(kree'ping fee'chr-izm) Creeping featurism is a slang term used to describe
a tendency for systems to become more complex over time as more
features are added than were in the original design or plan. This term is
widely used in software and hardware development, but is also used in
non-technical industries. In software or hardware development, these
added features often come at the expense of major design goals such as
stability, simplicity or bug reduction. Creeping featurism is also called
creeping featuritis.
Developer.com Contains resources, tools, articles, discussion areas, and events of interest to Internet/intranet developers. Directories include: ActiveX, Java, JavaBeans, JavaScript, Microsoft and .NET, open source and VRML.
Taking Computers to Task When it comes to software, new is not necessarily improved. Behavioral studies have shown that "creeping featurism" is often counterproductive. Software developers know this.
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