How these notes are written

Structure

Most notes follow the same shape: what the thing is, why it is harder than it looks, the method, where the method misleads, and how to tell whether it worked.

The sections on what does not work are not optional. A description of timesheet analysis that omits the reconstruction problem describes data that is more precise than it is.

Aggregate reporting

A principle running through the collection: time data supports statements about work, not comparisons between people.

The error structure does not support individual comparison, and the comparison measures the work assigned rather than the person. Where an individual pattern genuinely matters — someone working excessive hours — that is a welfare conversation prompted by an aggregate, and the direction matters: looking for people working too much is an obligation, looking for people working too little is something this data cannot support.

The uncomfortable material

Most timesheet data is a recollection, not a measurement, and the error is systematic rather than random.

Individual targets remove supervision, training and business development from the record, which is rational under the measure.

High utilisation is frequently a warning rather than a result.

Write-offs are usually a pricing or scoping finding and are routinely attributed to whoever recorded the time.

Legal material

Descriptions of the working time recording duty, wage and hour rules, consultation requirements and data protection obligations are general and jurisdiction-dependent. They are not legal advice and the notes say so.

Commercial position

No vendor material. No sponsored content. No affiliate links. No product rankings.