Complication (definition)

Introduction of the notion

Source: Enterprise Transformation Manifesto; paragraph 5.2

Complication is unnecessary and artificial complexity, generated and accumulated through the Enterprise’s history. Every system suffers from a natural tendency to complicate matters unnecessarily - in other words creating complication without any added value (paragraph 5.2.a). This tendency affects the organization, its processes and its information system (paragraph 5.2.b). The Enterprise must constantly struggle against complication while preserving its irreducible complexity. The solution to this equation combines two principles: eliminating redundancy and establishing the right coupling (paragraph 5.3).

Canonical definition

Unnecessary and artificial complexity