Scenario: A software development team is debating whether to denormalize their database schema to optimize performance. What factors should they consider before making this decision?

Option 1: Data integrity requirements - Before deciding to denormalize the database schema for performance optimization, the software development team should carefully consider various factors. One crucial factor is data integrity requirements. Denormalization can lead to data redundancy and potential update anomalies, compromising data integrity. Therefore, the team must evaluate the impact of denormalization on data consistency and ensure that appropriate measures, such as establishing referential integrity constraints and enforcing data validation rules, are in place to maintain data integrity. Hence, considering data integrity requirements is essential before proceeding with denormalization for performance optimization.