Daylight savings and business rules
This past Sunday, most of the US observed Daylight Savings Time and moved our clocks one hour ahead. Daylight Savings Time (DST) is a case-study in how bad business rules never go away. Consider:
- DST was implemented first during WWI and then implemented as federal law in 1966. A classic case of "We've always done it this way."
- You should always seek to simplify business rules. But DST is not simple. With the exception of internet-connected clocks, you have to manually reset all of your clocks. In the US this is calculated to cost $2 BILLION annually.
- DST manages TO the exception, another business rule no-no. One intent of the law was to provide more daylight because of the high cost of energy (specifically high oil prices). Oil prices (and energy costs in general) are dramatically lower than they were when these laws were enacted.
Daylight Savings Time is a waste of time (no pun intended) and money and provides little to no value.
How many of your business rules do the same?
![]()
Wes's Wednesday Wisdom Archives
Using the Pomodoro Technique for data management
Using the Pomodoro Technique for data management I’m a huge fan of the Pomodoro Technique, […]
You need a PLAN to deal with duplicates
You need a PLAN to deal with duplicates Here’s the thing about duplicate records: No […]
Asking for more is a good sign…
Asking for more is a good sign… A client who had recently implemented a new […]
Take action…
Take action… “The greatest wisdom not applied to action and behavior is meaningless data.” – […]
The Rule of 100 and 1,000 revisited
The Rule of 100 and 1,000 revisited I’m finding that the “Rule of 100 and […]
You gotta wanna
You gotta wanna Long ago I heard a training consultant say you can’t train people […]
Be careful not to overbuy
Be careful not to overbuy I recently spoke with an association of ten staff that was […]
When is the best time to clean your data?
When is the best time to clean your data? One of the most common questions […]
Do the benefits outweigh the risks?
Do the benefits outweigh the risks? As the economist Thomas Sowell points out, there are […]
Painting the Bridge
Painting the Bridge According to this article, the Golden Gate Bridge is painted continuously year-round. […]
