Parallel Change Design
Guide Java Enterprise developers through Parallel Change for database migration scenarios. This is an interactive SKILL.
What is covered in this Skill?
- Deciding whether a database migration needs a compatibility window
- Sequencing database changes as expand, migrate, and contract deployable steps
- Preserving old and new application versions during rollout and rollback windows
- Handling column renames, type or data reinterpretation, large backfills, relationship-table changes, and index or uniqueness changes
- Explaining tradeoffs such as temporary dual paths, extra migrations, verification effort, and delayed cleanup
- Routing framework-specific implementation to Spring Boot, Quarkus, or Micronaut Flyway skills after the design approach is clear
Constraints
Use Parallel Change as a database migration design pattern, then hand off implementation details to the framework-specific migration skill when needed.
- MUST read
references/055-design-parallel-change.md before applying Parallel Change guidance
- MUST explain expand, migrate, and contract as separate deployable steps when recommending Parallel Change
- MUST decide whether Parallel Change is needed before recommending framework-specific Flyway implementation details
- MUST recommend a simpler single migration when the change is additive, immediately safe, and does not require old and new application versions to coexist
- MUST describe the compatibility, data-preservation, verification, and cleanup tradeoffs of the chosen approach
- MUST use framework-specific Flyway skills for Spring Boot, Quarkus, or Micronaut implementation details after the migration strategy is selected
When to use this skill
- Apply Parallel Change to this database migration
- Use expand migrate contract for this schema change
- Plan a safe column rename migration
- Plan a zero-downtime database migration
- Should this Flyway migration use Parallel Change?
- Design a safe backfill and contract migration
- Decide if this schema change needs a compatibility window
Workflow
- Classify the Migration Risk
Read references/055-design-parallel-change.md, then identify the schema shape, data meaning, application read/write path, rollout window, rollback expectation, and production-data risk affected by the migration.
- Choose Parallel Change or Simpler Migration
Recommend Parallel Change when old and new application versions or data interpretations must coexist. Recommend a simpler forward-only migration when the change is additive, small, immediately safe, and does not require a compatibility window.
- Design Expand, Migrate, Contract
For Parallel Change, separate expand, migrate, and contract into independently deployable steps. Keep the old shape valid during expand and migrate; contract only after all deployed code and data have moved to the new shape.
- Plan Verification and Operations
Define previous-release fixture checks, row-count expectations, duplicate detection, backfill monitoring, rollback behavior, and cleanup ownership. Prefer production-dialect migration tests and production-like data samples where feasible.
- Route Framework Implementation
After the strategy is clear, use 313-frameworks-spring-db-migrations-flyway, 413-frameworks-quarkus-db-migrations-flyway, or 513-frameworks-micronaut-db-migrations-flyway for framework-specific Flyway dependencies, configuration, migration locations, and tests.
- Report the Migration Plan
Report the chosen approach, rejected alternative, expand/migrate/contract sequence or simpler migration, verification evidence, cleanup trigger, tradeoffs, skipped checks, and remaining risks.
Reference
For detailed guidance, examples, and constraints, see references/055-design-parallel-change.md.