If you think of the database as a pain in the neck, you're not alone. But with some engineering rigor, you can level up your database game. This critical component of your architecture can benefit from the same practices as code — source control gates, unit testing, CI/CD automation, linting, quality measurements, and abstract repositories. In this session, learn the engineering best practices used by development teams whose databases aren't a pain in the neck. This session is a collection of patterns recently curated from many of Microsoft's largest and most demanding customers.

1. Learn how to apply software engineering practices to database development, including source control, gates, CI/CD automation, and repeatable deployments.
2. Understand how testing, linting, quality checks, and schema validation can reduce database risk before changes reach production.
3. Explore practical patterns for designing, organizing, and abstracting database access so teams can improve reliability, maintainability, performance, and cost.