We are using ORM with bunch of database models and those ORM database queries (and models, of course) - are literally all over application from top to bottom.
And when change in model structure happens it wreaks havoc. Changes are expensive, difficult and stressful.
My suggestion is to surround database schema with nice, clear and consistent API.
It won't solve all of model change related problems, but it will contain most of them.
Furthermore, I think that it makes code more readable as well.
They won't even hear about it. I did tried to approach it very carefully with quotations, examples, still no avail.
Now, I'm starting to doubt my self. Maybe we should have database queries in every single part of application.
What do you think?