◆ Microsoft SQL Server

Monitor SQL Server query execution time

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 taskShow the top 10 longest-running queries on the 'Production' database instance over the last 24…+
Show the top 10 longest-running queries on the 'Production' database instance over the last 24 hours. Include their average execution time and the user who ran them.
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 I optimize the 'CustomerReport' stored procedure, analyze its current execution plan.…+
Before I optimize the 'CustomerReport' stored procedure, analyze its current execution plan. Identify any missing indexes or table scans that are contributing to its high execution time, and suggest specific index recommendations.
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?
CDecide — diagnose the stuck momentUsers are reporting that the 'Dashboard' application is extremely slow this morning, but I…+
Users are complaining that the 'Dashboard' application is very slow this morning.
Users are reporting that the 'Dashboard' application is extremely slow this morning, but I haven't seen any major alerts. I suspect a few key queries are suddenly performing poorly. What's the quickest way to identify the specific queries causing the slowdown right now, and how can I see if their execution plans have changed recently?
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?
DBecome — change the patternI typically only investigate query execution times when a database instance is overloaded or…+
I only look at query performance when a user complains or a server is overloaded.
I typically only investigate query execution times when a database instance is overloaded or users complain about slow application performance. This reactive approach often means problems have already impacted the business. What habit should I change to proactively monitor and identify degrading query performance before it becomes a critical issue?
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.