What is your database application development environment?

We recently had a 'heated' discussion on our current database application
development environment. It is currently..
Production - Test - Sandbox

We develop in the sandbox, test it on a recent restored database, and if all
goes well, the code goes to production. This environment has worked
extremely well since MSSQL 6.5.
Last week a developer accidentally copied a stored proc from the sandbox to
production (skipping the test db) without checking to make sure the
production sp was the same as what was in the sandbox (before he made the
requested changes). Without getting into the politics, the <bleep> hit the
fan and the 'powers-that-be' decided to 'fix' the problem by weekly
production restores/overwrites of both the test and sandbox databases. We
already had weekly restores of the test database, but we all felt the
sandbox was exactly that, an area that let us 'play' and try out new things.
Our sandbox never was, and never intended to be, a mirror of the production
environment.
The 'powers-that-be' said we would have no more of this 'cowboy development'
around here and 'everyone else' does it his way (whoever 'everyone' is and
whatever 'it' is). Most of the other developers with laptops also have a
(smaller) copy of the database to do development in which we were told we
also had to do weekly restores. I'll throw in the 'power-that-be' has zero
database administration experience.

What was wrong with the way we were doing things? Is this how other shops
do database app development? What is your database application development
environment?

Any links/articles with advice is also appreciated.

krf


.

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