone who is confident in databases from your team, or you may look for an external expert in setting up databases.

However, spending a little bit more time and money on getting your database right will ensure you spend less time and money in the future.

However you decide to set up your database, planning and requirements gathering is key. If you need some help with this, our tried and tested 4 step methodology “4 steps to find the right database” can help you, and your team, go through this process in a structured way.