Total-system gain

Add up the benefit, then subtract every cost the benefit is usually credited against: setup, coordination, checking outputs, upkeep, the damage when it breaks, and what you gave up elsewhere. If the remainder is negative, the system is losing to no system.

Add up the benefit, then subtract every cost the benefit is usually credited against: setup, coordination, checking outputs, upkeep, the damage when it breaks, and what you gave up elsewhere. If the remainder is negative, the system is losing to no system.

Example

The family calendar saves maybe 20 minutes of weekly scheduling arguments. Against that: 45 minutes of Sunday data entry, two missed appointments from swiped reminders, and one person now owning every conflict. Net is negative, so cut the chore chart and keep only shared events.