Database discovery may proceed through agreed queries run by the producing party, export of relevant tables, production of a working copy, or in limited cases inspection of the live system.
Understanding the schema is necessary to frame meaningful requests.
Alternative Names:
Database Production, Relational Data Discovery
Why it Matters?
Requests framed without schema knowledge produce either nothing useful or an unusable data dump, which is why obtaining the data dictionary and table structure precedes framing the substantive request. A Rule 30(b)(6) deposition on the database structure is the efficient route to that understanding. Producing parties should expect this and prepare a witness who can actually explain the system rather than a custodian of records.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
How should database discovery begin?
What are the production options?
