custom snowball
(intransitive) To rapidly increase in complexity due to cascading custom requirements.
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(intransitive) To rapidly increase in complexity due to cascading custom requirements.
What started as a quick script completely custom snowballed into a standalone application.
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(business, software engineering, slang) A cascading chain reaction in which a single non-standard feature, modification, or workaround forces the creation of subsequent custom solutions to maintain compatibility, ultimately resulting in disproportionate complexity and technical debt.
We agreed to build a bespoke UI for that one client, but it turned into a massive custom snowball when we realized our standard backend couldn't process the new inputs.
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Semantically related
- feature creep60%
The way a project that started simple grows extra requirements until it's six months late and unbuildable. Almost always leadership-driven; almost always blamed on engineering.
- scope creep59%
Uncontrolled growth in the scope or requirements of a project.
- cast snowballs58%
(Scotland, idiomatic, obsolete) To be distant or reserved.
- snowflake58%
To fall in the manner of a snowflake.