A disciplined workflow can make schema evolution predictable:

1. Introduce the replacement field or type.
2. Keep the existing field working.
3. Deprecate the old field with a migration reason.
4. Identify clients still using the deprecated field.
5. Migrate those clients.
6. Verify that usage has reached zero or an approved threshold.
7. Remove the deprecated field in a controlled change.

This approach minimizes unexpected client failures.