Learn · Module detail
understanding breakage
Breakage is the portion of issued loyalty value that is never redeemed under the programme rules. Treat it as an outcome to measure, not as permission to issue unaffordable rewards.
## The mechanism
Define the qualifying event, value change, owner, correction path, and member explanation. Keep eligibility, liability, fulfilment, consent, and reversal as separate rules. The operating control must be testable from the ledger.
## Worked example
Illustrative arithmetic: 1,000 points are issued and 650 points are redeemed, leaving 350 points unredeemed. At 1 cent per point, the unredeemed balance represents 3.50 dollars.
## Do it
State the rule in one sentence. Map the event that starts it, the event that changes value, the exception path, and the review action. Test ordinary, cancelled, duplicated, and disputed cases before release.
## Common mistakes
- Measuring activity instead of the target behaviour. Name the counterfactual. - Treating face value as operator cost. Price fulfilment and correction. - Hiding exclusions or expiry. Put the boundary beside the decision. - Automating an undefined rule. Resolve ownership before implementation.