second-system effect

The tendency of small, elegant, and successful systems to be succeeded by overengineered, bloated systems, due to inflated expectations and overconfidence.

Noun

  1. The tendency of small, elegant, and successful systems to be succeeded by overengineered, bloated systems, due to inflated expectations and overconfidence.

    Synonyms: second-system syndrome

Origin

Introduced by Fred Brooks in his book The Mythical Man-Month (1975).

Forms

second-system effects