Conservation of complexity

Their wordsEvery application has an inherent amount of irreducible complexity. The only question is: Who will have to deal with it—the user, the application developer, or the platform developer?

Their wordsUX is about clarity that hides complexity, and game design is about clarity that teaches complexity.

Their wordsSo, I thought it would be useful to remind everyone that the easiest and cheapest strategy for dealing with complexity is not to invent something to manage it, but to avoid the complexity altogether with a more clever plan.

Their wordsOver-specifying the design also leads to estimation errors. Counterintuitive as it may seem, the more specific the work is, the harder it can be to estimate.

Their wordsAnd recognize that when you simplify things, you often end up with more things. Right? Simplicity is not about counting.

Their wordsIt clarifies the product’s structure. Better still, it can make the product talk. At best, it is self-explanatory.