Single Source of Truth: The Concept Non-Engineers Don't Know (But Should)

The "Final Version" Problem Does this look familiar? schedule_april.xlsx schedule_april_revised.xlsx schedule_april_revised2.xlsx schedule_april_tanaka_checked.xlsx schedule_april_FINAL.xlsx schedule_april_FINAL_actually_final.xlsx This isn't an extreme example. This is happening in some workplace right now. Engineers have a name for this chaos: the absence of SSOT . What Is SSOT? Single Source of Truth — one location holds the authoritative version of any given piece of information. Everything else either points to it or is generated from it. That's it. "The correct shift schedule lives here." "The latest meeting notes are here." "This number comes from here." — deciding on a single "here" is practicing SSOT. How I Encountered This Concept I built a shift optimization tool with Claude Code for a daycare center (140 children, ~40 staff). The system needed to handle part-time fixed schedules, rotation schedules, room-by-room staffing requirements, and 15-minute interval attendance count