Re: L-date fields

["Kahn, David" <KAHN@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

 lgoodbar@tecinfo.com wrote:

>These are the reasons I don't like windowing schemes. They require
>periodic updating.

A sliding window should never require updating unless the business rules
change.

>Who's to ensure proper business logic is maintained? Who
>maintains the standards? What steps must be taken to
>change said logic and standards?

These are not date issues, but apply to all application software.

>Is it really too much to ask for the user to verify a date? I cannot
>possibly see how two digits will cause so much hassle. Like I
>said before, people must take at least as long to verify a date as
>to enter it correctly the first time.

If you remember, I said that the users should have to verify or key the
century after keying in a 2 digit year that can resolve to more than one
century. Let them key in either 2 or 4 digits. If they find the number
of verifications of a particular field excessive they will generally key
4 digits by choice. If verifications are at a comfortable level they'll
probably choose just to key 2. Let the user work the way they feel
comfortable with.

>...to fix the Y2K
>problem, which is the task at hand, force the displays to four digits.
>Force the users to enter the extra 2 characters.

Agreed that fixing Y2K is the number one priority, and to get the job
done there may be a need to make compromises. However, forcing users to
make unnecessary keystrokes is a bad idea.

>Make the transition through 2000/1/1. THEN work on the windowing.

Why will the correct windowing logic be any different after 2000/1/1?
We'll still be dealing with 20th and even 19th century dates. Why not do
the job right first time?

>But we must still stress the users and data/entry is responsible for
>the correctness of the inputted information.

Users are indeed responsible for the accuracy of their keying. However,
MIS is responsible for engineering the interface in a way that takes
human factors into account. It may not always seem that way, but users
are human beings. Whatever you do, they will make mistakes. Get the
ergonomics wrong and they'll make more. That's a fact.

Dave Kahn - TCO, Tengiz, Kazakstan
=========

e-mail:  kahn@tengizchevroil.com    (until September 30th)
         dkahn@cix.compulink.co.uk  (from  October 1st)
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