How to Write and Share SQL Queries With Your Team Effectively
Collaboration, version control, and documentation
This article is sponsored by Sherloq: Accelerate your data collaboration with Sherloq, the platform that streamlines SQL query sharing, versioning, and team insights. Learn more here.
I remember the first time I had to work on an SQL query with a team.
What seemed like a straightforward task quickly turned into a chaotic mess of overlapping edits and conflicting approaches.
That experience taught me just how essential clear collaboration is for achieving clarity, efficiency, and accuracy in SQL work.
Whether you’re new to SQL or a seasoned pro, these practical tips are grounded in lessons learned from those early experiences and will help you work more effectively with your team.
1. Start with a Shared Goal
Every SQL query you write should serve a clear purpose. Begin by aligning with your team on the objective. Are you pulling data for a report, debugging a process, or analyzing trends? Clarifying the end goal ensures everyone is on the same page and minimizes unnecessary back-and-forth.
Pro Tip: Document the query’s purpose in a comment at the top of your SQL file. For example:
-- Objective: Retrieve total sales by region for Q4 20242. Use a Version-Control System
Treat your SQL scripts like code. This is where tools like Git or Sherloq come in handy. You can version control to track changes, avoid overwriting work, and easily roll back to earlier versions.
Practical Steps:
Create a shared repository for SQL scripts.
Commit and push changes with clear, descriptive messages.
Review your team’s changes through pull requests or similar mechanisms.
3. Agree on Naming Conventions and Standards
Standardized naming conventions make your queries easier to read and maintain. Agree on a format for table aliases, column names, and file naming. For example:
Table Aliases: Use abbreviations that are meaningful (e.g.,
ordersaso,customersasc).Column Naming: Use snake_case (e.g.,
order_date,customer_id).File Names: Prefix with dates or categories, e.g.,
2025_sales_by_region.sql.
4. Document Your Queries
Documentation isn’t just for the final product; it’s part of the process. Add inline comments explaining complex joins, subqueries, or business logic. This helps others (and your future self) understand the “why” behind the code.
Example:
-- Join orders with customers to filter by region
SELECT o.order_id, c.customer_name
FROM orders o
JOIN customers c ON o.customer_id = c.customer_id
WHERE c.region = 'North America';5. Leverage Collaboration Tools
Modern tools can make SQL collaboration smoother:
Sherloq: Share and annotate queries, track changes, and visualize team insights.
Slack or Teams: Use these platforms to share snippets for quick feedback.
Shared Editors: Tools like dbt Cloud or even shared Google Docs can be helpful for brainstorming.
6. Review Together
Before finalizing a query, schedule a quick team review or send a Loom. This ensures:
Logic errors are caught early.
Queries follow best practices.
Everyone understands the approach.
This helps you get real-time feedback and reviewing together or via video saves time compared to fixing issues later.
7. Test and Validate Results
Always validate your query results before sharing. Compare output against known data points or use small test datasets. If something seems off, involve your team in troubleshooting to gain fresh perspectives.
Pro Tip: Write test queries to validate key assumptions. For example:
-- Check the count of unique customers
SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT customer_id) FROM customers;8. Create a Query Library
Over time, your team will write reusable queries. Create a shared library with well-documented scripts to avoid reinventing the wheel. Organize the library by category (ex: “Sales Reports” or “Customer Insights”).
Wrapping Up
Effective SQL collaboration goes beyond just writing code. It’s about fostering teamwork and ensuring shared ownership of the process.
These strategies can help you and your team write better queries and deliver results faster. What strategies have worked best for your team? Let me know!
See you next time ✌️
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