How to audit SQL Server schema updates

Question

Is there a way to see who updated which database object and when? I would like to be able to see which developer made a change to some table or stored procedure (or any other object) historically.

I know that we can implement DDL triggers and start capturing this information from this point on but is there a way to see historical data. Database is on SQL Server 2008 R2 Standard edition.

Answer 1

There is no standard way to see this data but it might be possible using 3rd party tools. If your database was in full recovery mode then you can try reading transaction log using 3rd party reader such as ApexSQL Log or Quest Toad. ApexSQL Log specializes in log reading and has more options for this while Toad is similar to SSMS and has many other options for general database management.

Answer 2

Native tools indeed do not provide such option, as for 3rd party tools I suggest you to take a look at SQL Server Change Reporter from NetWrix (disclosure: I work for them). It has both freeware version as well as free trial. The product shows what changes were made to objects, who made the changes and when. This should be a solution you are looking for.