Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Bible

Database Objectives

Based on the Information Architecture Principle, every database can be architected or evaluated by six interdependent database objectives. Four of these objectives are primarily a function of design, development, and implementation: usability, extensibility, data integrity, and performance. Availability and security are more a function of implementation than design.

With sufficient design effort and a clear goal to meet all six objectives, it is fully possible to design and develop an elegant database that does just that. No database architecture is going to be 100 percent perfect, but with an early focus on design and fundamental principles, you can go a long way toward creating a database that can grow along with your organization.

You can measure each objective on a continuum. The data architect is responsible to inform the organization about these six objectives, including the cost associated with meeting each objective, the risk of failing to meet the objective, and the recommended level for each objective.

It's the organization's privilege to then prioritize the objectives compared with the relative cost.

Usability

The usability of a data store (the architectural term for a database) involves the completeness of meeting the organization's requirements; the suitability of the design for its intended purpose; the effectiveness of the format of data available to applications; the robustness of the database; and the ease of extracting information (by programmers ...