◆ Microsoft SQL Server

Apply SQL Server best practices for performance

This is real work, not a feature someone invented — it comes from real job ads and real questions people asked. Below are four ready AI prompts: get it done, make it easy for the next person to say yes to, work out the right move when you are stuck, and stop it coming back.

4prompts

The same task, four prompts

today's deadline · the next reviewer · the stuck moment · the pattern
AExecute — do the immediate taskRun the index rebuild script on the Sales database at 2 AM tonight. Make sure the…+
Run the index rebuild script on the Sales database at 2 AM tonight. Make sure the 'CustomerTransactions' table has all its indexes defragmented and updated for optimal query speed.
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?
BImprove — make it easier to acceptBefore the nightly batch job kicks off, review the 'Inventory' database for any missing indexes…+
Before the nightly batch job kicks off, review the 'Inventory' database for any missing indexes on frequently queried columns. Propose new indexes that would speed up common lookup queries without causing excessive write overhead.
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?
CDecide — diagnose the stuck momentThe 'FinancialLedger' database queries are crushing the database, making the month-end close…+
The finance team's month-end report is running for hours, and I just got a call from the CFO.
The 'FinancialLedger' database queries are crushing the database, making the month-end close impossible. I suspect bad query plans or missing statistics, but I can't tell which is the root cause without more downtime, which I don't have. What's the fastest way to diagnose the specific bottleneck and recommend an immediate fix that won't disrupt other critical systems?
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?
DBecome — change the patternEvery time a new application feature deploys, I end up firefighting slow queries the next day.…+
I keep getting pulled into urgent performance issues after new features go live.
Every time a new application feature deploys, I end up firefighting slow queries the next day. I'm tired of reactive fixes. What habit should I change to proactively identify and address potential performance bottlenecks in new code before it hits production, saving us from these post-launch scrambles?
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?

Questions people actually ask

honest answers, no sign-up

Every task here was seen in the real world. Someone doing the job named it, a real job ad asked for it, or a lot of people asked about it online.

If nothing real showed a task, it is not on the page. That is the whole rule.

They are the same job approached four ways, because what you need depends on where you are.

Get it done today. Make it easy for the next person to say yes to. Work out the right move when you are stuck. Learn the pattern so the job stops coming back.

For most of these jobs it can carry the heavy thinking - draft it, sort it, check it, rehearse it with you.

It cannot sit in your chair, take the blame when a number is wrong, or notice what nobody wrote down. Let it do the first 80%. Keep the last 20% that is truly yours.

No. Copy any prompt and paste it into the AI you already use. No account, no score, no wall in the way.

Any of them. The prompts describe the work rather than naming a product, so they are not tied to one assistant.

That is also why they keep working when you switch.

Change it freely. Every prompt is a starting line, not a rule.

Put in your real numbers, your real names and your real deadline. The more you make it yours, the better the answer comes back.

The tasks come from real job ads, published job data and the questions people ask in public forums.

The steps come from Microsoft SQL Server's own documentation, with practitioner sources for the traps the manual does not mention.

Push once. Ask it to sharpen the weakest part and to say what it assumed.

Most wrong answers come from a missing detail rather than a bad prompt - tell it the thing it could not know.