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
Why Process is So Important
Why Process is So Important One of my favorite business authors is James Clear, who writes all […]
The Significant Change of SaaS Software
The Significant Change of SaaS Software One of the most significant technological changes in the […]
Always, ALWAYS budget for more training
Always, ALWAYS budget for more training Always, ALWAYS budget for more training. I don’t know how else […]
We’ve always done it that way
We’ve always done it that way A couple of weeks ago I wrote about approving memberships, […]
Are you sure it doesn’t do that?
Are you sure it doesn’t do that? Even after 20 years of consulting, I’m surprised […]
Be grateful
Be grateful As Thanksgiving approaches here in the US, I’m reminded of two words: Be […]
Do you really need to approve them?
Do you really need to approve them? I often joke that the very best (because […]
Negativity bias is why we need database PR
Negativity bias is why we need database PR I’ve written before how cognitive biases can affect […]
A system change requires a culture change
A system change requires a culture change By its very nature, when you introduce a […]
Where is that data?
Where is that data? This is what data management nirvana looks like: When the question starts with […]