Drop database columns and tables that nothing reads
Columns and tables nothing queries, dropped after usage evidence and a reviewed migration.
The ticket
Drop database columns and tables that nothing reads, backed by usage evidence.
Acceptance criteria
- Query-log evidence is attached
- The application is confirmed not to read or write them
- The column is stopped being written before it is dropped
- A backup or export is taken before the drop
What lands as proof
Query-log evidence plus a staged sequence: stop writing, then drop, never both at once.
Why teams defer it
- Dropping a column is irreversible without a restore, which raises the evidence bar sharply.
- Reporting tools query the database outside the application, and their access is rarely logged anywhere the team sees.
Questions
- What does the agent actually change?
- The ticket is scoped to one outcome: drop database columns and tables that nothing reads, backed by usage evidence. Work that serves that outcome is in scope, and anything outside it is left for a separate ticket, so the pull request stays reviewable.
- How do I know the work is done?
- The pull request carries the evidence, not only the diff. Here that means usage evidence attached, the migration reviewed on the plan, so a reviewer can confirm the result without reproducing the work locally.
- How much oversight does this need?
- The run stops for the plan, and the review bar is raised afterwards so that smaller suggestions block the merge too, not only serious findings.