I agree with your point that users many not know when something isn't = working right or not understand the significance of something they = observe. I have visited users on site and watched as they clicked = through warnings, exceptions and errors without comment to get to the = problem that is really bugging them. So yes, people do ignore obvious = problems if the pain is tolerable. But my approach would be to engage = my users rather than try instrument the database in such a way that = would reduce my dependence on prompt disclosure of issues from my users. = You haven't said anything I disagree with but, personally, I have more = confidence in my ability to extract the details of my users experience = through communication and observation than setting up a health check. = I'm in a position to do that with my users though and I'm sure many = DBA's don't have that kind of contact. -----Original Message----- From: oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Daniel W. Fink Sent: Wednesday, August 25, 2004 9:32 AM To: oracle-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: d/b health check Just because no-one is complaining (that you know about) does not mean=20 that nothing is wrong. Within most organizations that I have been a part = of, the gap between the users and IT usually limited the communication=20 about performance problems. Users may become conditioned to accept=20 things the way they are and just complain amongst themselves and never=20 to management or IT. Management and IT don't seem all that eager to go=20 looking for problems, when they usually have enough to deal with = already. If we use the analogy of a health check in the medical fashion, we need = to consider the difference between reactive and preventative actions.=20 When we have pain, illness or something just does not feel right, we are = being reactive. We can describe the symptoms and have an idea of the=20 resolution (stop the pain, feel better, etc.). This is the strength of=20 Method-R (IMHO). It enables you to really drill down to a root cause of=20 the problem. What about times where something is wrong, but you either=20 ignore the problem (and accept it as a part of life) or don't have any=20 symptoms that you are aware of? Not to be morbid, but this illustrates=20 the point. Cancer of the stomach is one of the deadliest because=20 symptoms do not usually arise until it is too late. Aneurisms(sp?) in=20 the brain are very similar. There are tests to determine if there are=20 these types of problems, but I don't think they are all that common in=20 practice. Just food for thought, Daniel Fink Freeman, Donald wrote: >I may be wrong but the first thing I got out of Carey and Jeff's book = is =3D >to ask the question, "Is anybody complaining?" I have long thought = that =3D >should be the primary indicator that something needs checked<g>. When = I =3D >look long enough, and hard enough, I will undoubtably find something = =3D >that needs to be messed with, often to my detriment. >----------------- > =20 > ---------------------------------------------------------------- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com ---------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe send email to: oracle-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx put 'unsubscribe' in the subject line. -- Archives are at //www.freelists.org/archives/oracle-l/ FAQ is at //www.freelists.org/help/fom-serve/cache/1.html ----------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com ---------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe send email to: oracle-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx put 'unsubscribe' in the subject line. -- Archives are at //www.freelists.org/archives/oracle-l/ FAQ is at //www.freelists.org/help/fom-serve/cache/1.html -----------------------------------------------------------------