A new analyst at an IBM mainframe support team in the 1990s eliminated recurring overnight call-outs by automating a routine data-formatting fix. Although this improved the batch-processing workflow and let him sleep uninterrupted, a colleague objected because the reduced incidents meant less paid overtime.

The analyst, referred to as “Lionel”, was supporting overnight COBOL batch jobs and was called out every night during his first week to correct input data with a file editor. Frustrated by slow dial-in access and the impact on his young family, he designed, tested and deployed a pre-processing program in the overnight flow, then continued seeking permanent solutions to other problems.