Small matter of programming
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Small Matter of Programming (SMOP) was among the "games" described in an article written under pseudonym Shedley, Ethan I. (April 1, 1971), "Big System Games", Datamation 17 (7): 22-25, Technical Publishing Company, 1301 South Grove Ave., Barrington, Illinois 60010, as parallelling the Games People Play identified by Dr. Eric Berne in the field of self-help psychology. The game essentially consists of proposing seemingly simple adjustments to a design, and leaving to someone else the problem of fitting the unexpected consequences into the schedule.
The implication of using it is either
- to remind one's colleagues that every design change seems like a small matter of programming, until implementation starts, or
- to reassert by irony one's awareness of the danger of underestimating required effort.