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So, problem: schema does not accommodate enough use cases.

Solution 1: refactor schema

Solution 2: abandon schema

The truth is that you can’t really abandon schema, it’s just spread through the code base now, and any violation of the schema will blow up not when you write malformed data but when you read it later.

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Truth.

Anyone know any good tools to manage the evolution in schemas to address this problem?

At the lower level I’ve found ActiveMigration from ruby inspirational. Not using ruby but the idea is solid and I have built a similar system for C# and SQL Server.

You still need something higher level to oversee the schema, but I didn’t look closely - my schema is small enough I can keep track of it in my head.

Flyway is a good tool if you don't want to be tied to a specific language.

The community version (open-source/free) does have a few important limitations that may or may not matter to you.

+1 for flyway. Used it at two companies. Ability to fully reimplement schema from any version to the most recent version is amazing. Also the ability to review a schemas structure at a given git commit is super useful.

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