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
Don’t forget Parkinson’s Law
Don’t forget Parkinson’s Law “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its […]
Just Respond
Just Respond Growing up my father used to tell my many siblings and me that […]
People fear uncertainty, not change
People fear uncertainty, not change If you’ve ever worked on any big project that was […]
“Working with you is like going to therapy.”
“Working with you is like going to therapy.” I was working with a client last […]
The best ideas are stolen
The best ideas are stolen I don’t remember where I first heard it, but someone said […]
It’s all about expectations
It’s all about expectations One of the most critical contributors to the success of a […]
Either you test, or your members will
Either you test, or your members will If I was forced to choose the single […]
But are you really willing to change?
But are you really willing to change? When any organization is making a change in data management […]
Two tips for data conversion
Two Tips for Data Conversion I’ve written a lot about data conversion over the years […]
Who should “own” the database?
Who should “own” the database? One of the most common questions I get from my […]
