Data Migration Safety¶

Purpose¶

Reduce schema-change risk through explicit pre-checks, controlled execution, and post-change validation.

Pre-Migration Checklist¶

migration reviewed for reversibility and data-loss risk
backup/restore path validated
dependency ordering verified
affected modules identified for regression testing

Execution Pattern¶

docker compose run --rm app python manage.py makemigrations
docker compose run --rm app python manage.py migrate
docker compose run --rm app python manage.py showmigrations

Post-Migration Validation¶

run manage.py check
run impacted module tests
run smoke suite
verify critical workflows and logs

Common Risks¶

Risk	Mitigation
irreversible schema/data transform	document rollback plan and test restore path
hidden downstream breakage	run change-impact and targeted suites
partial deploy state	enforce migration completion checks before release

Rollback caution

Not all migrations are safely reversible; validate rollback strategy before production execution.