Intent
Safely answer a focused question with a read-only query and a documented result.
When to use
- You need a quick answer without building a full pipeline.
- An incident or audit requires immediate validation.
- You are exploring a dataset to define future automation.
Core mechanics
- Define the question and the authoritative data source.
- Use read-only access with filters and limits.
- Record the query, assumptions, and output snapshot.
Implementation checklist
- State the question, scope, and time window.
- Confirm the source system and schema definitions.
- Write a read-only query with filters and limits.
- Capture the output with timestamps.
- Document assumptions and caveats.
Failure modes and mitigations
- Misread schema or business rules -> confirm definitions before interpreting results.
- Heavy query on production -> use replicas or strict limits.
- Stale data -> record extract time and refresh expectations.
Observability and validation
- Query duration, row count, and source timestamp.
- Filters applied and any excluded records.
Artifacts
- Saved query text or script.
- Exported results (CSV or report).
- Summary note with findings.