andrewbrooks.fyi
Product sheet / 3.3 Day job
Field notes

When the link breaks, the rule doesn’t follow

Kind
Day job
Early adopters
15, all kept
  1. 1.0The systemp. 02
  2. 2.0Why it matteredp. 03
  3. 3.0The response, in three tiersp. 04
  4. 4.0The thinkingp. 05
  5. 5.0Outcomep. 06
1.0

The system

1.1 How rules reach records

In the platform, rules attach to a record’s category, and related records get their category by being linked to each other automatically.

One source usually carries the true category; others carry none, or a placeholder. When the automatic linking fails, the rule reaches only some of the records users expect it to cover, and they find out when a record doesn’t behave the way they were promised.

1.2 FigureTry the toggle
Fig. 1.2 · Linked recordsSimplified
Linked records, a rule, and a category A rule attaches to a category. Four related records are linked in a row; the first carries the true category. When the link works, the category passes along the links to every record and the rule reaches all four. When the link between the second and third records breaks, the last two carry no category or a placeholder, and the rule reaches only two of the four. rule attaches category carried by the source source none placeholder record record record record rule reaches 4 of 4 rule reaches 2 of 4 not covered

Link breaks: the rule reaches 2 of 4 records.

Fig. 1.2Abstract shapes. The rule follows the category, and the category follows the links.
2.0

Why it mattered

2.1 Blast radius

It sat in a core workflow, so one failure pattern could reach many customers at once, and the customers who had trusted the new platform first would feel it first.

3.0

The response, in three tiers

3.1 to 3.3 TiersFig. 3.1
  1. Tier 1 By hand Fix every reported case by hand, immediately.
  2. Tier 2 Scripted Run a scripted fix for key accounts and the most demanding customers.
  3. Tier 3 Root cause Ship the root-cause fix a week later, in a maintenance release.
Fig. 3.1Three tiers, from the cases already reported to the fix at the root.
4.0

The thinking

4.1 In proportion

Contain it in proportion to the blast radius, protect the customers who matter most first, and fix the root cause fast.

4.2 The decisionAnd what it cost

I didn’t try to fix everyone at once. Key accounts and the most demanding customers got the scripted fix first; everyone else was covered case by case until the root-cause fix shipped a week later, in a planned maintenance release rather than an emergency patch with risks of its own.

5.0

Outcome

5.1 ResultDay job record

All 15 retained, and less recurring Support and Development work.

See alsoHelping retain a $10M+ account, another day-job capability.