People Operations built a GDPR deletion request tool

“It has a padlock icon.”— HR Generalist

Reason:

Because the official SAP takes 19 clicks to order a keyboard. With a logo generated at 16:13.

Built by:

Sofia, the management assistant

Build time:

51 minutes

Built with:

a browser extension that somehow became business critical

Database:

dates stored as text in 5 different formats

Authentication:

TLS is enabled, certificate warnings are ignored

Deployment:

running from a zip file called Invoices_Q3_new.xlsx

Responsible:

the person sitting closest to the printer

Documentation:

a PDF exported from PowerPoint

Security situation:

passwords are stored in a spreadsheet for emergencies

Future disaster:

It will be discovered during due diligence.

Age: 6.7 years · originally expected to last 7 days · 6 owners so far · survived 1 reorganisation · last meaningful change 823 days ago

Rated common mostly because: alive 348x longer than intended, €91k per year, 3 departments depend on it.