052 Flexibility Trade-Offs
As the flexibility of a design increases, the usability and performance of the design decreases.
• Accommodating flexibility entails satisfying a larger set of design requirements, which invariably means more compromises and complexity in design.
• Increasing complexity generally decreases performance and usability.
• For example, the Swiss Army knife has many tools that increase its flexibility, but the tools are less efficient and less usable than their standalone equivalents. Performance and usability are traded for flexibility.
• Specialized things outperform flexible things when their requirements are stable. Flexible things outperform specialized things when their requirements are volatile.
• When flexibility is key, prepare to compromise performance and usability. When performance or usability is key, prepare to compromise flexibility.
See Also Cost-Benefit • Feature Creep • Hick’s Law
