What problem will the database solve?
How will you know if it is successful after it is all built?
What is the most critical business benefit?
What are the key deliverables?
Who benefits?
Who owns the database?
Who owns the data?
Who are the internal stakeholders and what are their requirements?
What existing databases now hold potentially useful information?
Who owns these databases and the data in them?
What applications must access the database?
Dale Wolf writes:
As with any significant marketing project, before you construct a marketing database, you need to have a clear vision and objectives. The same old questions plus a few more specific questions must be resolved if the database is useful when it is all done: